Listen To Their Voices

Psalm 81:1, 10-16

One of the more difficult things to do as an adult mentor, coach, or parent of a teenager is to let them make their own decisions. As adults we have learned to extend the decisions we're contemplating to its most likely outcome. If we're trying to decide whether to relocate to a new city or state we think about everything that might come with that decision. If we're trying to decide whether or not to take a promotion at work or to change our career all together, we think about as many ramifications of that decision as possible.

However, a teenager will most likely only see how the decision they make benefits them, and only them, for the immediate or very near future. Last Wednesday I was privileged to meet with the program director of Hale Kipa's Youth Outreach (YO!) program. As he took me around the drop-in center and explained how their program works I couldn't help but think how these teenagers get themselves into a situation where a life on the streets becomes the alternative.

We talked about how the age of teens who come through their doors can be as young as 12 and as old as 22. We talked about how the younger ones usually stay away from home for only a few nights at the most and how those chronically on the streets tend to be in the 17-22 age range. Then he threw me the number that hit me the most - the program helps an estimated 1000 unduplicated teens a year. That means that about 1000 teens on the island of Oahu make the decision to run away from their homes and end up on the streets at some point in their lives.

As we discussed the reasons teenagers run away from home YO!'s director said these words, "Whatever the reasons are it's a sad statement when a life on the streets is better than their lives at home." How true those words rang. I replied with, "Yes, and I'm sure running away isn't their first option, but what can they do if nobody is listening to their cries for help?"

Today's Psalm brings that conversation home for me. What I read in the Psalm is that there were a people, a nation, to whom God called out to, but the choice the people made was not to listen. As a result God "removed" God's self from the people of Israel, leaving them to fend for themselves.

In much a similar way the teenagers who decide to leave home do so because they honestly see that as their only alternative. As a teenager it's very difficult for them to let people in on the things that are bothering them, especially if those things include abuse at any level. As their adult friends it really is up to us to listen and watch for the clues they give us in their cry for help. This can only be accomplished through building a relationship with them so that we can see and hear the subtle differences in their voice and actions.

Our youth are crying out for help, they want to contribute their gifts as best they can to their communities. It's up to us to help them find that gift and guide them along the way as they grow that gift into one they can, and will share with their communities. Let's find ways to better listen to our youth as they cry out to be seen.