Journal: Reflective Journal

Reflective Journal

Edu 635 Community & Youth Development

Compelling aspect of this project has been

The most compelling aspect with my project is that it’s vital for the community. I will come up with a program that brings awareness to building relationships within the community; that encourages youth to also get involved. When researching, I discovered that there are programs that are readily available for the total family and for those youth and adult individuals alike. It is imperative to bring awareness to those services that are available to the people and let it be known that itis just not only a school issue; however, it is a community issue. What was so amazing was hearing and seeing the youth volunteer their time, take the initiative and share different stories. I canvased the neighborhood and sat and spoke with many people and discussed what they would like to see different in the community and their ideas on how to build the community.

Worrisome aspect of this project

The most worrisome part of this initiative was will I reach and encourage enough people to participate. I knew that it would be challenging in convincing them they there are options available to them. Many people feel that city officials are not involved unless something drastic happens in the community and they feel they should be just as involved in trying to prevent those negative things from happening by listening to those in the community and helping them. I believe that many adults and students do not get involved in the community due to fear, embarrassment and past incidents. We have to find a way to breakdown that shame and embarrassment and be certain that people understand that they are an important part of the community and they should get involved in finding and analyzing the problem in order to find solutions.

I wish I had more time to

I wish I had more time to actively get involved in the community on a daily basis to develop and find weekly activities that will benefit the community. I was only able to canvas the community twice and it was life changing and heartbreaking listening to some of the families and the many concerns and needs that they have; however, do not know where to go or it being simply hard to get. It is my belief that educators should be educated on assisting and being able to direct these families to where they should go when they find students with these problems. They should also be there to encourage the child.

The best part of this project will be

The best part of the project was going out into the community and meeting those families. I did not realize that there were many free events that were already available for families and how easy it was to start new projects and events. I found many resources that were available and how to apply different services based on need.

I am excited about

I am exciting about attending the next event in the community and applying some of the knowledge that I have learned from taking this course. The next free event is Mayor’s youth at work; which is a round table. This is also a networking event that features results from the MYAWP 2018 summer employment program from youth interns and companies. Also, information is given on other organizations can become partners.

I am most proud of

I am ecstatic that I had the opportunity to learn about my community and the available resources that are offered. I am also proud that I chose this project in particular; as to bringing adults and youth together for one common goal. This goal is to grow the community and create positive changers.