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Name: Marina Badir
How did I get involved in IMPACT?
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Name: Alondra Lopez
How did I get involved in IMPACT?
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ABOUT YOUTH EMPOWERMENT
It is important that all youth feel seen and understood so that they may realize their full potential. Youth who are marginalized due to inequity in public education, poverty, exposure to violence, etc have a great need for support. One of the common misperceptions is that all youth have the same needs; however, a child's needs are different based on their socio-economic background as well as their home situation. There are a lot of factors that determine the most beneficial way for a child to feel empowered. For example, youth empowerment is not going to look the same for a child from an affluent neighborhood who lives in a two parent household and a child who lives below the poverty line and lives in a one parent household. Therefore, the approach to youth empowerment is heavily based on the community being served and even then it may look different from child to child.
TERMS TO KNOW:
Disempowerment: factors that cause an individual to feel weak, inadequate, unimportant and deprive them of power, authority or influence.
● Empowerment: refers to things that are meant to encourage autonomy and self-determination in people and in their communities. This helps individuals realize their full potential and explore their interests.
● Equity: Access to fair and equal treatment under the law, regardless of race, social class, or gender.
● Intersectionality: recognizing that there are many factors that shape an individual's life and their experiences in society. It acknowledges how an individual’s experience is affected by multiple axes of oppression and privilege.
● Neoliberal framework: when organizations or groups center values that distinguish self-sufficiency and self-reliance as signals of success. When entrepreneurial values shape empowerment programs, they become inherently residual and apply the idea that some individuals are more ‘deserving’ than others.
● Oppression: the subjection of a group to burden with unjust imposition, a harsh exercise of authority or power. Youth oppression can look like the exclusion of youth from spaces of discourse about policies that affect them but it can also be anything that places youth as being ‘subordinate’ to adults.
● Personal Identity: the concept an individual develops about themselves based on factors like gender, socioeconomic status, age, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, etc.
● Relational perspective: an approach to youth empowerment that recognizes that youth are marginalized across various social and economic factors which include: race, class, gender, education, etc.
● Residual perspective: an approach to youth empowerment that ignores the structural factors that lead to impoverishment which include: raced, classed, gendered biases, stereotypes and inequalities. They frame poverty as caused by poor choices and a lack of personal responsibility.
● Self confidence: A positive self-image or a high sense of self-esteem. This a primary focus for empowerment because it can help youth discover their capabilities and worth.
● Self-efficacy: an optimistic view and belief in one's ability to successfully accomplish a task. This influences how people feel, think, motivate themselves, and how they carry themselves throughout life.
● Silencing: the conscious or unconscious processes that prevent individuals of a given social identity or group from having a voice or participating in community dialogue.
● Social toxicity: the extent to which someone's social environment is detrimental and threatens the development of their identity, competence, moral reasoning, or any other positive development. These are barriers to youth’s ability to realize their full potential and become empowered.
● Trauma: an individual’s subjective experience of psychological distress in response to an extraordinarily stressful event. This can be short or long-term; nonetheless, youth who have experienced or are experiencing trauma are particularly in need of support and the tools to become empowered.
● Youth advocacy: empowering youth in their everyday lives. Deliberately attempts to provide support to young people in all areas that affect, be it education, housing, employment, unemployment, health, social security, recreation and human relationships.
● Youth mentorship: pairing mentors with youth who need or want support. This can be academic or emotional support; moreover, it can take the form of tutoring, teaching life skills, etc.
● Youth empowerment: Giving youth the skills, resources, and support necessary to form a positive self-image and to effect change in their lives and communities.
● Empowerment: refers to things that are meant to encourage autonomy and self-determination in people and in their communities. This helps individuals realize their full potential and explore their interests.
● Equity: Access to fair and equal treatment under the law, regardless of race, social class, or gender.
● Intersectionality: recognizing that there are many factors that shape an individual's life and their experiences in society. It acknowledges how an individual’s experience is affected by multiple axes of oppression and privilege.
● Neoliberal framework: when organizations or groups center values that distinguish self-sufficiency and self-reliance as signals of success. When entrepreneurial values shape empowerment programs, they become inherently residual and apply the idea that some individuals are more ‘deserving’ than others.
● Oppression: the subjection of a group to burden with unjust imposition, a harsh exercise of authority or power. Youth oppression can look like the exclusion of youth from spaces of discourse about policies that affect them but it can also be anything that places youth as being ‘subordinate’ to adults.
● Personal Identity: the concept an individual develops about themselves based on factors like gender, socioeconomic status, age, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, etc.
● Relational perspective: an approach to youth empowerment that recognizes that youth are marginalized across various social and economic factors which include: race, class, gender, education, etc.
● Residual perspective: an approach to youth empowerment that ignores the structural factors that lead to impoverishment which include: raced, classed, gendered biases, stereotypes and inequalities. They frame poverty as caused by poor choices and a lack of personal responsibility.
● Self confidence: A positive self-image or a high sense of self-esteem. This a primary focus for empowerment because it can help youth discover their capabilities and worth.
● Self-efficacy: an optimistic view and belief in one's ability to successfully accomplish a task. This influences how people feel, think, motivate themselves, and how they carry themselves throughout life.
● Silencing: the conscious or unconscious processes that prevent individuals of a given social identity or group from having a voice or participating in community dialogue.
● Social toxicity: the extent to which someone's social environment is detrimental and threatens the development of their identity, competence, moral reasoning, or any other positive development. These are barriers to youth’s ability to realize their full potential and become empowered.
● Trauma: an individual’s subjective experience of psychological distress in response to an extraordinarily stressful event. This can be short or long-term; nonetheless, youth who have experienced or are experiencing trauma are particularly in need of support and the tools to become empowered.
● Youth advocacy: empowering youth in their everyday lives. Deliberately attempts to provide support to young people in all areas that affect, be it education, housing, employment, unemployment, health, social security, recreation and human relationships.
● Youth mentorship: pairing mentors with youth who need or want support. This can be academic or emotional support; moreover, it can take the form of tutoring, teaching life skills, etc.
● Youth empowerment: Giving youth the skills, resources, and support necessary to form a positive self-image and to effect change in their lives and communities.
MORE ABOUT YOUTH EMPOWERMENT
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