"Youth Cup 2000 Dinner Speech" by Bob Thompson

DIAL/SELF was started back in 1977, when a group of inspired and idealistic human service workers decided that not enough was being done for the youth of Franklin County. They got together, literally, around a kitchen table, and hammered out the framework of what was to be a new approach for working with teenagers and young adults. The bedrock of this approach, of the DIAL/SELF philosophy really, is set upon the belief that every young person deserves the opportunity to emerge as an independent adult. DIAL/SELF believes that every young person wants this opportunity- no matter how much they present a facade of aloofness from adults or seem to be single-minded in their pursuit of irresponsible behavior, we believe that they still want this. They want the opportunity to be mentored, guided, confronted and finally released into independence. 

So it was to this end that that first group of DIAL/SELF Staff sat down at that kitchen table twenty-three years ago. The problem, as they defined it, is that the adult world, in this county at least, is clueless about what to do with teenagers. Our society really is bereft of any apprentice program or mentoring situation that pulls young people, young men and women into close contact with adult society- we have, largely, cast them out to fend for themselves. Oh, certainly, we have places for them to go- many public schools do a wonderful job and are all too often under appreciated and maligned by the community at large (maybe you can surmise by now that I’m a public school teacher), but we cannot rely on our schools to do the whole job. And perhaps we’ve made just that mistake. 

Why is it then, that we separate teenagers from us? Is it that we fear them or is it that we just don’t care? If a young person is failing or acting out in some unacceptable way, we decide in many cases that they need more discipline and we send them away- the traditional places we send them are boarding schools, military academies, the military and prison. We have decided and we are telling our young people who are foundering that the people that have the most to teach them are their peers, drill instructors, prison guards and, in the worst situations, their fellow inmates. 

But what about a community with a different approach to young people, and a different philosophy for dealing with them? What about an approach that pulls the young person who is foundering in closer? An approach that says, “you are not alone and we are here to support you.” An approach that says we will confront you and we will make demands on you, but it is our expectation that you be part of this community- we do not wish to get rid of you.” What about a philosophy that values the qualities and spirit of each individual and holds as its highest goal the development of that spirit and those qualities? This agency has proved time and time again that this approach does work- and we can support this assertion both anecdotally and statistically.

I remember one of my favorite projects with DIAL/SELF residents was painting our office building on Federal Street. A presentable workplace has always been important to me and so I was particularly stung when an associate asked me if our office building was going to be the featured location for the new “Adams Family” film. This bothered me, a lot. So I set about begging for the money and materials to paint the old place. It is a big house, so I knew it would take a long time- we recruited residents to do the bulk of the work and for the most part they were enthusiastic and showed up ready to paint. 

The problems started when I brought out the box of paint scrapers. Isn’t that always how it is? Everybody likes to paint. Nobody likes to scrape. And that’s all we did that first day- we scraped and we scraped some more and after that we scraped. And the kids complained. Profane language was used. One of them even threw down his scraper and abandoned the task altogether. But the rest of them stayed and we worked through that hot afternoon in August until we finished the job. We were exhausted, but we felt good. The old paint lay in dingy white flakes on the ground and the kids were tired and relieved, certainly, but they were also very proud of the job they’d done. 

When we returned the next day, this time with paintbrushes, and the work proceeded smoothly. The sense of aggravation was gone and the kids set about the task of putting on that first coat of primer with focus and calm attention to detail. The young man who had walked off the first day did not return and was actually gone from the program within the next two weeks. The day was even hotter than the previous one and we all noticed it and remarked on it, but this time, no one complained. When the job was done we all stood on the lawn and admired it. I have to admit, at first I thought mostly of how much better I would feel coming to work the next day- I wouldn’t have to slink in the back in embarrassment at the sorry state of my place of employment. 

And then I looked back at the kids. They were clearly proud of themselves- with teenagers you have to remember that a lot is little and so when I heard one of them say, “looks good,” and another one say, "Ya know, I think we did a pretty good job,” it was huge.  

In telling people about what we do at DIAL/SELF, I’ve sometimes used this metaphor that likens working with homeless youth to house painting. In order to work effectively with them you have to be willing to scrape some of the old paint off first~ that is you have to be willing to challenge them and confront them about what they’re doing that’s not working. You have to be willing to help them identify the things in their lives that are not helping them to get along in the world. Then you have to give them something of substance- like an old house wants fresh paint; young people need to have adults in their lives that are supportive, committed and willing to take the time to teach them how to live as adults in the world. When young people are provided with these things, the changes that they make in their lives are often phenomenal. 

Our agency’s name DIAL/SELF is an acronym the meaning of which has been a closely guarded agency secret for years. And, in truth, perhaps our predecessors did get swept up a bit in their new age zeal. DIAL stands for direct intervention in adolescent learning, which is straightforward enough. The SELF stands for see each leaf fall. Now I admit it was a stretch for me to think back across that ocean of time that separates us from the 1970’s, and my first thought was “What exactly did they mean by that? But in my work with youth over the years, and in thinking about what I’m going to say to you tonight, I think that I finally got it. I think that they wanted us to remember that one we have made that intervention in a young person’s life, once we have confronted them, struggled with them, supported them and, hopefully, given them some of what they need, then it is our job to witness their journey and cheer them as they twirl and dance like falling leaves into a brighter future.