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Lynda Swanson
Gig Harbor, WA
Mother, Grandmother, Social Evolutionist, concerned about homeless,jobless teens/young adults.
I believe that the time is right for creating our own remedies to social ills. I have created a model for any community that will help to stablize our young population that find themselves homeless and in need of help. It means hard work on their part. I hope to include a alternative energy employment training program. Looking for a wind machine company that will partner in this effort. The expected outcome will be a young workforce trained, mobile and ready to work any of the numerous wind farm jobs.
Recent Activity
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Lynda commented on the petition |Do not take away the most important programs that ensure jobs for the future of our country - our young people The result will be poverty like we have never seen before. Without the equalizing forces of these programs, teen homelessness,crime and suicide will skyrocket
We can not do this to our future! -
Lynda signed the petition |
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Lynda signed the petition | -
Lynda signed the petition | -
Lynda signed the petition | -
Lynda signed the petition | -
Lynda commented on the article |Part TWO of this example came when my son found out that after he pulled up stakes and moved accross the country to work at the new job site, he had no where to live! These sites are isolated and depend upon local resources for housing. As it turned out, he had to stay in van the first two weeks, then he was moved to a one room shack, then he finally was offered a trailer when one came available at a super inflated price.
And so the component of mobility and self containment came to light here. Each person would not live in an apartment, they would move into an RV, or a 5th wheel. This does limit the size of a family who would be eligible but then to be mobile, you would have to be able to go from job to job. Having children that are school age would not work well.
Being able to go from job site to job site is important for continued education and also because it is a great advantage to be flexible as jobs become completed and others open up.
In the first part of this model I talked about stablization. For those that had been living in cars and tents, an RV that had been retrofitted with safe and efficient materials, outfitted with propane running engines and solar panels would be welcome I would think. This would be a personal choice at intake by the way. If a person chose to take part in this particular career path, then they could put a portion of their "rent" toward the purchase of this mobile unit or evenchoose to donate or sell it back to the Village when they no longer need it. Another component of the training would be in the retrofitting of the RV to begin with.
Not everyone would lend themselves to this area and other job training opportunities would of course be available. But everyone needs a home and when you're homeless being able to move about to any job opportunity is a welcome feature. -
Lynda commented on the article |
Hello David,
It is a JOY to read your writings here. I am a kindred spirit living in Washington State. I'm a 56 yer old mother, grandmother and an ever increasing social revolutionary but also an evolutionaryist if there is such a word. In other words, I see a larger picture of how many of our social ills have developed like you do. You could see the outcome of the fracturization of family and community years ago and how it would influence today's American society. Now that we are living in the result of what an out of whack balance can do in a democracy, we must help each other to correct the balance. Obama sees it and has been immersed in it during his years as a community organizer. I thank him for not forgetting and for having the guts to include us all in an outreach program like there has never been in our history. Now it is up to us to contribute. David, I wish you were closer so we could really work together on this. Perhaps you can help me get started with some of your great insight.
My name for it is "The Village" model for obvious reasons. The features, the reasons, the objectives are so similar to your own Neighborhood Guild it astonishes me! I have added a couple of other components to it. After the stablizing act of creating a safe, structured and nurturing place to live, I have added the feature that makes it blend into the administration's call to action in putting America to work. Training in alternative energy fields today is what training in IT was a generation ago. It is imperative in my opinion that young bright minds (homelessness is not an excuse here) be trained and put into service building green, retrofitting our cars and buildings, creating new engergy farms and grids with wind and solar power. These are all things that can be cultivated on a community college level. My oldest son who is 27 is a very bright kid who became bored in high school and left it just short of graduating. We lived in a small town where his job offers were slim in the first place but he pretty much settled for a min. wage job at a local deli until he got an opportunity to test his wings. A wind energy company came to town and he hired onto the crew. Today he is in Texas building wind machines and has become an inspector. He loves the work. My two other sons are trying to get jobs in the field as well. This can be a BOONE (yes I meant that) for our isolated young people like my son who just needed an opportunity to shine.
Just so this does not get as long as a book here, I will stop to let you ask specific questions and make comments.
I hope others also jump in here as well of course! This is great energy folks!
Fearlessly
Lynda -
Lynda commented on the article |
While I found your study very informative it was missing a population that is not mentioned in most studies. Young people who are between the ages of 17 and 25 are a chronically underserved population. This group stretches over all ethnicites, represents a high number of incarcerations; often leaving a one parent family on welfare. With the workforce crunch squeezing tighter every day, there are few emancipated young people in this group that can depend on the prospect of keeping their jobs over a super qualified adult who also needs it.
I am hoping that the Obama administration takes advantage of this ready to work force and helps to create alternative energy institutes that put many young people on a fast track to a bright future. -
Lynda commented on the article |Hello Shannon,
Even in the small rural town where I lived for 13 years I met homeless teens. Some became extended family, some came to visit at dinner time, some came home with my kids and stayed over night now and then. They all had something in common. They had been either forecefully emancipated by their parent(s) or they left for their own safety and well being. Back in the day as they say, it was not uncommon for a young person to simply leave home after graduating high school. They were often dependent upon another family member to help them along as they found a job and tried their wings. Eventually most found a decent job or joined the service. Then came the "hang on" generation. They were expected to continue their education and in return got a few more years at home or living expenses at college. Today the competition is fierce, the economy may prohibit college for a teen and moral may be so low that a kid will leave home to avoid over burdening the family, or the tension grows until they leave on less than comforatable terms.
No matter how it happens, it happens. In every community. I have witnessed the "what homeless teens?" phenomenon too. They learn how to fly low to avoid trouble. Fact is that there are many young people who are out there in unsafe conditions over night, with no income and what food they can find.
These kids are our future too. We have all seen a movie or read a story about how now and then a kid gone wrong makes good. What you don't hear much about is a young person who is living in a car and trying to stay in school. Or a kid who has hit that 20 year mark and is no longer considered a kid who is still not "socially engaged". Is there a magic number where a kid becomes enlightened and all burndens are lifted? Not without a little support and coaching. And l won't even mention the foster care system right now! How do we bring these kids into the fold? How do we help them help themselves? One safe place at a time.
I yearn for a national program to help get a lot of these kids into a safe co-housing situation in their own community.
I have been working on such a model for years now. I see that one or two do exist out there. That's great, but how do we make it a nation wide effort? My model includes a component that is very relative to today's needs. Part of the plan is to not only introduce how to live more lightly and responsibly but also to get these young people trained to become part of the alternative energy movement. More to come if you would like to hear.
Lynda
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