Let’s do something for our teens

Earlier this year I approached Andrew Hackmack and expressed interest in writing a column that focused on the lives, hobbies, and occupations of our community. While the Herald already covers the extraordinary endeavors, and at times the unfortunate circumstances of the people of Valley Stream, the middle ground where we most often operate was open for sharing.

At first I was skeptical, as were most people I shared the idea with, that our ordinary day-to-day activities were really that interesting and warranted a write-up in our local newspaper. As I met more and more people in our community, I realized that we all had a story to tell. Whether it was a woman who works for Saturday Night Live, the group of people I stood next to on the train platform, or a neighbor with a really interesting hobby, they all had something to share. 

After refining the idea with Andrew, we arrived at what will hopefully be this successful and exciting column. On at least a monthly basis, the Herald will feature either a story on a community member, business owner, etc., or an opinion piece on a local issue or opportunity written by a Valley Streamer. We hope this column will become an opportunity for those interested in sharing a story or opinion, and a positive part of our local newspaper for the readers.

For this inaugural piece, I would like to expand on an editorial featured in the Herald on Aug. 26, 2010, “What can we do with our free-range teens.” In that editorial the Herald discusses “…a troubling trend in many South Shore communities: destruction caused by teenagers.” The piece goes on to suggest reasons why this is occurring and recommendations on how to calm the growing disorder among teens.

Only 10 years ago, I was a 15-year-old “free-range” teen spending most of my weekends and summer nights with my group of friends roaming around the streets of Valley Stream between 7-Eleven and a school yard, or from one friend’s backyard to another’s basement. We laughed, talked and spent a lot of time playing soccer, kickball or a board game we dragged along with us. Of course there were times we would cross paths with a less innocent group of our peers who were drinking beers and breaking a few bottles, but there was rarely any confrontation or problem between us, and it was even less frequent the police would ever have to become involved. At times, traveling the same routes around Valley Stream became repetitious and boring, but all in all we were happy.

What has changed in the patterns of our “free-range” teens over the course of the last 10 years? Maybe the better question would be what has not changed? Either way you look at it, there exists a growing unrest among the youth of our community and hanging out at McDonalds every night or being chased from one school yard to the next by the police or some other level of enforcement just isn’t cutting it. In spending time talking to these teens, it’s evident, similar to my teen years, they do not want or need additional structured programs — they have enough of that in our schools, sports leagues and community organizations. Instead they are looking for a place(s) to call their own, to take pride in, and which allows them to simply be teens.