Midtown’s kids speak out on their lives — the good and bad

“We need jobs,” Rebecca stressed. “We need to help out our moms and dads and buy things for ourselves too.” Another teen reported, “It was nice to be able to afford some new clothes for school, and I didn’t mind working hard for it.”

What can be done without money? Very little, according to most of the older respondents. Playing with friends, hiking around Kingston, kickball, playing in the leaves, going to the parks and school trips, the younger kids replied. Older kids took a more grim view. “Nothing, except borrowing stuff from other people,” and even stealing.

What would they do with money? Apart from the obvious “shopping” response, they also listed: roller skating, McDonald’s, go-kart racing, mini-golf, gifts for family and friends, movies, adopt and care for animals, ice cream, arcade visits and even food for the house.

Trouble

The leaders questioned the groups as to what community issues are seen as being caused by youth? Starting fights, vandalism, trespassing, graffiti, harassment and firing off BB guns or firecrackers. Why?

“Sometimes I just feel like I’ll be made fun of if I don’t do the bad things everyone else is doing,” one girl replied.

“I get pissed off,” said Brandy. “I want to damage things so I feel less bad.”

Frustration, “showing-off,” peer pressure and again boredom were all listed. “If they don’t get the love they need at home, sometimes they want to destroy things to feel better.” One child said that feeling mean made her feel destructive, and another said, “[I feel] frustrated, treated badly at home so I treat everyone else badly.”

Most kids replied that creating activities, socialization and recreation within walking distance would top their lists of things to do if they could make any changes in Kingston. Activities such as arcades, parks, zoos, water parks, skating rinks, and making the streets safer, cleaner and more pedestrian-friendly. “I would change some of the people here,” commented Pina. “I would take away all the guns, stop all this violence, and make walking places safer.”