Other issues the kids wanted to discuss were how they felt about being pushed around, yelled at or beat up; many admitting that they typically let it go until it could no longer be ignored. Some kids said they preferred to surround themselves with family — others said that they might look bad, but they are actually “a lot more responsible than people give them credit for.”
“The kids are a lot more aware of the issues in Kingston than they give them credit for, and they are feeling them at a very serious level,” said Weiss. “Also, something brought up a lot was that the kids said they like the town because they know their way around in it, and never feel lost in it, and the big thing brought up in negative and positive, and kids always felt like that they were only being spoken to when they were doing something wrong or perceived to be doing so, and that was huge.”
Weiss cited an example of how a police officer’s presence initially made the kids nervous, but how his praises were well-received by all. “Nine-year-olds just wanted places to be without being yelled at,” added Weiss.
Weiss said that the data collected in the Kingston Cares program — funded through Family of Woodstock — is documented and used in conjunction with information gathered every two years through door-knock surveys and Ulster Prevention Council school-distributed surveys to adjust services, and will see follow-up through programming and looking for gaps in services.
Wow. Says a lot about how attitude and expectation can affect people.
Give kids a chance and expect them to do well and you’ll be amazEd at the results.