As a Co-Founder of a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization called A Fountain of Youth, Inc, (AFOY), I have the opportunity to meet with people from all walks of life. However, there was one person in particular who continues to stay on my mind.
During one of our community events, a teen with long curly hair approached me and my husband asking for resources that can assist her. The young lady, who I will call “Nancy”, was going through a rough patch in her life. Nancy was sixteen years old and two months pregnant. Her mother was on drugs and her father was a devout Christian. The baby’s father was in a gang and did not stay in contact with her. Nancy felt like committing suicide and she just wanted to talk to someone to help her. She reached out to her high school guidance counselor but they couldn’t provide her with the resources that she needed. After Nancy told us what happened to her, we provided her with resources that can help her. Although Nancy is still going through challenging times, she is no longer feeling like killing herself and plans to raise her baby with help from relatives.
Nancy is one out of thousands of young people that we hear from in need of assistance through our organization. Most of them feel like
there is no one they can turn including their peers and close relatives. A lot of them feel embarrassed especially if they have HIV or are pregnant at a young age. According to youth.gov, research indicates that young people surrounded by a variety of opportunities for positive outcomes engage in less risky behavior and also show higher rates of successful transitions into adulthood.
When I was younger growing up in New York City in the 1980s, we didn’t have social media and text messages. Today, our youth have to deal with society’s images of the ideal look and body type. If you are not a certain size or if you are a young LGBT teen, you can be harassed and looked at like a weirdo. Through social media, a lot of young people display what they’re feeling through Facebook, SnapChat and Instagram. Young women often dress in scantily clad clothes to attract boys, while young men display gang signs to make them stand out from the crowd.
In 2011, my husband, Jamel White founded the organization to keep at-risk youth between the ages of 14-26 with resourceful information regarding available social services to assist them in obtaining the resources necessary to become self-sufficient and productive members in today’s society. We provide pamphlets directing them to social service programs and resources in New York City in a variety of areas including for LGBT, homeless and suicidal teens.
“We really need more services like this because if we don’t know of these programs, then the government may cut their funding. That would be horrible for teens like me,” said one teen who wishes to remain anonymous.
During the cycle of life when young adults first become teenagers, they start adapting learned traits to daily activities. As an informative interventional mechanism, our pamphlets alter at-risk youths’ decision-making process by granting them the opportunity to learn about and seek out available resources in their community.
Although many people assume that at-risk youth have access to computers, this is not true. Many at-risk youth are living in poor conditions and still use their school and public libraries to connect with resources online. Through AFOY, we serve as a one-stop shop providing all the information they need in one handy pamphlet.
Since its inception, A Fountain of Youth hosted movie screenings, music in the park gatherings, Harlem history tours, DJing for community events and educational forums. Most of these events are free or low cost so that everyone in the community can participate and end enjoy these events.
As we encounter these young people at our events, we try to make them feel comfortable—regardless of the myriad of situations they may be going through. We sit down and talk with them and not at them. Many of our youth feel that adults don’t understand what they are going through—from peer pressure, trying to fit in, and maintaining good grades. Through AFOY, we have an open-door policy focused on assisting our youth.
‘This organization is doing so many great things for our youth. These resources are not readily available for our kids. It is so great that AFOY provides these resources to them,” says Shirley Harrington, a community advocate living in the Bronx, New York.
As AFOY continues to have a huge impact on the community, we are in the process of expanding our programs and resources. In the future, we intend to open a building providing a variety of areas including an indoor community center, a meditation room, and a social hall. Through this multi-faceted building, we will offer a variety of programs for our young people including talent shows, youth summits, and wellness activities.
“Although our core mission is providing pamphlets for our youth, we realized that our community needs so much more. Through donors and the support of our community, we look forward to providing more activities and programs catering to at- risk youth,” says Jamel White.
This year, we are excited to launch an online store selling unique vintage and modern clothes and accessories called shellysden. These items range in a variety of sizes and styles including sophisticated and trendy clothes. Proceeds from the purchase of items on this site will go towards AFOY and assisting at-risk youth.
In the future, we also look forward to hosting a fundraising event that will honor at-risk youth excelling in their communities. Through AFOY, we want to show how wonderful our young people can be especially when they have resources to assist them in their communities.
