Taking a pride in the community
Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2009-06-14 08:40:10 - Graham Ellis
How do you encourage young people to take a pride in their community, rather than engaging is antisocial behaviour? By encouraging their inclusiveness and by providing them with facilities.Lisa and I took a short train trip yesterday, and found ourselves at the station with eye-catching silhouettes of - well, you can see the young people's names - in an area that used to be notorious for its graffiti. I understand that the work is that of the younger kids, and their older brothers and sisters then take a sibling pride and "woe betide" anyone who tries to tamper with or deface them. Of course, allowing the station to be painted up in this way is also eye-catching, distinctive, and attractive for us more mature members of society.
Looking around further, a BMX park, plenty of fishing facilities, and we were in a town that offers an example to others. Like all towns, though, I'm sure that there are other things / areas they could learn from.
Where am I talking about? "Not telling" says I ... unless you follow this link!