Hi Laura,
You are describing our program population. We use a permission form that we often have to ask permission from a parent/guardian over the phone for us to sign on their behalf. Last year we had 302 participate at the CBC and only met about six parents. Our wisdom is to not become a “teen center”. Generally having kids hang out without working on bikes or some other concrete activities leads to behavioral challenges. Our experience and research shows that as you increase the number of caring adults involved and increase the diversity of program offering more kids arrive, they participate more frequently and they stay with you longer during their pre-adult lifespans – more impact.
Take care,
Andy
Andy Greif, Executive Director
Mailing: P.O. Box 783, Biddeford, ME 04005
Shop: 45 Granite Street, Biddeford
Shop Phone: 207-282-9700 Cell Phone: 207-229-8199
Website: http://www.communitybike.net/ www.communitybike.net | http://www.AppleCycle.org www.AppleCycle.org
“Providing Opportunities for Youth to Grow”
From: Thethinktank [mailto:thethinktank-bounces@lists.bikecollectives.org] On Behalf Of Laura Biren Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 2015 11:23 AM To: The Think Tank Subject: [TheThinkTank] youth and parents/guardians
Hello awesome Think-Tankers,
Quick question here from the BF Community Bike Project. A large percentage of the people we work with are at-risk youth in our community. A lot of these youth tend to be under the age of 18, and a good chunk of them are under the age of 14 (down to the age of 8). We're wondering about how strict we should be about allowing youth in here without parents/guardians? We don't want to turn youth away, and we require youth to get waivers signed by their parents... but we also don't want to be liable for anything that could go wrong with having a few young youth running around our premises, youth that aren't part of any specific program we offer. Any thoughts/words of wisdom? Thank you all so much,