"We'll need community help,"-Dr. Peter Gorman
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Dr. Gorman and Charlotte social-services agencies met last week to discuss the findings of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, conducted by the CDC, which studies areas of risk for middle and high school students.
"Nearly a third-27 percent-of the 1,755 students surveyed in 18 CMS high schools said that they had felt so sad or hopeless for a two-week period that it interfered with their regular activities, a finding that school and county health personnel said was alarming. Twelve percent said that they had attempted suicide in the last year, and 13 percent said they had seriously considered or planned it."
I cannot help but read this about CMS and think of the quote from the report, Long Overdue: A Fresh Look at Public and Leadership Attitudes About Libraries in the 21st Century, "The library should be part of every discussion that has to do with community collaboration."
What can we do? What are we already doing that we can offer to CMS and their students that we serve at our libraries every day? What programs and services do we already have in place that maybe can be publicized as a package? Several branches have discussion groups, book clubs about issues teens are facing, and passionate staff that really care about the teens in the community. What great opportunities for teens to share what is really on their minds.
posted by Kelly @ 8:22 AM,
