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Every morning, on my way to work, I listen to the news. Today, the first thing I heard was that 12 people are dead in California-- killed by a gunman while they were enjoying a night out.
These people join all the people who have died while living their lives and doing things that all of us do. We go to concerts, we go to the movies, we go to school, we go to work, we drive our cars, we ride our
bikes, we walk down the street and we go to church. And we can get killed by a fellow American while we are doing any of these everyday things.
Some of my friends tell me to stop listening to the news,
"It’s too much. It’s overwhelming. You've got to take a break."
But I can’t stop listening. I feel like if
I stop listening, I’ll start pretending this isn’t happening. I keep asking myself,
"When does everything come to a screeching halt and we start fixing this? "
Do we need to have a shooting an hour? A shooting a minute? When kindergarteners died in Connecticut, it wasn’t enough. When Philando died here in Minnesota, it wasn’t enough.
Atlanta. Aurora. Las Vegas. Pittsburgh. St Paul. Minneapolis. Cold Spring. Columbine. Charlottesville. Parkland.
Where do you live?
I live in Minnesota. I work in St. Paul-- that’s in Ramsey county. Here’s a stat:
Ramsey county has the highest rates of assault injuries among teens and young adults compared to other metro counties
in my state.
I know this because I volunteer with Public Health in Ramsey county. I sit on the Violence Prevention Action Team as a representative of a great youth development organization-- Voyageur Outward Bound
School. Our VPAT task force brings together education, non-profit, community, law enforcement and health care leaders.
The VPAT Team started with one very big goal: "prevent violence and intentional injuries, and reduce their consequences for people in Ramsey County." That’s really big. After a few meetings, consensus was that we needed to whittle this goal down to something we could wrap our arms around. The data that drove our chosen focus was just too compelling to ignore. What follows is a sample of the data that informed our focus on preventing youth violence in particular. This is from the CDC:
- Homicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for young people in America.
- Homicide kills an average of 14 young people a day in America.
- 1,400 young people are treated in emergency departments for nonfatal assault-related injuries every day in America.
- 1 in 5 American high school students report being bullied on school property.
Children. They don't write legislation and they don't vote. But they do have a voice, and they are the future leaders of our communities.Some of us serve young people for a living-- in schools, universities, youth-serving organizations and government agencies. Some of us have children. But whether you serve children, raise children or were once a child yourself, I believe all of us have a moral imperative to make this world a safer and more equitable place, for those who cannot rule and legislate and for those who can.
I believe we have a shot at a safer future if we lean in to developing compassionate and ethical people, people who have the skill and fortitude to get along with a multitude of others and to solve problems with confidence and empathy. Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, Nebraska, New York, Colorado, California, Oregon, Minnesota. There are 11 Outward Bound schools across America. All of these schools strive to change lives. Compassionate, caring, Instructors do the work by modelling ethical leadership and teaching the skills to build civil, brave, honest, responsible and equitable relationships. At Outward Bound, everything we do as an organization is about building healthy, inclusive communities. Each crew of students on each of our courses participates in and builds community. This experience--of participating in and building community-- teaches people how to engage in and build healthy, inclusive communities wherever they go. Better people make a better world, together. That’s the whole point. I woke up this morning and I heard the news and I decided to tell it to you straight:
Social-emotional learning isn't just important, it can save lives. I urge you to see the potential and power of experiential group learning and character education. I urge you to make the connection between this work and violence prevention. In our work here at VOBS, students share experiences to grow key social skills. Our students grow empathy and character as a direct result of working with other people.
- Our students learn how to communicate, how to cope and how to solve problems together.
- Our students learn that they are not alone, that they can look to others for support and strength.
- Our students learn that they have valuable gifts to share with the world.
- Through Outward Bound, people learn that change is always possible and we are always better together.
I’d like to share some impact data we gathered via an evaluation tool VOBS developed with The Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement at the University of Minnesota. The following data on teamwork is pulled from a comprehensive 2018 CAREI report that measured the impact of a Leadership Expedition with 35 young men from The Fellowship Initiative. We surveyed the TFI students pre and post-course to understand how they experienced growth on a seven day backpacking course. The following results speak specifically to positive community
development:
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Please dive in to the full report to see growth in the key domains of emotion management, responsibility, problem solving, empathy, service and more.
Gratitude needs no season, but this November, we are very grateful for our program partners and friends.
Thank you for creating community with us and endeavoring to change lives for a better world.
City Academy
Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement
Coven
Dakota County Parks
Department of Natural Resources
Discover U
Friends School
ISD 622
Macalester College
Minneapolis Parks
Minnesota Center for Nonviolent Communication
Minnesota Organization of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Minnesota State Parks
Neighborhood House
New Lens Urban Mentoring Society
Open World Learning Community
Principia School
River's Edge Academy
Saint Norbert College
Saint Paul Public Schools
Saint Philips School
Saint Thomas University
Save the Boundary Waters
Southwest Christian High School
Studio/E
The Fellowship Initiative
The Prouty Project
Three Rivers Parks District
Tundra Women’s Coalition
Ujamaa Place
United States Army
University of Florida
University of Minnesota Pre-Health Student Resource Center
University of Minnesota Youth Programs
University of Notre Dame
University of Saint Scholastica
University of Southern Mississippi
Upward Bound Metro State
Upward Bound St Olaf
Upward Bound University of Minnesota
USDA Forest Service
Washington County Parks
Washington Technology Magnet School
Youth Link
Our work gives me hope, and I want it to give you hope too.
Marlais Brand, Outreach & Partnership
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Character Education for Today's Challenges & Tomorrow's Leaders
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If you are non-profit, school, college or professional organization, you can partner with VOBS.
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