Racial minorities. - Reaching the under-served?

[TheScout]

We live in the wealthiest nation in the history of the planet. Nearly every household has a color TV, a phone, safe running water, 24/7 electricity, at least one car, the list can go on and on! Heck, I can't even think of the last time we had a famine here. Can't be said for much of the world.

[Nike]

TheScout,

 

Have you tried to start a unit in an underserved area?

 

And BTW, not everyone in this country shares in its bounty. Parts of Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta will break your heart, or they should.

[Lisabob]

Perhaps you have heard of Heifer International (if not, they're a great nonprofit and you can check them out here: http://www.heifer.org )

 

Heifer addresses the issues of extreme poverty and hunger by helping to build sustainable agricultural communities. According to their website they operate in 53 countries around the world where poverty is an issue - and in 28 states in the US.

 

US Census statistics from 2006 show that approximately 12% of Americans lived below the official poverty line that year, in the richest country in the world. The percentage of people officially in poverty in the US is higher than that for every single minority group the government tracks.

 

Yes, there is poverty in America. I'm betting it isn't that far from you, but it is easy not to see it.

 

 

 

 

[Novice_Cubmaster]

The economy is part of the problem, but not all of it. Cultural differences are another reason we're not reaching minorities. We don't live in a Norman Rockwell USA anymore.

 

Case in point - my youngest son has a learning disability & goes to a school across town that's got the resources; the school's neighborhood population is mostly Hispanic and Bosnian (go figure) - his school has no PTA. Basically, the parents weren't raised in a culture with a PTA-like organization - or possibly even parent involvement; the concept is "foreign" to them. (It's not a language issue - the school newsletter comes out in English, Spanish & Serbo-Croation).

 

I would venture that the concept of scouting is equally "foreign" to many neighborhoods where minorities are the majority. And assimiliation isn't what it was 100 years ago when my paternal grandparents immigrated to the US.

 

Even though urban Black America is a different circumstance, there isn't a widespread tradition of scouting going back generations there either.

 

How do we fix this? Ain't got a clue.

 

NC

[TheScout]

We could throw money at the problem!

[dcopel01]

I tried really hard to recruit some African American kids into our den when I was a Webelos leader. We did get one great kid who really enjoyed it. The problem was that most of his African American friends really made fun of him for being a Scout. When it came time to cross, all the Troops we found lacked any kind of diversity. He joined a Troop but has dropped out after less than a year. His culture and background also did not support any kind of campout or being outdoors. It was a shame the he did not keep going since as a son of a single mother, this would have been a great program for him. That community needs some male leaders to step up and be the ones who recruit some kids. It is a chicken and the egg kind of thing. A white middle class guy is just not going be as good to get things diverse. I do appreciate that we seem to be trying and to be talking a lot about this.

 

[jmwalston]

"We could throw money at the problem!"

 

How will this help? You apparently are under the impression that this solution hasn't been tried before. The U.S. government has spent billions on social programs and can't eradicate it. Money doesn't overcome the mindset.

 

"We did get one great kid who really enjoyed it. The problem was that most of his African American friends really made fun of him for being a Scout."

 

A big part of Scouting is acceptance and friendship. The example above shows you how the mindset came defeat the program regardless of the money available.

[croushorn]

It's pretty sad, really. We are a medium sized council and I'm involved with a lot of our council events for Boy Scouts, inlcuding weekly at summer camp, OA, U of Scouting, camporees, etc.... I can seriously think of maybe 20 black adults and maybe that same amount of black youths in our Council. Let's say I'm missing quite a few and there's 100. There's over 500 Boy Scouts in our District alone, which includes a city of about 30k population! Wow do we need to do better than that.

[Eamonn]

"That community needs some male leaders to step up and be the ones who recruit some kids. It is a chicken and the egg kind of thing. A white middle class guy is just not going be as good to get things diverse. I do appreciate that we seem to be trying and to be talking a lot about this."

 

Hi dcopel01,

Welcome to the forum.

I agree that the first step to trying to fix any problem is being aware that there is a problem. Us talking about it is a good thing.

If nothing else it does get the little gray cells working.

 

I'm not a great fan of how the Council I serve is going about Scoutreach.

I could be way off base but it seems to me that the Scoutreach program we have in place seems more about serving the needs of the Council than serving the needs of the kids. But that's another thread.

 

We might not like to say it out loud but money does play a big part in just about everything we do. The trick is spending it where it will do the most good and do what was needed and intended.

I don't by any means pretend to have the answers.

I do think that we as an organization could look at the following:

1/ Ensure that Councils hire as diverse a professional staff as is possible.

It kinda makes sense to me that if we want to really understand how a member of a racial minority feels? Ask him or her.

This might mean relaxing some of the entry requirements, but this was mentioned in the long term strategic plan.(Not just for minorities)

2/ Take a long hard look at how we do things and see if these ways work in the areas and with the people who live there.

3/Offer adults who are willing to work with units in these areas incentives to become leaders. Not payment but maybe free training's and reduced price uniforming?

4/ Have Councils find a way to help these units with finding and using the equipment they need to provide a program.

5/ Ensure that all new units have a strong foundation. Not just a few names on paper, but a unit that will be around for a while and pass the test of time. This will mean working very closely with community groups in the areas.

Eamonn.

 

 

[Eagle92]

It not just a money issue or a volunteer issue, or a cultural issue. It's a combination of issues.

 

I've done recruiting for minority scouts and have started a minority unit in the past. I had problems galore starting it. Some problems included

 

1) Charter Organization, yes they wanted the program, and yes they provided a place to meet and connected me with some adults to serve as volunteers, but they did not promote the program. Also they looked at it as an extension of their after school care program.

 

2)Getting volunteer leaders was like pulling teeth, painful. we had alot of interest for the boys, but not many adults wanted to get involved. Grant you most were working 2 jobs or were single parent households.

 

3)Finances, unfortunately the neighborhoods these kids lived in did not support self efficiency. Lots of drug problems, lots of gang violence, lots of shootings. There were a few safe, neutral places, usually churches and the recreation center, but hat was it. You definately couldn't sell popcorn in the areas. We lucked out and got a corporate sponsor for the pack and troop, but that led to problem 4.

 

4) Council was not supportive of me starting minority units. FD and myself were all for it. Got housing director as membership chair and had a council board member come to kickoff of the recruiting program. But DFS was totally against the program and said somethings I couldn't beleive.

 

5) History of segregation. I was in the south and yes segregation is still remembered. Heck I couldn't beleive that as late as the early 1980s the territory comprised 2 dsitricts, one white, one black. They did somethings together, but for the most part had their own separate calendars.

 

 

[Eamonn]

DFS?

I'm trying to work out what that is. - Help!

Thanks.

Eamonn.

[John-in-KC]

Director of Field Service. Something which larger councils have, supervising two or more FDs.

 

My council is big, E. My suburban district has a team of three Professionals: A District Director, a senior DE, and a DE. (In addition, the district director mentors (vice supervises) two rural district DEs). He reports to a FD who has half a dozen Districts under him.

 

The other FD has another 5 districts, Exploring and LFL under him.

 

Together, they report to a DFS.

[OldGreyEagle]

Dont you love acronyms? I thought DFS was Department of Family Services, the local welfare office

[shortridge]

Lisabob and others are exactly right.

 

Newspaper delivery in most areas today is an adult job. Get up at 3 a.m., seven days a week, and drive around for a few hours tossing papers. Not realistic for kids unless you're in a suburban area or small town with an afternoon newspaper - which are almost dead today.

 

Outfitting a troop with camping gear is a monumental, budget-busting task without proper community or CO support, even if you go the cheap-cheap route. You can make your own gear, but how many kids will have the motivation or ability to sew tents, tarps and packs? How many parents have that ability these days?

 

Personal gear is a similar issue. I remember a guy in my troop who showed up on his first camping trip with his clothes in plastic trash bags. He knew better, but his (single) mother just didn't have the extra cash for a backpack - he didn't even have one for school. His younger sister had Down syndrome, so medical bills, child care, food and utilities took first priority - as they must. The adult leaders helped him, out of their own pockets, and he stayed in for a while. But I'd bet we're going to see a lot less of that as the economy continues to swirl around in the toilet.

 

A nonprofit community agency in my town that might ordinarily be a great CO for a Scouting program is in its own financial straits - its office is in a cramped, tiny, run-down buildings, its workers are underpaid, its social service budgets are stretched to the max. It's not going to be stepping up to the plate any time soon.

 

What all that means, and what hurts me the most, is that this means the kids who need the Scouting program the most aren't getting it. Yes, it's a combination of factors - single parents, parents working multiple jobs, lack of savings, lack of income, the list goes on. But it ultimately comes down to money.

 

Is there any other way around the issue than to "throw money at it"? Nope. A basic rule of life is that stuff costs money, and many folks these days don't have enough of either.

 

Yes, America is relatively affluent compared to other countries. But electricity, running water, automobiles, telephones, television - all the things that TheScout lists cost money. That means people have to work harder and longer to keep up their standard of living, leaving less time - and money - for their families and children.

 

I agree with one general point - sell the xBox and DVD player. Kids don't need that type of mind-rotting trash anyway. But when there's no local park, when the only place to play is in the street, when you've got an apartment complex of latchkey kids - I'd rather have my child inside where it's safe.

 

Scouting needs to do a lot more to make the program accessible to more kids, and it WILL take money. That's the bottom line.

[Eamonn]

"Scouting needs to do a lot more to make the program accessible to more kids,"

A week or so back there was a thread about Who is the Council? (Or something like that!)

The truth is that we (Yes you and little old me!) Are the Council and the District.

We are also "Scouting"

It's us that need to do more.

We might not be able to serve in the areas where the most good can be done, we might live a long way from the inner city, but most of us can afford a few extra bucks that could be used to help.

Some of us sit on committees that could if they wanted do more.We need to start the ball rolling.

We can explain to others why in many ways it's not a level playing field for the kids from some areas.

If we do get involved, we need to ensure that Councils are spending money earmarked for Scoutreach is spent wisely and is about serving the needs of the youth not the needs of the Council, which sadly at times are not one and the same.

Eamonn.