In this NBC news report about the emotional, social, educational and mental health effects of COVID on children, a researcher is quoted as saying that ”a nation of children coping with trauma, illness and disruption will need more than a vaccine to address the fallout." Indeed.
While I am enormously proud of the important work we do across all our programs to partner with families and schools to bolster, engage and educate many thousands of children and youth in our community, I am highly attuned to the urgency of this moment as life begins to slowly transition to some semblance of what we used to believe to be normal.
When you step back and look at communities and how they are structured, the core building block institutions are generally families, schools and often houses of worship. A lot happens (or doesn't) in between, however.
Like the archetypal village where responsible adults are there to help guide children onto healthy, safe paths, that is fundamentally what we do at the Y every day. Though certainly distinct from the more organic and critical nature of parental guidance, the Y's youth development work is intentional and evidence-based. This is seen across our work in mentoring, Community Schools, early childhood, camp and summer programs, youth sports and recreation, out-of-school time programs and much more. These are the places where both casual and curriculum-driven supports happen with a highly-trained army of caring Y associates.
Given COVID’s toll on children and youth, it's quite obvious that not only is this work more important than ever before, it's also urgently needed if we're to thwart what could well be the next, long-term crisis of our time. We know that the Y and other community pillars need to double down on youth development work as never before. We need the entire community to help our children regain confidence, reconnect, talk about their fears and get support to regain their footing from all that’s been lost.
There is a tremendous amount of work to be done. The good news is that the Y is already here to step up. I look forward to continuing to support the innovative work of our associates and partners as we evaluate and deploy new opportunities to do even more in the service of our children, communities and families.
All the best,
John K. Hoey
President & CEO
The Y in Central Maryland