MEMO

To: Nelson Benton, Editorial Page Editor

From: Representative Mary Grant, Beverly

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Re: Editorial

 

 

As your editorial reflects today, in many ways we have very little understanding

of what works in our society and why we put our resources where we do. First of all, many communities do have youth centers and our tax dollars support programs for youth all over this state. What do these community venues provide? First of all, they add to the quality of life of the entire community. Secondly, they provide a much needed and much used venue for youth in this city in which to congregate after school and during summer hours around positive activities with adult supervision. In most families today, parents (often the only parent) are working full time, especially as children get older and a little more independent. They are working to provide homes and a life for their families and to pay for education. It is how we survive. 

 

In the meantime children also have needs. They have a need to belong and a place to go which fosters their independence and development. After school hours and summer hours are targeted across this country as needing attention from adults in our society. Mostly for economic reasons, these are the hours that youths are unattended and the hours when trouble happens. Sometimes the programs are jobs programs, some are recreational and some have homework support. (McPherson Youth Center included) What we as a society all too often fail to notice is what happens when we pull services off line, services which are invisible to many. At a budget hearing two days ago, one of the persons testifying, a previous gubernatorial candidate, pointed out that the youth violence in Boston increased in direct proportion to the decrease in youth outreach workers because of budget cuts. It was a more marked distinction than any change in police protection. The public safety agencies testified that they are focused on the need to partner with social service agencies and community programs to decrease crime and increase public safety. In human services, one always has more crises shortly after workers have been cut or decreased. What happens to our tax dollars then? They are quickly spent ten-fold on the court system, which just yesterday reported at budget hearings that they are looking for dollars for more security, on the juvenile detention systems, and ultimately on the corrections systems. In addition, we then have new adults with breaks in their education who struggle to find a job with enough pay to support them, at a time when the new jobs here require a college education. It often leads to other problems such as substance abuse, family break-ups, and poverty.

 

Over one year ago, the McPherson Youth Center had to close the skateboard park, a main attraction for many who are within walking distance. Just before closing the park, there were over 5,000 visits a year by youth. It quickly dropped to 1500 upon closure. In the same time period, we had a community presentation at Briscoe Middle School from the Lynn Police gang unit, as the principal saw some behaviors in students she had not previously seen, and wanted to catch it early. (Good for her!) What do gangs offer youth in society? They lure members by offering a place to belong. It is definitely not the kind of place that is safe or provides for any future, however, the need to belong is strong. 

 

So what are we creating? The youth center is a venue that does not cost a penny for youth to walk into, sadly something that is no longer true of after school sports. It is a program that we as adults provide when we recognize there is a need and when we can see that each individual family cannot always provide it. It is how we collectively pool our resources in a caring, needed and very cost effective way to care for each other. We are buckling under the costs of pulling out these resources across our state because of the idea that it saved us money. It most certainly does not in the long run; it costs us a lot of money, stability and security. There is a necessary balance, and this is not it.

 

And what tax money are we using to create it? We used capital gains revenue, money collected when some of the citizens of Massachusetts sold their assets. It is a more volatile source of revenue which, when committed heavily to operating budgets, causes instability in our public system. However, when it was the only source of revenue with a significant increase last year, there was an effort to return money to local communities in the form of capital for municipal needs. 

 

Until we as a society see how one part affects another, we will not make wise long-term decisions. Many experts in public service, and there are many, know too well from first hand experience that this is so. It does not make juicy stories or headlines to sell newspapers, but I cannot let these comments pass without a response. Every taxpayer in this state benefits when our youth turn out successful. Every community in this state, which provides these services, share and work with each other so everyone benefits. 

 

The year in which the city of Beverly was supposed to do the land testing happened to be the year we received the largest cut in local aid ever – 20%. While we have had some restored, it is not where it had been. Many other communities in the state never took this type of cut. We qualify for very little targeted money. We are often not poor enough to get it, nor wealthy enough not to need it. So the real story is: Beverly Able to Use Some Capital Budget Money on Clean-Up and Still Be Able to Renovate the Youth Center. It is all positive.