By Katie Doyle And Karen Staller
We have met many young people at Ozone House who have endured unspeakably troubling traumas: homelessness, physical and sexual abuse, abandonment, murder of family members, all in addition to the grinding distress of poverty and discrimination. Sometimes at their birthday celebrations we hear young guests toasted with exclamations like, "He made 19!" When I was growing up, everyone I knew celebrated turning 16, or becoming 17, and I was puzzled by this use of the word "made." Then I realized that we were celebrating that the youth had simply survived. Neither they nor their parents could take their adulthood for granted.
When I was growing up, teenagers talked about fashion, dating and future plans. At Ozone House, the young people we meet are talking about similar things. But that's not all. They are also thinking about where they will sleep, whether they will have food to eat and whether they can find anywhere to be safe. They are wondering if they will make 19.
At Ozone House, we deploy our resources to guarantee that amazing and talented young people don't simply make their birthdays. We help them create the future. We do this in many ways. Most fundamentally, we provide safety: psychological and physical. We respect youth. We listen. We create an environment where youth have a voice. We celebrate diversity. We "love" unconditionally. For many of the youth that we meet, Ozone House is the most consistent source of support in their lives and the only safe place to be.
Our talented staff and board reacted with horror when Michael Brown was killed. Tragically, the young people we talked with did not. They were resigned and unsurprised that he did not make 19. They were resigned to the fact that they are invisible, or worse, expendable.
In her research at Ozone House, University of Michigan education policy Doctoral Candidate Shanta Robinson reveals that the youth at Ozone House possess exceptional resilience in spite of multiple traumas. Through extensive qualitative ethnography, Robinson found that youth at Ozone House are not passive bystanders to the future, but instead are active players in its design. This research matched our experience over the past 45 years: youth may be experiencing the social and physical conditions of poverty, discrimination and homelessness, but they are finding affirmative ways to overcome adversity and adjust to young adulthood. Robinson's research concludes that the Ozone House is more than a warm, safe space; it is an intimate place where youth once invisible become visible.
On the day after the grand jury did not indict Darren Wilson in Ferguson, our director at our Drop-In Center in Ypsilanti was compelled to post the sign pictured here. We make visible what youth should be hearing from the entire community. We must stand together to create a community where all youth make 19… and beyond.
