Tuning In to the Needs, Challenges of Loudoun's Teens

A Loudoun County government agency has partnered with George Mason University to gather information that will be presented this fall at the second annual Step Up Loudoun, a conference focusing on how the community can better serve its teenagers.

The effort by the Loudoun Youth Initiative and GMU includes focus groups to be held next month at the county's public high schools. George Mason graduate students will ask teenagers what they like about growing up in Loudoun and what challenges they face. The focus groups follow a telephone survey of 600 Loudoun households that the university conducted in July and August.

The Youth Initiative, created in 2004 with support from the Board of Supervisors, works closely with other county staff to try to ensure that teenagers' needs are addressed. And youth feedback is essential to that effort, said Tim Chesnutt, the agency's director.

"You can't realistically expect to reach kids . . . without involving them in the process," he said.

In 2004, the Loudoun Youth Initiative conducted focus groups with about 500 young people. Many said they wanted more teen centers and programs to address such issues as bullying and drugs.

"What we hear all the time is what we call the 'nowhere to go, nothing to do' problem," Chesnutt said. "Our focus has been to learn how we can address that perceived gap."

To respond to such concerns, the agency has developed after-school programs to keep teenagers entertained. They include a Friday night teen center at Cascades Library and a "midnight madness" recreation program at Douglass Community Center.

This summer, the agency decided to team up with GMU to improve its data-gathering.

"One of the layers added by George Mason is that it's more scientific," Chesnutt said.

One component of the telephone survey about youth issues, for example, was that the responses from the 600 households were broken down demographically. "They asked kids, adults without kids, parents. And they all agreed that kids in Loudoun need a place to go that is safe, fun and healthy," Chesnutt said.

The county agency and GMU also organized a symposium in June for community and youth leaders. And in addition to the October focus groups at high schools, the GMU interviewers plan to have in-depth discussions with community leaders who have worked closely with Loudoun teenagers and are familiar with the services available to them.

All the efforts will culminate Nov. 9 in the Step Up Loudoun program, which will take place at the Dulles campus of America Online. Chesnutt said that 200 teenagers and about 75 adults are expected to attend and that speakers will include a representative from Helping America's Youth, a program created by first lady Laura Bush to raise awareness about challenges for young people.

The Loudoun agency then will seek support from county leaders for the additional youth services that are needed.

The Youth Initiative also launched a Web site last October -- http://www.loudounteens.org -- to give teenagers an online resource featuring listings, polls, news and things to do. In May, the agency hosted the second Loudoun Youth Fest -- an outdoor festival with games and rides that also featured information on such topics as drugs, alcohol and sexual abstinence.

To address the theme of bullying, the agency is bringing "Rachel's Challenge" to Stone Bridge and Park View high schools later this month. The audio and video presentation is based on the life of Rachel Scott, a student who was killed in the Columbine High School shootings.

To further explore substance abuse, the agency is working with the performing arts group Creative Youth to produce a musical performed by teenagers.

Student auditions for the musical are from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at the Hill School in Middleburg. For more information, call 540-687-5897.