Some experiences in using OST in working with at-risk youth.
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The question:°ÝÃD¬O¥Ñ¦b¥H¦â¦CªºAvner Haramati¡@´£¥Xªº¡G

Dear colleagues¡F

A small city in Israel (about 50,000 people) is interested in the use of OS on the issue of coping with overuse of drugs, especially among the youth. The local agencies and the educational system feel quite helpless. Do any of you have an actual experience with this kind of OS?¡Ð¡ÐAvner Haramati, Jerusalem

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¨Ó¦Û¬ü°êNorth Carolina USA Birgittªº¤À¨É¡G

Dear Avner,
during the 90's we had many many OST meetings with two different groups of youth in the inner city. One group were what are referred to as 'street youth'. The other group were new immigrant youth generally from war torn countries. In both cases, drugs/gangs/violence were significant complex and apparently hopeless issues. We didn't have much success engaging the youth in discussions until we started having OST meetings. We then had a lot of success in keeping the youth talking with us, bringing their concerns to us, and so on as a result of the OST meetings and the follow up we did from those meetings.

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The professionals in the community were involved in the OST meetings and often were really challenged by the youth to change their way of doing this as professionals to help the youth.

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We used the OST to reach the youth in a different way as a collective instead of one to one approaches. We did not use the OST as a program to get youth off of drugs. However, from the OST meetings, several youth made decisions to change their lifestyles, developing the will to get themselves out of gangs and off of drugs and so on. We then linked the youth up with professionals and services that could best help them with this specialty area. We referred youth to the 12 step programs including Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, both of which as you probably know have a good chance of really being helpful with addictions. The OST meetings were 1. a gateway to development of the will on the part of some youth to make changes and 2. provided guidance to professionals and to the youth themselves of different ways of support.¡ÐBirgitt

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¨Ó¦Û¬ü°êBerkeley ªºLisa Heftªº¦^À³¡G

Dear Avner -
In that OST is about connecting not just to others who share your passions but also connecting to your fuller self, I have found (as you indeed have also found) that having Open Spaces both serves the individual (for example, gives the one using drugs a fuller sense of their own worth, and helping them find / others hear their own true voice) and the system (including people served by systems or services in the Open Space - as well as those who wish to serve / work in the system/service - brings the 'client's' ideas for change and needs assessment and what works back into the whole process, thus serving all. Plus the other thing you know in Open Space is that finally people can truly witness people as people (one of the recurring statements I hear in closing circle from those who were supposedly 'served' - such as youth among adults - is "finally you heard me fully but didn't feel the need to solve, just truly hear me" and "finally I found those (adults, whomever) who wish to work *with* me, not *for* me?"¡ÐLisa Heft

¦b¶}©ñªÅ¶¡·|ij¸Ì¡A§Ú­Ì¤£¶È¤î¬O©M¨ä¥L»P§A¤À¨É¼ö§Õªº¤H«Ø¥ß³sµ²¡A¦P®É¤]¬O¦b¸ò§ó§¹¾ãªº§A¦Û¤v¥»¨­«Ø¥ß³sµ²¡A§Úµo²{¡]§Ú¬Û«H§A¤]¤w¸gª¾¹D¡^¶}©ñªÅ¶¡·|ij¬J¥iªA°È­Ó¤H¡]¨Ò¦p¡AÅý§l¬rªÌ·P¨ü¨ì¦Û¤vªº»ù­È¡A¨ÃÀ°§U¥L­Ì§ä¨ì¡þ¤]Åý¨ä¥L¤HÅ¥¨ì¡A¥L­Ì¦Û¤vªº¤ßÁn¡^¡A¤]Åý¨t²Î¨ü´f¡]¥]¬A¦b¶}©ñªÅ¶¡¤¤¨ü¨ì¨t²Î·ÓÅUªº¤H¡ã¡ã¥H¤Î¦b¨ä¤¤Ä@·N¥hªA°È©M·ÓÅU¤Hªº¤H¡ã¡ã¤Þ¾É¥X¡ª¤@¨Ç­Ó®×¡ª¦³§ïÅÜ©M­«¦ô¦Û¤v»Ý­nªº·Qªk¡AµM«á¦A¦^À³¨ì¾ã­Ó¹Lµ{¸Ì¡AÅý¥þÅé¨ü´f¡C¥t¤@¤è­±¡A§Ú­Ì¤]³£ª¾¹D¡G¦b¶}©ñªÅ¶¡¸Ì¡A³Ì«á¤H­ÌÁ`¯à¯u¸Û¦aÅ鮩¨ì¡ª§â¤H·í¤H¬Ý¡ª¡]¤@­Ó¨Ò¤l¬O¡G§Ú±`¦b¶}©ñªÅ¶¡·|ijªºµ²§ô¶ê°é·|Å¥¨ìªº¡A³q±`¬O¥X¦Û¨º¨Ç¬Ý¨Ó¬O³Q·ÓÅUªº¤H¤f¤¤¢w¢w¨Ò¦p¤@¸s¦¨¤H¤¤ªº¤@­Ó«C¤Ö¦~¡A¥L»¡¡G¡ª²×©ó§A§¹¾ã¦aÅ¥¨ì§Ú¡A¦Ó¤£Ä±±o»Ý­n¸Ñ¨M¤°»ò¡F¬é¬O¯u¸Û¦a¶ÉÅ¥¡ª¡A¦Ó¡ª§Ú¤]²×©ó§ä¨ì¤FÄ@·N¡ª¸ò§Ú¤@°_§V¤O¡ª¡A¦Ó¤£¬O¡ª¬°§Ú§V¤O¡ªªº¤@°ï¤H¤F¡]¤j¤H©Î¨ä¥L¡^¡C¡ª¡ÐLisa Heft

¨Ó¦Û¥[®³¤jBowen Island, BC, Canada Chris Corrigan

Hi Avner:
I have done lots of work with Aboriginal youth in urban areas, many of which are struggling with drugs in their lives and community. We use OST as a way of bringing people together to discuss these issues and to get the youth involved in the services that can be designed and delivered to their community. It has worked best when we have had youth, government and other funders and agency representatives together in the OST. That way people can hear from each other about the realities of the drug problem, the realities of funding and the realities of providing services. That kind of heavy reality check helps people to focus their work on things that can be done rather than having detached conversations about desired futures.--Chris Corrigan

§Ú¦³³\¦h¸ò¶m§ø¦a°Ïªº­ì¦í¥Á«C¤Ö¦~¤u§@ªº¸gÅç¡A¦Ó¥L­Ì¤¤¦³¤£¤Ö¤Hªº¥Í¬¡©Î©Ò¦bªºªÀ°Ï¬O¦³ßÓª«ÀݥΧxÂZªº¡C§Ú­Ì¹B¥Î¶}©ñªÅ¶¡·|ijÅý¤H­Ì¥i¥H»E¦b¤@°_°Q½×³o¨ÇijÃD¡A¨ÃÅý«C¤Ö¦~ªB¤Í­Ì¤@°_°Ñ»P¦bªÀ°ÏªA°È¤è®×ªº³]­p©M°õ¦æ¸Ì¡C·í«C¤Ö¦~¡B¬F©²©M¨ä¥LÃÙ§UªÌ¡B¤Î¾÷ºcªº¥Nªí­Ì³£¤@°_¨Ó°Ñ¥[¶}©ñªÅ¶¡·|ij®É¡A®ÄªG³Ì¦n¡A¦]¬°¦b¸Ì­±¡A¤H­Ì¥i¥HÅ¥¨ì©¼¦¹¹ïßÓª«°ÝÃDªº¬Ýªk¡A¥H¤Î¶Ò´Ú©M¦U¶µªA°Èªº¯u¹êª¬ªp¡C¨ººØ­±¹ï²{¹êªº¨H­«·P¡A«P¨Ï¤H­Ì±Nª`·N¤O»EµJ¦b¥i¥H°µªº¨Æ¡A¦Ó¤£¬O²¨Â÷¦a½ÍµÛ§Ú­Ì­n¤°»ò¼Ëªº¥¼¨Ó¡C

¨Ó¦Û¬ü°êªºHarrison Owen

Well done Birgitt! And you might tell a little bit more. What I remember from our conversations back in those days is that the kids involved not only came back and talked - but also, and I think this is an important point, seemed to grow in self-esteem. And that, of course is an excellent way to start down the path of self-renewal.--Harrison

Birgitt »¡±o¯u´Î¡I§AÄ@·N¦h¤À¨É¤@¨Ç¶Ü¡H§Ú°O±o§Ú­Ì¤§«eªº°Q½×¦³´£¨ì¡G³o¨Ç«Ä¤l¤£¦ýÄ@·N¦^¨Ó¡BÄ@·N°Q½×¡A¦P®É¥L­Ì§ó¯à¦Û§Ú´L­«¡A³o¬OÅý¥L­Ì¨«¦V¦Û§Ú§ó·sªº³Ì¨Î¸ô®|¡A§Ú»{¬°³o¬O«ÜÃöÁ䪺¤@ÂI¡C

¨Ó¦Û·ç¨åªºThomas Herrmann

Dear Avner
I wish you the lots of success with this important work! One idea you might already been thinking about is to make sure the invitation comes from the right place. I can imagine that it would be easier to get the right participants if the ones who invite are a wider community than maybe only a public agency. I mean for example some youth organizations that have a good reputation amongst the youth that you would like to come.¢w¢wThomas Herrmann

Avner¯¬§A¦b³o¥ó­«­nªº¤u§@¤W¦³¦¨¥\ªº¶i®i¡C¤À¨É¤@­Ó§A¥i¯à¤v¸g¦Ò¼{¹Lªº·Qªk¡A½T©w¥Ñ¹ïªº¤Hµo¥XÁܽСC§Ú¥i¥H·Q¹³¦pªG¬O¥Ñ¸û¤jªºªÀ°Ïµo¥XªºÁܽСA¤@©w·|¤ñ¬é¬O¤@­Ó¤½®a¾÷ºc­n¦³¥i¯àÁܽШì¹ïªº°Ñ»PªÌ¡C¨Ò¦p¦³¨Ç¦b«C¤Ö¦~¶¡¦³¤£¿ù¤f¸Oªº²Õ´¡A§AÀ³¸Ó·|§Æ±æ¥L­Ì¤]¤@°_¨Ó°Ñ¥[ªº¡C

Chris¦A¦^À³

Good advice Thomas¡KI should have mentioned too that my youth work was all sponsored by youth organizations, planned and delivered by youth, although funded by government. That makes a difference. If you can get some time to train the youth in OST too, it goes a long way to making the day a success and leaves a capacity legacy in the community. --Chris

Thomas´£¿ô¦a¦n¡C§Ú§Ñ¤F»¡¡A§Ú¤§«e´£ªº¶}©ñªÅ¶¡·|ijÁöµM¬O¥Ñ¬F©²¥X¿úªº¡A¦ý¥þ³£¬O¥Ñ«C¤Ö¦~²Õ´©Ò­t³dµo°_ªº¡A¥Ñ«C¤Ö¦~­Ì³W¹º»P°õ¦æ¡C¡K¨º¯u¦³«Ü¤jªº¤£¦P¡K¦pªG§A¦³¾÷·|¤]°V½m³o¨Ç«C¤Ö¦~·|¤Þ¾É¶}©ñªÅ¶¡·|ij¡Aµ²ªG±N·|§ó©¹«e¨«¤@¨B¡A¤£¦ý¥i¥HÅý¨Æ±¡¶¶§Q¡AÁÙ¬°ªÀ°Ï¯d¤U¤@¥÷¯à¤O¡C--Chris

¥[®³¤jªºJudi¡G

As another example, in Alaska, a young man (17 years old) posted a topic on teen suicide, and because the stakeholders were in the room and attended the meeting, Derek received specific assistance from them on the spot -- people from the Department of Education, counselors, and so on. Chris, Michael and I were also pleasantly surprised as the Youth Court is for the most part run by Youth.

§Ú³o¸Ì¦³¤@­Ó¦bªü©Ô´µ¥[ªº¨Ò¤l¡A¤@­Ó17ªº¦~»´¤H¶K¤F«C¤Ö¦~¦Û±þªº¥DÃD¡A¦]¬°¸ò³o­Ó°ÝÃD¦³Ãö«Yªº¤H~±Ð¨|³¡ªùªº¤H¡B¿Ô°Ó¤H­ûµ¥µ¥~³£¦b¨º­Ó©Ð¶¡¸Ì°Ñ¥[°Q½×¡A³o­Ó°ÝÃD±o¨ì«D±`¥R¤Àªº°Q½×¡CChris, Michael¸ò§Ú¤]«ÜÅå³ß¦aµo²{¨º¸Ìªº«C¦~ªk®x¦h¼Æ³¡¥÷¬O¥Ñ«C¦~¤H­Ì¦b¸gÀ窺¡C

In another OST on multi-cultural issues and racism in schools here in Canada, youth wrote the invitation and invited various stakeholders, decision-makers, and press along with youth -- very inspiring and those attending went on to hold decision makers accountable. So by inviting some of those you might consider linking to the OST, youth themselves can make the link. As Harrison says, one less thing for you to do! Judi

¦b¥[®³¤jªº¥t¤@³õÃö©ó¡u®Õ¶é¦h¤¸¤å¤Æ»PºØ±Úª[µø¡vªº¶}©ñªÅ¶¡·|ij¡A¦~»´¤H­Ì¦Û¤v¼gÁܽШç¡B¦Û¤vÁܽФ£¦PªºÃöÁä¤H¤h¡B°µ¨Mµ¦ªº¤H¡A¥H¤Î´CÅé©M¨ä¥Lªº«C¦~¡A--«ÜÅý¤H¿³¾Ä¡A¦Ó³o¨Ç°Ñ¥[ªº¤H¡A¤]«ùÄò°lÂÜ¡A½T©w¨Mµ¦ªÌ­t°_¸Ó­tªº³d¥ô¡C
©Ò¥H¡A¬é­n§â§A»{¬°¥i¯à¦³?³sªº¤HÁܽШì¶}©ñªÅ¶¡·|ij¨Ó¡A¦~»´¤H·|¦Û¤v¥h«Ø¥ß³sµ²¡AµM«á´N¹³Harrison»¡ªº¡G§A´N¥i¥H¤Ö°µ¤@¥ó¨Æ¤F¡I¡ÐJudi

¥[®³¤jªºJudi¡G

As another example, in Alaska, a young man (17 years old) posted a topic on teen suicide, and because the stakeholders were in the room and attended the meeting, Derek received specific assistance from them on the spot -- people from the Department of Education, counselors, and so on. Chris, Michael and I were also pleasantly surprised as the Youth Court is for the most part run by Youth.

§Ú³o¸Ì¦³¤@­Ó¦bªü©Ô´µ¥[ªº¨Ò¤l¡A¤@­Ó17ªº¦~»´¤H¶K¤F«C¤Ö¦~¦Û±þªº¥DÃD¡A¦]¬°¸ò³o­Ó°ÝÃD¦³Ãö«Yªº¤H~±Ð¨|³¡ªùªº¤H¡B¿Ô°Ó¤H­ûµ¥µ¥~³£¦b¨º­Ó©Ð¶¡¸Ì°Ñ¥[°Q½×¡A³o­Ó°ÝÃD±o¨ì«D±`¥R¤Àªº°Q½×¡CChris, Michael¸ò§Ú¤]«ÜÅå³ß¦aµo²{¨º¸Ìªº«C¦~ªk®x¦h¼Æ³¡¥÷¬O¥Ñ«C¦~¤H­Ì¦b¸gÀ窺¡C

¨Ó¦Û¬ü°êNorth Carolina USA Birgittªº¦A¤À¨É¡G

Harrison,
Thank you for your kind words. I wish that I had written down all of the stories over the years as they happened. You are right that the OST work we did with the youth produced so much more than what I mentioned in my posting to the list. Self esteem grew, conflicts were resolved, street gangs 'left their weapons at the door' and participated in the community centers, and held regular meetings to determine the running of the centers. In other words, the youth started to expend their energies in more life nurturing activities including the running of their community centers.
When they left, they still picked up their weapons for out on the street. But with frequent use of OST meetings, a lot of progress happened. Birgitt

ÁÂÁÂHarrisonÀ°¦£»¡¸Ü¡A¯u§Æ±æ§Ú¤@¸ô¦³§â¹L¥h´X¦~µo¥Íªº¬G¨Æ³£¼g¤U¨Ó¡I§A»¡ªº¬O¹ïªº¡A§Ú­Ì©M³o¨Ç«C¤Ö¦~©Ò¶i¦æªº¶}©ñªÅ¶¡·|ij©Ò²£¥Íªºµ²ªG¡A»·¤j©ó§Ú¤W«Ê«H©Ò»¡ªº¡C¥L­Ìªº¦Û´L±j¤Æ¤F³\¦h¡A½Ä¬ðÀò±o¸Ñ¨M¡AµóÀYÀ°¬£¥÷¤l§â¥L­ÌªºªZ¾¹¯d¦bªù¤f¡A¤~¶i¤JªÀ°Ï¤¤¤ß¡A¦Ó¥B¦³©T©wªº·|ij¦p¦ó¸gÀçªÀ°Ï¤¤¤ß¡C´«¨¥¤§¡A³o¨Ç¦~»´¤H¶}©l§âºë¤OÂX®i¨ì¥i¥H´þ¼í¥Í©Rªº¬¡°Ê¤W¡A¥]¬A¤F¦p¦ó¸gÀç¦Û¤vªºªÀ°Ï¤¤¤ß¡C
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