I am obviously attracted to youngsters who are street kids.
I have worked with them full time since I was 26 years old.
They are often brought up on the
street and that is their skill, craft and employment. My youth projects have always attracted a high percentage of teenage boys who carry knives, take drugs
and are involved in planned violence (often football- and racially-motivated).
They have other attributes, such as being unemployed, being from broken homes
or handling stolen goods. They can chat normally when they are on their own but
are often aggressive, abusive, disruptive and irresponsibly dangerous when with
a group of friends.
Also we have teenagers attending who are relaxed, pleasant, friendly and
enjoy friendships and the club facilities. They may have jobs or be unemployed.
This category includes nearly all the girls but only a small minority of boys.
Those in the club who don’t get involved in criminal activity – that is, the
minority – are seen by the majority to be abnormal, or deviant!
Steve Rowgslie,
writing on ‘The Potential of Intermediate Treatment’ in New Society stated that
“The minority who are too timid to share
the joys of law-breaking
are more likely than the delinquents to be maladjusted
individuals”.
