Counselors for Immigrant Youth on the Streets
Immigrant youth crisis is determined mostly by emotional and academic difficulties, not by financial ones. Two groups at either end of the economic spectrum have been identified in need of Night Owls programs. Subsisting in grinding poverty and experiencing severe social disadvantages, Ethiopian youth are in dire need of IAIC solutions. However, affluent groups of American teens have been known for decades as hard-core delinquents. Although American immigrants generally have more resources, money alone cannot afford healthy integration into Israeli society. When lacking values and supervision, affluence often exacerbates their problems, making substance abuse worse and making more expensive temptations more accessible.
Without the means to afford extra-curricular activities and supplemental academic help or the motivation to seek them out , immigrant teens fail academically. They hang out on the streets until early in the morning, sharing feelings of social and cultural alienation and experiencing frustration that their parents cannot help them. Embittered by poverty and lacking a sense of purpose and belonging, they begin to manifest high-risk behavior: chemical and alcohol abuse, dropping out of school, etc. Over 36% of FSU youth have dropped out of school - four times the national average for native Israelis!
These still normative teens need intervention to prevent them from adopting seriously anti-social behavior, and to keep them in the mainstream of Israeli youth. IAIC has developed Night Owls, wherein Russian, Amharic and English-speaking field counselors have recruited thousands of teens in coordination with community social service professionals and municipal contacts. No other government or private program takes such an aggressive and practical approach, since they do not work late night hours, and the day-time staff employ few professionals with common cultural and linguistic backgrounds - qualifications crucial to gaining the trust and commitment of these immigrant youth. Furthermore, existing projects for immigrant youth usually target those already involved in anti-social behavior, or those at the other extreme - motivated and successful adolescents for academic or other enrichment programs.
Night Owls identifies teens literally found in the streets by our outreach counselors and teen volunteers, and engages them in constructive activities, including study trips, social events, holiday celebrations, and community projects, such as activities which benefit the elderly. Counselors serve as role models and mentors who provide guidance in the often complex and difficult absorption process. Local and national steering committees oversee Night Owl operations in 20 towns, and we add a new town almost every month.
Our goal over the next two years is to apply greater resources toward adult and youth supervisor recruitment for community leadership projects. Graduates will volunteer in each locality, with the aim of giving constant access to adult supervision and programming. In 2007 students and staff from the Faculty for the Advancement of Youth at Beit Berl College began an on-going, independent project evaluation. Furthermore, the government has approved financing an academic research program to study the impact of the project.