Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 20, 1993                   TAG: 9304200412
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WHAT'S RIGHT WITH KIDS TODAY?

Plenty, we concluded.

Teens getting pregnant. Teens carrying guns to school. Teens having abortions. Teens dying from gunshot wounds. Teens suffering depression. Teens commiting suicide. Teens contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Teens being arrested for drunken driving. Teens taking drugs. Teens dropping out of school. Teens landing in jail cells. Teens running away from home.

Indeed, all of these problems have been fodder for editorials in recent years. We've lamented that the lives of so many young people are being wasted or bent out of shape. We've practically shouted: Somebody, do something.

But, of course, somebody is doing something.

Consider, as one example, the 18 Roanoke teen-agers - organized as the Youth Advisory Committee - who are applying their energies and intelligence to teens' vexing ailments.

Brought together by Roanoke's Youth Planner Marion Crenshaw in the city's Office on Youth, the group meets twice a month to plan special events, such as drug-free parties, and programs such as one-on-one mentoring for younger kids.

Their aim is to prevent peers from falling into the behavior patterns that lead to drugs, crime, teen-age pregnancy and other outcomes cited above.

The Roanoke group - black, white, male, female - has also tried to help teen-agers in other Southwest Virginia communities start similar committees working toward the same goal.

It's a great idea. As Crenshaw observes, it's a misconception that teen-agers don't care about their communities. Many do, and they need the opportunity to have a say on the issues confronting their generation.

"Let them help us make the decisions. They're part of the solution," says Crenshaw, who is clearly a wise as well as caring counselor.

She and Roanoke's Office on Youth deserve credit for providing this forum for teens - not only to speak out but to be listened to. The members of the Youth Advisory Committee, past and present, are to be credited for their concern and involvement.

As for the rest of us, those who wonder what's the matter with kids today, we should know that the youthful committee members aren't isolated exceptions. That's right: Not all teen-agers are doing drugs, toting guns and engaging in promiscuous sex. Many have their heads on straight, are setting excellent examples.

And all teens, in any case, have things to say that adults need to hear. To hear, we must listen.