A large part of my job involves listening. I listen to news reports, legislative hearings, speeches, and community conversations. We travel the state talking about KIDS COUNT in Colorado! data and listen to community reaction. It’s rare that I get to listen to a room full of teens. I had that opportunity recently and it left me thinking about the power of our youth as a catalyst for change.
These teens are part of the SHIFT Fellowship at FaithBridge where they are learning about systems change and activating their own power as community leaders. As they spoke about their experiences navigating systems that weren’t designed for them and living in communities that are often forgotten, I was struck by their thoughtfulness, their insight, and their willingness to take risks.
Most of all, I was struck by their sense of clarity. It’s the kind of clarity that comes from actually living inside a problem or system that does not work, not the polished and rehearsed clarity of professionals. These teens have identified some wrongs that they want to right. They are clear that they do not accept the status quo. They are clear that they have knowledge and purpose and a voice that needs to be heard.
Armed with KIDS COUNT in Colorado! data and their own experiences, they went to the State Capitol and told legislators what they need. And they left frustrated. They were not heard.
Children are among those who are most impacted by public policy. Yet, children are almost entirely absent from the decisions that shape their lives. And too often, the adults designing policies on their behalf never actually sit down and ask them what they need.
Children don’t have political power. They are largely dependent on adults to represent their interests, hold policy-makers accountable, and push for change.
The decisions made at the State Capitol today will impact this group of teens for decades. Education funding, mental health services, cell phones in schools, housing, health care, and healthy school meals – these aren’t abstract issues for kids. They are their reality, the conditions that allow them to develop their full potential, or not. Getting policy wrong has serious consequences.
If we want to create equitable opportunities and outcomes for every child, we need to get policy right. Research consistently shows that gaps in opportunity, health, and education that open in childhood are extremely hard to close later. Supporting kids early is where we can leverage the greatest impact and where we often neglect to act.
The teens I met at FaithBridge didn’t leave the Capitol feeling defeated for long. They came back to their circle, processed what happened, and invited us in for a conversation. They kept going. Their resilience is extraordinary, but it shouldn’t be required. Our systems shouldn’t require young people to have to fight so hard just to be heard.
Here is what I know: The adults in that building are making decisions that will shape these teenagers’ lives for the next twenty years or more. And they do it without fully listening to them.
We can do better. We must.
Caring about children and listening to children are not the same thing. Good intentions are not enough. Find time to talk with a teen. Support programs like the SHIFT Fellowship that are building power on purpose. Ask your legislators where children sit in their policy process. And if the answer is “nowhere,” then there is work to do.
These teens have solutions. The question is whether we are ready to listen.
