Asteve' "Cookie" Thomas might have been one of "my teens", but she'll never get the chance. Asteve', only 12 years old, was killed by a stray bullet on her way home from the corner store in Cleveland. She'll never get the chance to do a lot of things.
A new student at Cleveland School of the Arts she hadn't visited my branch yet, she likely would have been given a library card application in English class this week. A few of my teens knew her from class, they said had a smile for everyone. There isn't much I can do other than let them talk about it if the want and do my best to provide a safe space for them.
Asteve' died because two grown men were chasing each other down the street shooting at each other. The sad truth is that little will change in Cleveland until more of those over 18 start acting like adults and taking responsibility for their own behavior and their communities.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Not in the Handbook
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2 comments:
I'm so sorry. I know that if I were in that situation I would wish that there was more I could do as well. I've tried to put together a list of phone numbers/websites that distressed or at-risk teens can utilize, but I haven't been able to find very many teen organizations in southeast Baltimore. Still, it is posted, and maybe a grieving teen might be more likely to open up to a non-visible stranger than in a public place.
Thank you for sharing-- I feel that there is a lack of on online support community for urban librarians. The existing listservs don't seem to be very active. Feel free to email me anytime-- and I'll put a link from my blog to yours. Let's start building a network in which we can learn from each others' hard, real-life experiences!
Thank you. I'll add a link to your blog as well. I am going to suggest to YALSA that a pre-conference on urban library issues would be a good idea. We really have a very different experience in our jobs that our colleagues in the suburbs.
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