Voicelessness In Young People

Explain the changes faced by young people as they move from childhood into adulthood in relation to their: freedoms, rights and responsibilities.

You are an American teenager who has joined forces with other teenagers who have been dissatisfied with “the powers that be”. You and your colleagues do not feel “the powers that be” are representing you and your interests. As a result, you have decided to rebel against the tyrannical “adultarchy” and declare your independence. The goal of this declaration is to ensure that the interests and rights of teenagers are recognized and protected.

I, therefore, a student at Anaheim High School in Anaheim , California , present these facts to the rest of the country and the world. We now declare that every teen in the United States are to be free and independent as well as having the same freedom and power as adults do. We are now to be treated equal , not anything less. By this we mean , we can no longer be told what to do or when to do it. For the moral support of our declaration , we pledge our lives , and all that we

2.2: Explain the ways that young people can be encouraged to express their views, concerns and needs.

People are denied their sense of agency on many levels in regards to decision-making, freedom, and independence. The youth, as well as the elderly are either seen as incompetent because lack of knowledge or expertise. Youth especially minors are given less acknowledgment due to being such a young age, especially when it comes to medical practices. Youth are discriminated by older people, usually those who are established. For instance, youth and crime, all youth that have had a criminal record are labeled as being bad, and a lot are stereotyped into this system because they have the same attributes as others who have caused crime. The elderly gets discriminated by because they are not as able, physically and mentally, and professionals and younger people talk down to them because they think/ know that they no longer don’t know what may be the best situation for them. The elderly people get taken advantage of sometimes because of this because they are so unknowing of the continuous changes around them.

Have you ever had something taken away from you that you want back and you speak out about it? Then you are being a teen activist. Don't know what a teen activist is a

A common misconception of homeless youth is that even if they do become homeless they are not homeless for long. The National Alliance to End

The intricate nature of youth means that while some argue it is a universal stage of life, it is seen by many as a formation of sociocultural elements. Social construction can be defined as something that has been shaped by the values, interests or practices of a culture or society and this is evident in the youth demographic through its revolution in recent years. The markings of youth are social in formulation; highlighting the way in which young people have been influenced by differing trends and movements. Youth is a transitional phase, its age bracket extending and blurring; transcending global divides and traditions. Thus, it is the social context that surrounds youth which suggests that it is not a universal stage of life. Ultimately, the idea of youth when viewed in a historical and cultural context as well as in relation to other socially influenced concepts such as adulthood, can be observed as a social construction.

Youth homelessness in Australia has become a massive issue. Every over 105,00 people are homeless, which is shocking to me as I thought it would be becoming less as there should be more help out there. (Homelessness Australia, 2012 ). In 2001, there were a total of 9% homeless. According to the 2011 census, 42% of

Homelessness is described as ‘The state of having no home’, however, it is much more than this. A home isn’t a place to sleep, it is where you feel comfortable, a place where you feel safe and protected; And although so many of us have the luxury of having a place we can call home, many don’t, in fact over 0.5% of people are homeless on any given night, while this may not seem much to you, however accounting for Australia’s population, over 255,657 people are homeless on any given night. This number is even more concerning when you discover that people under 18 years of age make up 27% of the homeless population to make matters worse over 17,845 children under 12 years old were counted as homeless. Image if your son or daughter slept every night on a park bench, wondering if they would have any food tomorrow, fearing for their safety; how would that make you feel.

Kate Simonds’ Ted Talk speaks out the truth of inequity towards young people, especially on teens in regards of voicing and expressing their thoughts and ideas without being neglected. It discusses the challenges of teens’ voice being heard due to the societal perception towards the insignificance of young people’s voice as they are labeled as “naive and ignorant”. Kate Simonds’ stated on her Ted talk that “the only qualification to being a TED speaker is to have an idea. An idea you think is worth spreading” which she stated to be a problem due to her age of 17 which will lead to her idea being accounted to be worthless. To further emphasize her point of unfairness, She added humor on her speech saying “you’re only respecting me because I’m on this stage. Maybe it’s because you like my extremely high heels” which somewhat makes her acceptable to the society to be heard of as she wears “high heels” which can represent maturity because it is most common and norms for an adult to wear heels. Her introduction was well executed as she was able to outline and introduce the problem, thus, leading her to state her opinion on her thesis that “any idea should be respected no matter the age of who it comes from.” Furthermore, she discusses how unfairness towards teens are present in many different situations where adults neglect and don't respect her voice and it was stated that “according to a Life Science article from 2008, that because [she’s] a teenager, [she] can’t experience empathy which is defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” Also, argues that students are being looked down upon and she talks about the expectations from students such as following the system education and how they are not expected to oblige. Overall, this discusses how young people are often told “You don’t get it, you’re 17. You don’t deserve to have the control over what you learn” this statement is contributing factors to why many voices are often unheard because others are ignorant.

Homeless teenagers are a vulnerable population that faces many challenges just in terms of daily existence in addition to their overall development in the transitioning to adulthood. Current studies are reported to indicate that the primary cause of homeless among youth is "family dysfunction in the form of parental neglect, physical or sexual abuse, family substance abuse, and family violence." (Runway & Homeless Youth and Relationship Toolkit, 2009, p.1) Homeless youth are generally defined as "an unaccompanied youth ages 12 and older who are without family support and who are living in shelters, on the streets, in cares or vacant buildings and who are 'couch surfing' or living in other unstable circumstances." (Runway & Homeless Youth and Relationship Toolkit, 2009, p.1) Son (2002) writes that it is "...unknown how many homeless youth are out there. Most of them are not in the child welfare, juvenile justice, or mental health systems, making it difficult to accurately gather statistical data." (p.2)

When the founding fathers drafted the Constitution their main focus was creating a nation where everyone would be free from the restraints of a controlling government and treated equal. America has always been a nation of freedom, and needs to remain that way. The youth in this country is charged with the task of ensuring that America remains the “land of the free”. Without involvement in politics this is not possible. If youth are to maintain the American ideals of freedom and equality it is imperative that they be involved in politics. Voting every four years for the president, who is more of a figure head than anything else, is simply not enough. Young people need to take a more active role in politics such as running for a political office, local or national. This is the only way they will be able to put their beliefs into action and ensure that America upholds it’s long standing values of freedom and equality. The youth need to start taking action as soon as they are old enough. However, young people need to be educated on politics and be firm in their beliefs before delving into the world of politics. In recent years the youth have shown a trend of disengagement and apathy toward political involvement. According to “The Good Citizen”, a book written by Russell J. Dalton, political analysts and politicians agree that the youth are losing interest in politics and