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At-Risk Muslim Youth: The HOPE Project
11-19-2014
“Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (The Qurna, 13:11) If you are a parent the term at risk youth will resonate with you because you have been in situations where you felt the need to protect your child from societal factors. However how many times has the door been slammed shut and your child still went out even though you had warned them. We could start off by yelling at them as soon as they come home at midnight but where would that lead us as parents. Our children will become even more distanced from us and they will continue to go against our authority. Surat Ali-’ Imran, Verse 159 : “It is by Allah’s mercy that you are gentle to them; and had you been harsh and hardhearted, surely they would have scattered from around you.”
“At risk youth are often identified after running away, skipping school, drinking under age, engaging in sexual behavior, displaying disruptive behavior, bullying/harassment, fighting, and committing acts of vandalism” (NCSE, 2014). These are often precursors that can lead into addictions and behavioural challenges; these youth become vulnerable. In our community there is a broken link to getting these youth help. There is nothing in our youth’s genetics, character, or personality that drives them to addictions or disruptive behaviors. The conditions in their lives that cause stress, pain, or anxiety or shame or failure lead to addictions and other behavioral challenges. They are doing damaging things to themselves like losing lives, losing family, losing children, their dignity, their bodies, their earthly possessions, and yet they persist. It is not possible to answer the question about addictions if it is seen as weakness of will, moral failure, or a bad decision that people make. It is much deeper than that.
Ibrahim Long (2010) wrote an article on how to respond to at risk youth:
“Muslim youth encounter biological, psychological, and social developmental changes which influence how they experience and perceive the world around them. In addition to these—and the parental pressure to maintain cultural and religious customs.” Subhan Allah, the amount of pressure put on Muslim youth is immeasurable, from the pressures at home, to school to their circle of peers they are caught in the middle.
There is still hope. Al-?amdulillah the Muslim Food Bank has introduced the HOPE Project to support and empower our youth which will work towards creating a safe space for Muslim youth struggling with drugs, alcohol, gambling, substance abuse and mental health issue by counseling, educating and connecting them to appropriate services in the Greater Vancouver Area. Respect, confidentiality and dignity are the core guiding principles of the HOPE Project. We are currently accepting cases and recruiting youth case workers for this project. If you, your children or anybody around you need support, please call 1-866-824-2525 ext 201 or hope@muslimfoodbank.com. Please support us by visiting our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Healingforaddicts.
References:
Long, I. (2010). “What happened to Ahmad?”: Responding to Muslim Youth at Risk. Retrieved from
http://ibrahimlong.com/2010/12/30/%E2%80%9Cwhatever-happened-to-ahmad%E2%80%9D/
NSCE, 2014. At Risk Youth. Retrieved from http://www.schoolengagement.org/index.cfm/index.cfm/At-risk%20Youth
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