15.09.2011
In support of youth
work as a profession and retaining universal services for young people:
1.1 This response to the Positive for Youth consultation
papers is written from the perspective of youth work as a profession and what
informal education can bring to the learning and development of young people.
The educative role of youth workers, community leaders, and other significant
adults in the lives of young people, is often something that is overlooked in
the moral panics of today’s society as
directed at young people, which are
often centred on ‘hoodies’, crime and
disorder and unemployment statistics. For
the purposes of this paper, the term youth work or youth worker is used
generically to refer to a trained
professional who works as an informal or experiential education to
facilitate learning with young people. This term can apply to
practitioners working in a wide variety of settings from mobile and street-based
projects, to youth centres, community hubs and information shops, to VCS
organisations and projects. However, it is the educative purpose and the commitment to
the growth, learning, development and future potential of young people
that binds them together as a profession.
1.2 Based on the work of John Dewey
(1859 - 1952) and the belief that “education must engage with and enlarge
experience” (Smith, 2001b,
[online resource]), youth workers work with young people in
their own spaces and settings, engaging with them on their own terms so that
they can participate in the ‘common life’ of their community (Dewey, 1915).
“An educative experience, according to
Dewey, is an experience in which we make a connection between what we do to
things and what happens to them or us in consequence; the value of an
experience lies in the perception of relationships or continuities among
events” (The Strengths Foundation 2009 , [online resource])
1.3 For Dewey,
a democratic society is more than just appreciating how government works. It is
about how communities live together, how they learn to work together, how they agree
and disagree, how they appreciate each other and their diversity, and how they
come together to support one another.
Dewey was interested in how communities learnt to do this, and his
thoughts on working with children and young people were aimed at educators,
both formal and informal, and how they could work to equip them with a range of
social-emotional skills and ethical dispositions, as well as the ability to
apply the knowledge and understanding required to participate as an adult in
society (Cohen et al., 2010).
1.4 Youth work specifically can be defined as follows:
“
The main purpose of youth work is the personal and social development of young
people and their social inclusion. Youth work helps young people learn about
themselves, others and society through non-formal educational activities that
combine enjoyment, challenge, learning and achievement. We believe youth work
methods can be applied in a range of settings by a wide range of professionals,
support staff and volunteers, and we are committed to helping people understand
and use these approaches.” (NYA, [online resource] accessed 13/09/2011 )
1.5 Throughout
this response it is the author’s assertion that the sentiments and aspirations
expressed within the consultation documents will not be realised without professionally
trained youth workers, whether full-time, part-time or voluntary, engaging with young people in their communities.
For a full range of the skills that a youth worker employs with young people,
the National Occupation Standards for Youth Work should be consulted (LLUK, 2008).
1.6 Whilst it is important to acknowledge the physical
impact puberty and adolescence has on young people, what is presented in this
part of the paper on adolescent brain development is a very limited view that must
not be separated from young people’s social, emotional and spiritual
development. The statements relating to the possible risky behaviour of young
people in groups need to be balanced against the positive role that peer groups
take in young people’s lives in relation to the search for identity, support
networks, and the journey from dependence to independence (Coleman and Hendry, 1999).
“Young people engage with others
through a variety of associations forming many different types of networks.
Sometimes each of these networks has different sets of norms, trust and
reciprocity. Social networks are not only important in terms of emotional
support but also crucial in giving people more opportunities, choice and
power.” (Wood and Hine, 2009 p89)
1.7 The quotation above is
linked to the aspirations cited throughout the Positive for Youth documents,
those of increasing the social capital of young people and enabling their
opinions and contributions to valued in order to improve outcomes and public
perception. It acknowledges the
importance of peer groups and networks in this process and the learning that
takes place through these interactions.
1.8 What is also not taken into account in this section on
brain development is the concept of learning styles, in that for many young
people, the ‘talk and chalk’ and results-driven approach experienced in formal
education settings does not always suit individual learning styles or ‘multiple
intelligences’ (Gardner, 1993). For an activist, kinaesthetic learner, the
opportunity to learn through experience alongside a significant adult or peer
mentor who supports them to make sense of their experience, is one which is much
more effective and which will have more resonance. Similarly, a reflective
learner who appears to process information and ideas less ‘quickly’ than
others, will benefit from an approach that poses questions about their experience, encouraging them to think
through what has happened and to identify their own learning.
1.9 The youth work or informal education curriculum offers
young people the opportunity to learn in different ways, and to develop skills
that might not be possible in a classroom of 30. The youth worker’s approach and
expertise as based on the principles of informal learning (Smith, 1995, 2005, Foreman, 1990) should be seen to work in parallel to formal education,
an approach that benefits those for whom learning at school is challenging, and
which enhances the learning of all young people in a more holistic way.
1.10 The views
that young people expressed in the document are positive, indicating that they
want access to significant adults and trusted professionals. Youth work is an
effective way of working with young people because they participate voluntarily
i.e. they are not forced to take part, and this enables a youth worker to have
a very different relationship with young people who may never have had a
positive relationship with an adult or who are missing key adult role models in
their lives. Starting from a
non-judgemental stance, and working with
each young person’s needs and starting points to develop relationships of
trust, the youth worker represents a trusted adult that can be accessed to help
resolve dilemmas and provide support when needed. Within targeted or referred work where a
young person has no choice about attending, the relationship-building starts
from a different point, and can be compromised by institutional structures and
or stereotypes.
1.11 When young people say that they want advice and
support, trusting relationships, recognition of the world that they live in,
advocacy, and for their social identity to be respected, they are unlikely to
find this generically in many formal settings or those with a specific agenda
or remit. For example, some faith-based organisations will not be supportive of
sex before marriage or same sex relationships. Young people therefore, need access to
informal opportunities where they chose whether they take part or not, to allow
them to explore issues related to their identity and development in a ‘safe
space’ where they will not be judged. It is this non-judgemental stance taken
by youth workers that allows young people to share aspects of their social
identity that they cannot share elsewhere, for example, coming out as gay or
lesbian, or to express doubts or anxieties about who they think they are and
who they might become. This does not just apply to those young people who are
felt to ‘have issues’ , have ‘challenging behaviour’ or ‘be a problem’: it
should be a right for all young people.
1.12 It might
be true that electronic documents are more important than printed materials to
the young people surveyed for this report, but a research by FreshMinds (2008a, 2008b) has identified that most young people who
are not in education, employment or training (NEET) do not have access to
digital media at home through PC’s, laptops, satellite providers or other means,
and that a ‘significant minority’ do not have good digital literacy skills but
would use digital media of all types more if they had better access or could
afford it. In the UK, Department for Education (Uttley, May 2010)
statistics identify that just over 10% of young people were NEET at the
end of 2008, meaning that 1 in 10 young people in the UK are potentially less
digitally literate or skilled than their ‘digital native’ peers. With this in mind, an over-reliance on digital
and electronic sources to engage young people will further exclude a
significant number (Melvin, 2011).
1.13 The Strong
Ambitions section is solid and
positively worded. However, recent cuts in youth services across the country
mean that many young people have lost the opportunity to work with trained professionals
in informal settings i.e. outside of school, and in a way that promotes the principles
voiced with the statement.
1.14 Anecdotally, many youth workers will give examples of
young people who might be under-achieving in school, but who blossom when given
the opportunity to engage through informal education. The underpinning
philosophy of the National Citizenship Service (NCS) is that of teamwork,
leadership, problem-solving and decision-making, practical challenge , and
personal responsibility, all principles that youth workers have used for many
years to engage with young people who have been turned off or excluded from
mainstream education. The difference between generic youth work and the NCS, is
that a youth worker may work for many years with a particular young person to
equip them with the skills needed to participate as an adult in UK society,
whilst the NCS offers only an 8 week opportunity of opportunity to accomplish
the same outcome. Young people who are disillusioned, disaffected and
finding it hard to engage in the first place, are unlikely to gain a sufficient
skill level to be able to compete with their more motivated peers, and there is
likely to be little or no on-going support in the community for them once they
return.
1.15 The section titled Good
Opportunities talks about ‘every young person’ and this should be applauded
because it is important that this vision is not just directed in a ‘problem-centred’
way i.e. just focusing for example, on youth crime and under-achievement. “Reaching
their full potential” will mean having a menu of choices available to young
people as ‘one size does not fit all’. However, choice is not just about having
a number of options to choose from, it is also about being able to make an
informed choice about the right path to take, and some young people need
support to be able to do this.
1.16 The phrase “allowing young people to express their views” demonstrates the
imbalance of power between young people
and adults, in that adults often deny young people the opportunity to express
their views, or do so in a tokenistic way, their views being disregarded as
‘unrealistic’ or ‘impractical’. It is more than just ‘allowing’ young people to
express their views: articulate and politically motivated young people are not
the norm, and often young people need to be supported and skilled up in order
to be able to express their views, especially in adult-run settings. They need to be supported to understand how
local democracy works and how to influence decision-makers effectively.
1.17 John Dewey and Kurt Lewin as promoters of experiential education, “both
agree that democracy must be learned anew in each generation, and that it is a
far more difficult form of social structure to attain and to maintain than is
autocracy” (Smith, 2001a).
1.18 Political education underpins the youth work curriculum
in a number of ways, from involving young people in discussion and debate about
current issues or the running of their youth project, to involvement in local/regional
groups and the national Youth Parliament. It involves building up the
confidence of young people to express their views and to be assertive,
alongside enlarging understanding of their rights as a citizen. It gives young
people a chance to test out leadership roles, to promote themselves positively
to the community and their peers, and to campaign for change or what they feel
is right. As Clay Shirky states "The
rungs on the ladder, in order of difficulty, are sharing, cooperation, and
collective action" (2008, p49 ),
and young people need to be supported to understand how to do each step, in
which order and why.
1.19 In 1915, the US Bureau of Education endorsed the
concept of "community civics" which today we would call political
education, that is, “to help the child know his community: not merely a lot about it,
but the meaning of community life, what it does for him and how it does it,
what the community has a right to expect from him, and how he may fulfil his
obligations, meanwhile cultivating in him the essential qualities and habits of
good citizenship." (Brown, 1929, p28)
1.20 The Youth Opportunities Fund and Youth Capital Fund (YOF/YCF)
now withdrawn by the current government, gave thousands of young people across
the country the opportunity to bid for money to support their own local
projects and to take ownership and responsibility within the decision-making
process, whether from a bidding or grants panel perspective. Supported by youth
workers, this was also a scheme that was open to ‘all young people’ to be
involved, offering a variety of experiences and skills that related directly to
the real world and their local community. Giving young people true
responsibility, not tokenistic or simulated responsibility, demonstrated across
England that they could rise to the challenge, showing ultimately the true
value of experiential learning.
1.21 Throughout the statement of vision, there is mention of
significant adults, trained professionals, and of building skills and raising
aspiration. How is this to be accomplished if the professional basis for youth
work is eroded and or removed, and professional youth workers both paid and
voluntary, disappear from our communities? How is it also proposed to change
the public perception of young people in this society if these same professionals
who are charged with advocating on their behalf, disappear, and services and
opportunities allowing young people to get involved in positive schemes are
being cut nationally? Again, the YOF/YCF was a prime example of where it could
be shown how young people can make a positive difference to their peers and
communities. Many young people representing their peers in the current UK Youth
Parliament may not have been able to have put themselves forward for the role
without professional youth workers in place to support and train them.
1.22 The Government’s ability to influence how the media
portrays young people and youth in the UK may be limited, however it is within
their power to support and encourage services, projects and opportunities that
positively promote and demonstrate the real potential of young people. The 3
forums mentioned, British Youth Council, UK Youth Parliament, and the Young
Advisers Charity are important in relation to the positive promotion of young
people, but a representative view also needs to be sought from young people who
might not ordinarily be involved in the national forums mentioned. A variety of
methods could be utilised to do this, from social media to face-to-face groups
but young people who feel that ‘they are not being listened to’, who are
fearful of making their views heard, or who are simply not aware of
opportunities to be involved, will need to be supported and skilled-up in order
to participate effectively.
1.23 Many young
people will say that they find it difficult to share certain things with their
parents. Youth workers offer a non-judgemental and listening ear, working from the
starting point of the young person to find solutions in a way that empowers them
to make informed decisions about often very challenging areas in their lives. Many
youth and Connexions services have facilitated youth information drop-ins and
one-stop shops, aimed at supporting both young people and parents. Again, in
this climate of service cuts, these services are either disappearing or are
increasingly threatened, and even with the current focus on targeted services,
specialist help and support is in decline for young people.
1.24 Whilst not trained to carry out family intervention
work, a return of focus to youth and community work rather than just youth
work, would ensure that there is a skilled professional workforce able to
respond to the generic needs of parents and communities as well as young people.
The youth worker as a trusted community member is often seen as a source of
support to parents and families, and some services offering specific parenting
courses and advice. It should not be overlooked that where youth provision is
embedded within a community, young people grow up and become parents
themselves, and will often continue to seek support from youth work staff and/or
offer to support the new generation of young people as they attend.
1.25 A small
number of young people experience multiple difficulties in their lives which
prevents them from engaging in education, employment or training. The
dismantling of the Connexions Service, in particular the intensive support
services across England, means that many young people for whom 1 month
represents the long-term, let alone 1 year, will be unable to access the
specific, personalised support that will enable them to re-engage with
employment and/or training. Research on young people having to access services
in what are effectively adult spaces has shown that, “a problem with invited spaces is that often deep-rooted
feelings of dependency and disadvantage undermine the possibility of genuine
deliberative decision-making” (Shier, 2009)
meaning that young people often feel intimidated when being asked to access
‘adult’ spaces for example, doctors surgeries, libraries and sexual health
clinics, and do not feel able to voice their feelings or requests about how
services are delivered. Thus, the Jobcentre Plus approach will not
necessarily be the most effective in relation to supporting young people to
acquire and develop job search skills, particularly if they are intimidated or
unwilling to enter buildings that they see as ‘adult space’ or ‘unsafe’ space.
1.26 Changes to fees and higher education student finance
will simply mean that many will discount higher education as an option for
them, even if they are eligible for support. Fiercer competition for fewer
places will further disadvantage those who need support with the application
process or who discount higher education as an option for them.
1.27 These changes are also impacting on work-related
courses, for example the training of youth workers or young people-related
professions (the withdrawal of Band C funding and the closure of the Children’s
Workforce Development Council). Closure of courses is UK-wide, alongside the
reduction in services, meaning that in the future the number of trained
professionals available to get alongside and work with young people on their
own terms will be diminished, impacting directly on the Government’s vision of
the Big Society and the involvement of young people as a valued part of their
communities.
1.28 Much has been said already in this paper in
relation to the development of personal
and social skills, and this is underpinned by the principles of informal
education (Smith, 1995, 2005) which supports
the notion that there is more to learning to be a citizen than that
experienced in formal settings. The NCS would be a valid part of an overall
programme that is open to young people aged between 13-19 but is not the overall
solution or panacea that the Government claims it will be. The field has seen
similar schemes come and go in the past – Youth Opportunities Scheme, Training
for Life, Intermediate Treatment, Youth Training Scheme - and all worked using
similar principles, their success or failure often dependent on the approach
taken to learning and the support and mentoring provided to the young people
attending. Where trained professionals
are able to develop long-term mentoring relationships with young people and
offer them positive role models, the success rate of such schemes in relation
to intended outcomes is much higher. (Research into the Effectiveness of Youth Training and Diversionary
Schemes, 2006)
1.29 In the submission of
evidence to the 2010 Education Select Committee on Young People’s Services, The
‘U’ Project, a government-funded programme lasting about 4-6 months and aimed
at young people in Year 11 about to leave school with ‘no destination’, was cited
as
“a recent example of how services across the
country worked with young people through a planned programme which consisted of
all the elements that the National Citizenship Service is embracing. The
difference here is that the young people were working with practitioners that
they already knew and with whom they already had a relationship. There are huge
strengths on this as a model, rather than a contracted-out process where the
timescale involved will never have the capacity to develop the relationships
and trust needed to really make a difference” (Melvin, 2010).
1.30 The emphasis on outdoor
education methods within the NCS is noticeable, most of the short film
advertising the scheme on the NCS Facebook page being devoted to shots of
smiling young people in the outdoors. As
stated in a recent response to the Education Select Committee on Young People’s
Services,
“Youth work practitioners are
experts in residential work, team-building, and developmental group work: all
methodologies based on a sound pedagogy and which are known to work in relation
to personal, social and emotional education. Residential work has taken a
back-seat in recent years and this is due directly to the targeted agenda and
the specified outcomes not reflecting what residential youth work can offer.” (Melvin, 2010)
1.31 Linked to the specific
methodology of outdoor education, it should be noted that this response relates
more generically to residential and group work opportunities for youth work
which might include outdoor education, but could equally be focussed on music, spiritual
awareness, football or international exchange opportunities. If the NCS is to be
inclusive to all young people, its scope needs to be broadened to be appealing
to those for whom outdoor education, or in fact sport in general, is not of
interest or perhaps not an option. It is mystifying why opportunities to use
the skilled workforce that already exists is not being maximised in relation to
the NCS , alongside 12+ years of tried and tested youth volunteering models as promoted
under the Princes Trust, Millennium
Volunteers and V.
1.32 The sections on Leading Safe and Healthy Lives and Better Support are welcomed but greater
guidance to those commissioning services needs to be drawn-up, in relation to
what ‘youth-friendly’ means in reality. The other challenge will be the
location of such services in a climate where building-based youth work and
opportunities to run drop-ins and clinics in places that young people see as
‘their space, are dwindling.
1.33 12.8% of boys aged 11-15 and rising to 9.65% of girls
aged 11-15 are affected at any one time by mental health issues, and this can
be compounded by issues of family fragmentation, bereavement, isolation,
bullying, stress, and substance misuse (Mental Health Foundation, 2011: accessed 13/09/2011). The youth work curriculum has
a health promoting stance underpinned by risk minimisation strategies which
includes work around substance misuse, sexual health, social identity,
bullying, and dealing with loss, and this work is delivered without the
imposition of a specific agenda or bias, such as might be found in a
faith-based group or a pro-life group. Youth work professionals are
well-equipped to support and challenge young people, and this is also where
young people can ask questions and seek information without being judged. Many
services – sexual health, counselling, young mums – have been run through youth
projects in order to make them accessible to young people. Again, with
diminishing building stock dedicated specifically as a space for young people,
it is hard to see how many of these additional services will continue or continue
to be accessible.
1.34 The Extended Schools initiative under the previous
government, suggested that young people’s health services could be run on
school campuses, and in some areas this has been introduced successfully with
the support of school nurses and the health authorities. However, in relation
to inclusion, this solution does not help those young people who are excluded
from the school, do not wish to re-enter a school site, or who live at a
distance from their school, for example in rural areas. A return to such
strategies may see many young people who wish to remain anonymous or ‘invisible’ in relation to accessing health
services, declining to engage, putting their future health at risk.
1.35 Health services need to go hand-in-hand with other
support mechanisms that might include detached youth workers, sports schemes,
drop-ins, mentoring, and a wide variety of skills-based projects to engage
young people in ways that will boost self-esteem and will challenge the ‘risky’
decisions that they might make about their health and behaviour. The closure of
generic youth provision in favour of a targeted approach is going to limit opportunities
to work with a wide range of young people on a wide range of issues, using the
benefit of positive peer pressure and support to promote learning. The risk of
focusing entirely on a targeted group of young people is that they miss out on
the role models that their peers can provide, and only have their own life
experiences reflected and confirmed by the others around them that are
struggling with the same issues.
1.36 It is hard to see how the focus in this document on “early
intervention” and “effective targeted services” will avoid “competing national targets, overly
prescriptive funding streams, issue-specific strategies, action plans and
guidance documents”, if specific outcomes and standards are to be achieved.
Decision-making devolved to a local level is necessary as youth work should be
driven by a needs-driven agenda, but there is also a risk of leaving young
people at the mercy of a ‘postcode lottery’ of access to services and support. A
move back to a policy statement based on the core values of youth work where
youth workers as community-based professionals work alongside young people to
respond to local and individual needs, but without being comprised by national agendas
driven by inappropriate targets, would be positive.
1.37 A ‘customer offer’ or set of standards does need to be specified
however, so that communities and young people know what to expect of services
and staff. For example, a parent
choosing childcare for a 2 year old knows that Ofsted will inspect, grade and
intervene in settings on the basis of “how well the children are looked
after - whatever their need; how well the setting is led and managed; how
children are helped to learn; and how children are helped to develop more
generally in their health and social well-being” (Ofsted, 2011).
There is currently nothing similar in place in relation to any youth provision
or setting, and the intention stated within the Positive for Youth discussion
papers in relation to not having a central workforce development lead, will
only compound a situation where a vast difference in the quality of delivery
might be experienced by young people. Early Years settings, whether a large nursery
or a home-based child-minder are subject to an inspection process and young
people also deserve to experience a safe and quality-focused learning
experience, and standards will not be maintained unless an inspection framework
for young people’s services is reinstituted across the board.
1.38 Whilst youth work focuses on the ‘transition from child
to adult’ or the period known as adolescence , strategies that enable work to
be funded with a younger age range (10-13’s), would enable early intervention strategies to
be implemented earlier. In many local authorities, particularly those without a
designated Play Service, the group of children aged between Early Years
Services and Youth Services, are currently not catered for adequately. Whilst
it is not usually appropriate to mix 10 year olds in activities with 16 year
olds, involving the older ones in the overall running of groups group gives opportunities
to develop leadership skills and volunteering, whilst providing positive role
models and opportunities for peer mentoring to the younger ones.
1.39 Whilst not perfect, the Every Child Matters legislation
brought professionals together from across the children and young people’s
sector and gave them a common language and focus in relation to outcomes.
Removing the centralised approach to workforce development in relation to
working with young people, is a step backwards in relation to standards,
qualifications, safeguarding and above all, the measurement of impact. Article
3.3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states:
“States Parties shall ensure that
the institutions, services and facilities responsible for the care or
protection of children shall conform with the standards established by
competent authorities, particularly in the areas of safety, health, in the
number and suitability of their staff, as well as competent supervision.”(UNICEF, 1990)
1.40 It will be challenging to
do this without a central lead on workforce development in this area.
1.41 Whilst it is true that
many adults who work with young people in informal settings are voluntary or
part-time, it is also true that many local authority youth settings work with
young people who do not feel that generic VCS opportunities are for them. For example, youth workers are working on the
streets with disengaged young people who are choosing not to access other youth
organisations, they are working with gang members or with those at risk of
becoming prostitutes or of being trafficked, and these are not the young people
that will necessarily be welcomed elsewhere.
1.42 Whilst this discussion
paper talks throughout of young people having access to trained professionals
and significant adults, there is an implied message that VCS youth work is good
and that other forms of youth work are not to be valued and can be dismissed,
and that is certainly what many professionals in the field are currently
feeling. It is important therefore, that
these professionals continue to be highly trained and skilled and have a sound
professional identity, so that they can advocate on behalf of the young people
that they work with, and form partnerships and networks with appropriate
organisations and agencies in order to improve outcomes. These are not things
that are easily done as a volunteer, when time and agency is often limited.
1.43 Completely removing
professional youth workers from generic work within their communities in favour
of targeted interventions, will not help to realise the Big Society aspirations
where effective community development initiatives that include young people, have
to be key, especially in the more marginalised and disaffected areas.
Recommendations
1. That
the government develops and supports a clear infrastructure for effective
delivery of both universal and targeted services to young people, regardless of
the organisational context or funding model for that delivery, and that this
reflects the role of professionally qualified youth workers as well as those giving
voluntary time. This includes the development of an inspection and
qualification framework against clearly stated minimum standards to include
both the VCS and ‘statutory’ youth sectors.
2. That
a clear focus on learning and informal education is stated.
3. That
the government reinstates a central body to drive and support workforce
development and to ensure a quality delivery to young people, and that they make
suitable provision for the continued training of professionally qualified
workers and their continuing professional development by: (a) ensuring that
such education is economically viable for higher education institutions, (b)
supporting practice organisations to deliver high quality work placements, and
(c) maintaining support for a robust validation process involving all
stakeholders.
4. That
the government align research council and other funding to the grand challenge
of delivering and evaluating effective services for young people, with the aim of
developing systematic, long term, trans-disciplinary research focused on
understanding, modelling and informing youth work practice in the UK across the
board.
5.
That a broader range of options other than just
the NCS is looked at in relation to citizenship and inclusion issues.
Melvin, J. (2010) House
of Commons Education Committee : Written Evidence. Publications and Records, www.parliament.gov.uk.
Smith, M. (1995, 2005)
Introducing Informal Education. The
Encyclopedia of Informal Education. http://www.infed.org/i-intro.htm accessed 24.02.2011, www.infed.org.
Smith, M. (2001b) John
Dewey and Informal Education. The
Encylopedia of Informal Education. www.infed.org.
Unknown (2009) John
Dewey’s work on strengths - The Strengths Foundation. www.thestrengthsfoundation.org.
