Lately, I’ve been talking with a lot of kids in the city of Harrisburg. They’re all ages, from little ones to young adults, and we’re talking about all sorts of things.
Mostly, though, we’re talking about how they see the city. I keep asking them what they think of this place. How do they see other people seeing the city? What do they think the city’s best parts are? What do they think the city needs?
Specifically, I’ve been asking them their points of view of Harrisburg. Here’s what I’ve heard.
They want things to do
“It seems like every time we have something good, the city takes it away.”
So said a 17-year-old SciTech student during a discussion about what there is for young people to do in Harrisburg.
From what I’ve gathered, there’s not much.
Sure, all kids say that about their hometown, but, in the city of Harrisburg, it’s a bit different.
This is a city so, by its very definition, there should be a variety of options for the kids, from shopping spots and entertainment venues to skate parks and diners. But, around here, there really aren’t many places for kids to gather. Yes, there’s the Boys and Girls Club, Harrisburg Police Activity League and the Bethesda Youth group, all of which have youth activities. However, this isn’t for everyone, especially the teenagers of our city.
They don’t always want to do something so organized. They simply want to meet up with each other and chill in a cool city space.
“So many people think that all of us Harrisburg kids are bad. We’re not. But there’s not much for us to do. There used to be a skating rink out on Derry Street. That’s gone. Music? We don’t have anywhere to see it or perform. We’re too young for most places. The nearest mall is awful. We don’t have any place to go and just hang out with our friends.”
Think about it. They’re right.
They want people to talk to and ways to express themselves
When I get together with the older kids, I push them to learn Harrisburg stories, history, people and facts.
Sometimes, I push hard and, in response to one such push, a young lady said to me, “Miss Tara, you want us to go interview people, but I’ve never felt anyone ever wanted to talk with me. I mean,” and she swept her hand over the six adults in the room, “this is the first time a grownup has ever asked me what I think.”
There was a collective intake of breath in the room among those adults. We felt the impact of what she had just said.
She was a high school student who never had been asked to give her thoughts before. She never had the opportunity to converse with an adult, simply asking questions and freely discussing the answers.
It wasn’t that simple, though, because, for her and so many of her classmates, no adult had sat with them and chatted with them about their perspectives, desires, concerns, hopes and ideas.
These kids are ready to express themselves, but they need the grownups in the room to help them do it.
They want respect
Disrespect hurts. It kills. It devastates. It ruins things.
These kids know that. Sort of. They know disrespect for Harrisburg is there, but I’m not sure they know exactly how insidious it is.
What they do know is that they want to get away from it.
As a result, many of them are ready to leave this place just to get away from the contempt.
They hear/see/experience disrespect for their hometown all of the time. They see the bleeding headlines on the news. They hear people say awful things. They know the horror stories, many of which are not true from their points of view.
In February, I attended a gathering at Messiah College. It was at the president’s house after Michele Norris of NPR notoriety gave a talk entitled, “Eavesdropping on America’s Conversation on Race.”
A Harrisburg student from Rowland Middle School was there dressed and poised for the occasion. Initially, I was just impressed with her mature presence and good manners.
Then I started talking to her about our city.
She spoke of perceptions. She spoke of misconceptions.
Her words to me were short and sweet, but they conveyed a young person with keen awareness and wisdom.
She knows that a lot of people talk bad about the city, and she knows it hurts everyone who lives here.
“There are so many people that say so many terrible things about Harrisburg that if we don’t start showing how much good is here, then well, we’re just going to get crushed.”
She’s right.
Ultimately, we have to remember that, with every generalization, with every stereotype so rudely stated, there’s a young person who hears it.
Every time someone bashes this place, there’s a child here who feels the blow.
It’s as simple as that.
What’s especially harmful is that this place is supposed to be someplace special. It’s the capital city. It’s along the mighty Susquehanna River. It’s one of the early settlements of America.
We try to teach the youth that, yet, everyday, it gets so vehemently dismissed by too many adults around them.
When Harrisburg is disparaged—especially by the people who live merely a drive away over a bridge in any direction—it resonates with the young people who live here.
They feel Harrisburg hated. They feel hated.
Some things for us all to think about.
Tara Leo Auchey is creator and editor of today’s the day Harrisburg. www.todaysthedayhbg.com.
