Practicing from Theory: Work with Youths and Reflections on Radical Criminology

Abstract

A number of economic and social conditions confronting youths in this society are described, among them the marginality of youths' economic role, social policies and practices that increase youths' isolation from others and one another, and the interactions of urban youths with agencies designed to serve them. These descriptions are followed by a discussion of conditions in lower-income urban communities and the far-reaching ef fects on such communities of economic and social pressures. In spite of the bleak situation confronting many urban communities, and youths and service organizations within them, it is possible to envision changes in relationships among groups and the larger community that would improve the community's ability to resist economic and social pressure and loss of control over change. The author draws upon his experiences in a community agency in Chicago in considering the community, its relationships with youths, and the role of agencies assisting young people.