Youth

Discovering Expression Through Dance At MoCo Arts

Deborah Schachter — Sat, 25 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

MoCo Arts wants to change people's lives through creative expression and exposure to the arts. One of its students, Peter Fedrizzi, started dancing when he was 13, after a friend suggested he might have a natural ability for it.

Finding Friends And Mentors Through Big Brothers Big Sisters

Deborah Schachter — Sat, 04 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Big Brothers/Big Sisters Alliance of New Hampshire matches kids with caring mentors.

Lexi was matched with her "big sister" Sarah Danforth, and the two regularly spend time together. Lexi’s three sisters each have "big sisters," too. Sometimes, all eight of them get together--for a swim, for a cookout, for a game night.

Danforth joined the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program because she wanted to enable her match to see and do things she may not have an opportunity to otherwise.

"Girl Model": A Journey of Deceipt and Exploitation

Virginia Prescott — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:00:00 +0000

The dream of “being discovered” is on parade at a casting call in Novosibirsk, one of several Siberian cities that supply the pre-adolescent, doe-eyed, “Russian look” models most desired by the Japanese fashion market. Ashley Arbaugh scours rural beauty pageants for girls, typically poor, mostly looking for a way out, and sends them off to Tokyo. That journey, marked by deceit and exploitation, is the subject of “Girl Model”, a documentary feature by David Redmon and Ashley Sabin. Together, David and Ashley have produced, directed and edited seven documentary feature films. Their latest, “Girl Model,” makes its broadcast premiere on PBS’s acclaimed POV series on Sunday.

The Young And The Jobless

Virginia Prescott — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:52:17 +0000

The International Labor Organization – or ILO -- announced last week that global unemployment has dipped to its lowest level since December 2008. However, the numbers don’t look nearly as promising for young people. An estimated 75 million people in the 15-to-24 range will be unemployed this year. The ILO warns that if these trends continue, a generation will be scarred by economic disadvantage. Mona Mourshed is Education Director for the McKinsey Center for Government , which is studying youth unemployment. Mona is co-author of the McKinsey report: “Education to Employment: Designing a System That Works.”

How Do Repeat Military Deployments Affect Servicemembers' Children?

Brady Carlson — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:14:09 +0000

Later this week 110 members of the New Hampshire Army National Guard will mobilize in support of combat operations in Afghanistan. The 237th Military Police Company will train in Texas for several months before departing to Khost Province.

77 of the soldiers are deploying for the first time. But others are on their second and third; one is one his fifth deployment.

It’s those repeated deployments that have been a signature of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq – and a researcher at UNH, they could take a toll on servicemembers’ families.

Deadly 'Choking Game' Comes With Big Risks

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 07:20:00 +0000

Michele Galloway went looking for her son, Connor, one morning in their Webster, N.C., home to make sure the seventh-grader hadn't overslept.

"I opened the door and I found him," Galloway said. "And he looked like he was standing up beside his bed. And I just said, 'Connor, you're awake.' And then I realized he was not awake."

She looked more closely. "There was a little gap between his feet and the floor," she said.

High Court Debates Life Without Parole For Juveniles

Nina Totenberg — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 22:14:00 +0000

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in two murder cases testing whether it is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a 14-year-old to life in prison without the possibility of parole. There are currently 79 people serving such life terms for crimes committed when they were 14 or younger.

The American legal system treats minors as both less culpable and less responsible. Fourteen-year-olds, for instance, are not allowed to drink, marry, vote or even drive.

Without Parole, Juveniles Face Bleak Life In Prison

Carrie Johnson — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:11:00 +0000

We hear a lot about juvenile offenders when they commit a crime — and again, when they're sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison. But not much is known about what happens after the prison gates slam shut.

For the first time, researchers are starting to fill in the blanks — with a survey of nearly 1,600 young people serving life without the possibility of parole. They say the U.S.

Do Juvenile Killers Deserve Life Behind Bars?

Nina Totenberg — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 08:14:00 +0000

The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday in two homicide cases testing whether it is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a 14-year-old to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

There are currently 79 of these juvenile killers who will die in prison. What's more, in many states, the penalty is mandatory, meaning neither judge nor jury is allowed to consider the youngster's age or background in meting out the sentence.

In cases dealing with punishment for juveniles, context is everything.

Boys & Girls Club of Manchester

Deborah Schachter — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Yawa Agbenowossi came to the United States from Togo, in West Africa, as a young child. She discovered the Boys & Girls Club of Manchester when she was in middle school.

“If you tell me yours, I’ll tell you mine.”

Virginia Prescott — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:09:24 +0000

The new token of love among teenagers is the sharing of online passwords. An expert warns about the risks associated with this latest token of adolescent affection.

A War To Watch: YouTube Takes On Television

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:26:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeKSiCQkPw

Stealing their future...

Virginia Prescott — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:36:06 +0000

As if foster kids don't have enough to deal with, now, they're increasingly the target of identity thieves.

Teen "Sexting" Not an Epidemic, UNH Research Finds

Brady Carlson — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:16:12 +0000

Here’s a story worth sharing on your smartphone: new research says there is NOT an epidemic of teen sexting.

Court-Appointed Special Advocates of New Hampshire

Deborah Schachter — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 13:35:00 +0000

Court-Appointed Special Advocates of New Hampshire provides advocates in court for children who are abused or neglected. Chris placed in foster care at age 16, was assigned a CASA worker to advocate for him. Antonia Andreoli was Chris’ advocate, and was a constant presence for him through the court and foster care process.