Teens Ask Bing for
Solutions to Ills

DETROIT (AP) - The burned out, abandoned house next to Shomari Raby's home is an eyesore. But it's the drug addicts who linger outside and get high within the house's dark interior that forces the 16-year-old 11th grader to walk quickly past on her journey to and from school.

"You don't know who is in there," she said. "I'm scared of being raped in that house. The other girls try to hurry up and walk past."

She and more than two dozen other members of Youth Voice appealed Wednesday to newly elected Mayor Dave Bing not to forget them as he works to find solutions to the struggling city's myriad ills.

"I think he should tear down the abandoned houses," Raby said.

It's also something Bing has pledged to do. The successful businessman and professional basketball Hall-of-Famer campaigned on the need for increased safety and supporting Detroit's young people.

After listening to their concerns about safety, blight and the need for more recreation, Bing told the group he would look into their concerns, but stopped short of making further promises.

"I'm not going to promise something that I can't keep because I lose all my credibility," Bing said. "If I promise something, I want to make sure I can follow up and get it done."

But it's not certain when any results will be seen. The city is facing a deficit Bing's predecessor pegged at between $250 million and $300 million, a nearly 23 percent unemployment rate and shrinking tax base as companies go out of business and more people flee.

The city also is operating under the shadow of General Motors Corp.'s bankruptcy filing earlier this week. The automaker employs several thousand workers at its downtown Detroit headquarters.

"These are times we've never seen before," said Carol Goss, president and chief executive of the nonprofit Skillman Foundation. "The safety net that has been available to protect families around food, security, housing, and just in general income so parents can support their children, that's just not readily available.

"Parents who have just recently been laid off don't know what lies ahead."

Skillman works with other organizations and the city to provide Detroit youth with opportunities, including elusive summer jobs.

"They are definitely looking for ways to make money," Goss said. "They are very much aware that their families are economically stressed and they want to contribute."

Many jobs that historically have been filled by high school and college students on summer break are being taken by adults left unemployed by the sour economy.

"We know it's very competitive," said Jim Rhein, a market analyst for the state of Michigan. "In times of great economic stress, sometimes youth get forced out of jobs that they normally would have a shot at."

Rhein said youth unemployment figures are not kept by the state, but that the numbers typically are much higher than adult unemployment rates.

"Some 18- and 19-year-olds are trying to save up for college," he said. "It's not just a situation where this is just pocket money."

Edgar Gomez, like many teens, has had no luck in landing work this summer.

"I can't find one no where," the 18-year-old high school junior told The Associated Press before the meeting with Bing.

His worry is that no jobs and a lack of recreational opportunities throughout Detroit will be a bad mix for the city's youth.

"We're not getting what we need," Gomez said. "Many kids really don't have nothing to do. Our parks are never clean, there are few activities. Around these neighborhoods there are so many gangs and violence. If they have nothing to do, of course they are going to get involved."

Members of Youth Voice are hoping that Bing's leadership can help change things, said 18-year-old high school senior Leon Vaughn.

"You see things every day. You become used to them, like desensitized," he said. "All the hardships make you more aware of the city and make you want to change more.

"I really hope he invests more in youth development and leadership, and not forget about the youth while trying to get GM back on track."

Vaughn graduates Monday and plans on attending Xavier University in New Orleans in the fall. Like other members of Youth Voice, he works as a peer counselor with Southwest Counseling Services.

But it took his own run-in with the law to put Vaughn on a better path in life.

As a sophomore, he got into an altercation with Detroit police following a high school football game.

"The police were trying to get me to leave, but I was waiting for my ride," he said. "I was leaving out the gate and he was talking trash to me. The officer pushed me. I snapped and I swung on him."

Six officers wrestled Vaughn to the ground and sprayed him with mace. He was charged with assault and battery against a police officer, spent two weeks in a juvenile facility and a year-and-a-half on probation.

"A lot of folks are not motivated and that's when the trouble starts," Vaughn said. "Give kids a job and a place to be creative."