On November 1st, the third Jackson Grown Leader Fellowship meeting, titled “Building New Approaches,” took place with a focus on how to identify and explore the roots of community challenges. The meeting brought together Fellows eager to engage with the pressing issues affecting their community and passionate about contributing to an environment of collaboration and understanding.
Connecting Through "Learn the Leaders"
The meeting kicked off with “Learn the Leaders”, an engaging icebreaker activity designed to continue building relationships between the Fellows. Each student received a packet featuring their peers’ photos, with spaces allocated for names and responses to specific questions. Announcer and Mentor, Summer Nichols, guided the participants to partner up. She posed the first question to the pairs, prompting one student to share their answer while the other took notes under the respective photo. After both students had shared, they switched partners to answer additional questions, creating a dynamic atmosphere of dialogue.
Questions ranged from “If you had a time machine, what place and time would you go?” to “Would you rather get a million dollars or have unlimited travel for 5 years?”. Though straightforward, this exercise eased initial conversations for the day between the diverse group of Fellows. In doing so, also continued to lay a foundation of community among the students from across Jackson-Madison County.
Understanding the Complexity of Issues
Following the icebreaker, the focus shifted to the core issues the students would tackle and present at the 4th Annual “Challenge to the City” event in May 2025. Mentors encouraged Fellows to think about the roots of challenges. For example, they were asked about specific reasons a person might not have access to food instead of identifying hunger as a general problem in the community.
Fellows were encouraged to recognize that grappling with these issues is not only essential but also the most challenging part of their journey. They then broke into smaller groups, in which they discussed their topics in detail with Mentors. Each group also met with co-founder Jon Mark Walls who joined via Zoom. Speaking with each Fellow he helped the groups narrow and refine the challenges they wanted to tackle.
Identifying Community Challenges
At the end of the day the students had raised a variety of deeply complex issues impacting their community which they had observed.
Topics included:
- Cost of Living: Concerns regarding affordability and the financial burdens faced by families.
- Educational Engagement: Observations on the lack of motivation and care for education among peers.
- Foster Care Support: The need for ongoing support for youth exiting the foster care system.
- Housing and Shelter: Addressing homelessness and the availability of safe living conditions.
- Youth Gun Violence: Discussing the alarming rise in gun violence among young people.
- Mental Health: Exploring the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and seeking collaborative presentations for awareness.
- Stopping Violence: Emphasizing the need for safe spaces where youth can process their emotions as a way to reduce violence.
- Food Security: Highlighting issues related to youth experiencing hunger and food scarcity when not in school.
- Basic Necessities: Advocating for the provision of basic necessities for children
- Financial Support for Senior Year: Raising concerns about families needing financial assistance for their children’s senior year expenses.
- Substance Abuse: Addressing the growing concern of drug abuse among the youth.
- Safe Spaces: Sharing personal narratives about the challenges of finding safe spaces within the community.
- School Supplies: The financial challenges of acquiring necessary educational materials.
- Addiction and Diagnostic Needs: Advocating for better resources and diagnostics for mental health and substance use issues.
Diverse Interests Among Students
Interestingly, students expressed their concerns through various lenses, including art, child psychology, mechanical engineering, and photography. This diverse range of interests adds a rich layer of perspectives to the conversations and solutions that will emerge from this initiative. Fellows noted these persistent challenges they have seen in their lives and the lives of their peers and the desire to apply their skills, interests and energy to approaching the challenges in new, creative ways.
Moving Forward Together
As Jackson Grown continues to build new approaches to tackling community challenges, the commitment and enthusiasm of the students shine brightly. By fostering collaboration, encouraging dialogue, and emphasizing the importance of understanding complex problems, this initiative empowers young leaders to create meaningful change.
The 4th Annual Challenge to the City event in May 2025 promises to be a platform for these students to present their assessments and proposed solutions. It will showcase the power of youth engagement in addressing the critical issues of our time. Stay tuned for more updates as Jackson Grown progresses on this impactful journey!
