Neena Viel (Photo by Robert Fogarty)
Dear Clinton is a collection of photographs and letters explaining what public service bridge our students are building. This special collection was produced in partnership with Dear World, an innovative photography venture for social good.
Dear President Clinton,
People casually use the phrase, “pick yourself up by your bootstraps.” I have often thought that the speakers of this phrase have clearly never experienced a situation where they did not own shoes.
Low-income youth face a myriad of challenges: painful choices, feeling unsafe, both in their homes and communities, negative perceptions, food insecurity, and many others. Youth in this sector are more likely to face teenage pregnancy, domestic violence, drug abuse and neglect, homelessness, and a host of other issues. Due to circumstances largely outside of their control, low-income youth, often labeled “at-risk,” find the deck stacked against them at the pinnacle moments of their lives.
I am going to level the playing field by helping to shape the resilience youth already possess. Using supportive communication, I hope to better meet the needs of this demographic. Youth themselves are our society’s bridge.
Thank you,
Neena
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