PRINCIPLES of YOUTH ATTRACTION

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Current Environment
Like many other rural, small town communities, Washington County is facing many challenges when it comes to issues facing their youth.  They are as follows:

• Historical Youth Out-Migration Trends – As youth approach adult age they are choosing to pursue careers, find permanent residence and raise their families outside of Washington County.
• Generational Wealth Transfer – As wealth is transferred to the next generation in families, often the next generation of the family are young-middle aged adults who chose to live outside the community where they were raised and where their parents earned and generated wealth over the years, thereby lessening the resources within the community to pursue progress.
• Loss of Farms, Industry and Small Businesses – As farming and other industries become more mechanized, there are fewer jobs available.  Additionally, small local businesses struggle to maintain a storefront as they compete with large retailers for market share.  All these trends result in fewer job opportunities for youth interested in returning to or remaining in the community – forcing them to search elsewhere.
• Erosion of Leadership and Civic Capacity – Fewer young people are engaged in leadership and civic roles in the community while growing up thereby resulting in a disconnect with their hometown.
• “Where is the welcome home?” – Youth are rarely encouraged to consider making their home town their place of residence upon graduation from high school and college.  Youth are often encouraged by the community to look for bigger and better opportunities elsewhere.

Considering Coming Home
As our young people are considering moving home, they look forward to coming back to family, friends, familiarity, heritage and the memories of their hometown.  However, they are also searching for an improved quality of life, opportunity for civic engagement, options for entertainment and recreational activities as well as job opportunity.  Specifically, young people often prefer the opportunity to pursue entrepreneurship as a career. 

Youth are Critical to Rural Vitality
Rural communities need to recognize the critical part our youth play in maintaining and improving the vitality of a community.  Case in point:

• Statistics show that for each one young person who returns to their hometown, they on average result in a population boost of three people due to marriage and raising children.  These additional three people add to the pool of customers, employees, and community leaders. 
• As young adults return to a community they are looking to establish long-term businesses and accomplish specific career goals over their life span.
• Young people provide an educated workforce for expanding current businesses.
• Young adults and young families are substantial consumers of goods and services. 
• Young adults invigorate communities with new energy, ideas, skills and resources.
• Young adults and families support local institutions like schools and hospitals.
• When young people choose to remain in their hometown to raise their family they help to retain the local generational wealth.

• 7 out of 10 (69%) high school students are interested in starting their own business.
• Alternately, 86% of interested high school students rated themselves as very poor to fair on their knowledge of business and entrepreneurship.
• The Connection – While a large majority of youth is interested in starting their own business, they do not feel prepared, educated or supported in such an endeavor.

Local Facts (Attitudes & Behavior Survey in Washington County)

• Only 23% of youth (grades 6 through 12) reported feeling valued by the community.
• Only 24% of youth (grades 6 through 12) feel they are given useful roles in the community.
• The Connection – Washington County youth report feeling disconnected from the community and do not feel they are given roles/opportunities to be engaged in the community - resulting in lack of ownership and pride for their hometown.

Targeting “E” (Entrepreneurial) Youth Talent
Research indicates that a majority of today’s youth are interested in entrepreneurship.  Rural communities need to recognize this fact and capitalize upon it as a tool for community and economic development.  Communities need to begin to find the means and path to engage these youth.   A support system needs to be put in place which will equip young people with the knowledge and skills to be successful at entrepreneurial endeavors.  Lastly, but potentially most importantly, communities need to embrace young entrepreneurs by supporting their enterprising ventures. 

General Summary
As part of the Indiana HomeTown Competitiveness Program, we, Washington County, have to approach the issue of youth attraction by starting with recognizing the value and importance of our youth to the current and future success of our community.  The Youth Attraction Taskforce will begin to identify the strengths and weaknesses we face as a community when it comes to facing the issue of attracting young people to remain in, return to and move to Washington County. 

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