Keeping Hope Alive: How True Believers Re-engages Disengaged Youth in Chicago

Youth disengagement isn't just a buzzword: it's a reality hitting Chicago's communities harder than ever. When young people check out, they're not just stepping back from programs or school. They're stepping away from their future, their potential, and sometimes their hope.

At True Believers Community Connections, we've seen firsthand how disengagement can spiral into something much deeper. But here's what we've also learned: with the right approach, every young person can be re-engaged. It's not about forcing participation: it's about reigniting that spark that makes them believe in themselves again.

The Growing Crisis of Youth Disengagement

Walk through any neighborhood on Chicago's southside, and you'll see it. Young people who've mentally checked out of traditional programs, school, and sometimes life itself. The numbers are staggering, but behind each statistic is a real person with real potential.

Disengagement doesn't happen overnight. It's a gradual process where youth start feeling like the systems around them aren't designed for their success. Maybe they've been let down by programs that promised change but delivered the same old approaches. Maybe they've faced trauma that traditional services couldn't address. Or maybe they've simply never been given a real voice in their own development.

"When young people disengage, it's often because they've lost faith in the adults and systems around them," says Dr. Carol Collum, Executive Director of True Believers Community Connections. "Our job isn't to convince them they're wrong: it's to prove they're right to expect better."

Why Traditional Approaches Fall Short

Most youth programs operate on what we call the "one-size-fits-all" model. Show up, follow the curriculum, complete the program. But disengaged youth didn't check out because they needed another structured activity: they checked out because the structures weren't working for them.

Traditional programs often focus on deficits rather than strengths. They ask, "What's wrong with this young person?" instead of "What's right with them that we can build on?" This approach reinforces the very feelings of inadequacy that led to disengagement in the first place.

Another major issue is the lack of authentic relationships. Many programs are so focused on outcomes and metrics that they forget the most important ingredient for re-engagement: genuine human connection. Young people can spot insincerity from a mile away, and they'll protect themselves by staying disconnected.

True Believers' Revolutionary Approach

Since 2013, we've been perfecting an approach that turns traditional youth development on its head. Instead of trying to fit young people into our programs, we build programs around who they are and where they want to go.

Starting With Strengths

Every young person who walks through our doors: even those who seem completely disengaged: has strengths. Our first job is to identify and celebrate those strengths. Maybe they're incredible at connecting with younger kids, or they have a natural ability to see through false promises. We start there.

Building Authentic Relationships

Real engagement starts with real relationships. Our team doesn't just show up during program hours: we show up for life. We're at graduations, court dates, family crises, and celebrations. When young people see that we're invested in them as whole human beings, not just program participants, everything changes.

Creating Leadership Opportunities

Disengaged youth often feel powerless. They've been told what to do, where to go, and how to behave without having any say in their own development. We flip this by immediately giving them leadership roles. They help design programs, mentor newer participants, and lead community initiatives.

This isn't just busy work: it's real leadership with real impact. When young people see that their voice matters and their contributions make a difference, engagement becomes natural.

The Power of Peer-to-Peer Connection

One of our most powerful tools for re-engagement is peer-to-peer connection. Young people who've been in similar situations and found their way back to engagement become the best ambassadors for hope.

These peer leaders understand the resistance, the skepticism, and the pain that comes with disengagement. They can speak to disengaged youth in ways that adults simply can't. They're living proof that comeback stories are possible.

Addressing Root Causes, Not Just Symptoms

True re-engagement requires addressing the root causes that led to disengagement in the first place. This might mean trauma-informed care, family support services, or advocacy for system changes. We can't just focus on getting young people back into programs: we have to make sure those programs are worth engaging with.

Our holistic approach recognizes that youth don't live in isolation. Their families, schools, and communities all play a role in their engagement levels. We work with the whole ecosystem to create environments where engagement can flourish.

Success Stories That Inspire Hope

Marcus came to us after dropping out of three different youth programs. He was convinced that adults were just collecting paychecks and didn't really care about young people like him. Instead of trying to convince him otherwise, we asked him to help us design a better program.

Today, Marcus leads workshops on authentic youth engagement and has helped redesign programs across Cook County. He didn't need fixing: he needed a platform for his leadership.

Jasmine was so disengaged that she wouldn't even make eye contact during our first meeting. But she had an incredible talent for art that nobody had ever really noticed. We built an entire arts-based leadership program around her strengths. Now she teaches art therapy to younger kids and has her work displayed in community centers across the southside.

How the Community Can Help

Re-engaging disengaged youth isn't just our job: it's a community responsibility. Here's how you can help:

Listen Without Judgment: When young people share their frustrations with systems and programs, believe them. Their disengagement often comes from real experiences of being let down.

Support Strength-Based Programs: Advocate for and support programs that focus on youth assets rather than deficits.

Create Real Opportunities: Offer internships, mentorship, and leadership opportunities that give young people genuine responsibility and growth.

The Ripple Effect of Re-engagement

When we successfully re-engage one young person, the impact ripples through their entire network. They become ambassadors of hope for their peers, positive influences in their families, and leaders in their communities.

At True Believers, we've seen formerly disengaged youth go on to start their own nonprofits, become community organizers, and transform the very systems that once failed them. That's the power of authentic re-engagement.

Moving Forward Together

Youth disengagement is one of the biggest challenges facing our communities, but it's not insurmountable. With the right approach: one that honors young people's experiences, builds on their strengths, and creates genuine opportunities for leadership: every young person can be re-engaged.

The key is remembering that engagement isn't something we do to young people: it's something we do with them. When we treat them as partners in their own development rather than problems to be solved, magic happens.

True hope isn't just about believing things will get better: it's about taking action to make them better. That's what True Believers Community Connections is all about, and that's what real youth engagement looks like.

Ready to be part of the solution? Whether you're a young person looking for authentic opportunities or a community member who wants to support real change, we invite you to connect with us. Together, we can keep hope alive and help every young person in Chicago reach their full potential.

Because when we believe in young people and give them the tools to succeed, they don't just re-engage( they become the leaders our communities need.)