It seems like every week these past few months there has been an untimely death of another teen or very young adult. In the past couple of months I know there have been five that I knew personally and probably many more that will never see their parents age, their children grow, or their friends age. They have died from a multiple of reasons, from sickness, to addiction, motorcycle accidents, and suicide. But each one of the cases has been a tragedy and with most, they made choices in life that provided the chance of dying young reality.

Last week, Dominic Maiorano, of Medway, died tragically in a motorcycle accident. Dominic volunteered at FYI when he was in high school. His parents wanted him to have a learning experience of work and giving back and FYI was a place that he did outside landscaping, garden work, and many heavy duty jobs. He was energetic, hard working, and so much fun. His youthful enthusiasm made all of us smile at his optimistic attitude in life. He was a risk taker and loved to push the limits. He had afervor for living included helping so many of those who needed a listener and someone who cared—that was Dominic. And last week he died too young.

One always wonders after such a tragedy why. As a Believer, I know there is a message but have searched my mind to understand why so many in this small community. Is it because we are so bad? No, as we see everyday with all of our programs, there are many hurting people here, but we have seen the outpouring of love and work and commitment by our mentors, by the school, and by so many in the community we know how much good is in Bethel Township. Is it because the young need to be hurt? No, I know God loves everyone equally and He does not hurt like that. Then why?

I do not know the answer, but I do know it is a reminder to me to realize how precious life is and how much we, as adults and members of this community, need to do to let our young people know how much they mean to us, to give them the lessons they need to learn to survive their teen and early adulthood years, and to make sure they know they are important in this community. My organization, Family and Youth Initiatives, has a mission of “Educating Families/ Strengthening Communities”. Through this we are dedicated to helping families understand the importance of they and their young in life. Our dedication through the Parenting Network helps those with young children realize the vital skills to keep their young ones safe, and our Little Scholars works on the socio-emotional development of those approaching kindergarten age.

Our DEFY afterschool programs, our Community Connector Mentoring Programs and our Real Life...A Matter of Choices in school programs are designed to give middle and high school teens the tools needed to survive through those years and refusal skills for at-risk behaviors that might take their lives. This is a real challenge in this day of so many temptations to push the limits. We want our teens to have fun, but to also realize that one has to know the consequences before they push them too far. They need to know the choices they make may affect them for life—good or bad. And most importantly they need to know that they matter in life—that their life is important in this community.

I am tired of burying these young people. Throughout the summer FYI is going to hold a series of coffees to discuss what can be done to help our young. Please watch the papers as the coffees are announced and please come to listen, participate, and to make suggestions on how to understand our teens better. On August 11 we, in partnership with Tecumseh Schools will host their ANNUAL SAFETY DAYS. This year the emphasis will be on teens and the event will be held at Tecumseh Middle and High schools. We hope both teens and families will attend. For more information, please call 845-0403.

Pat Banaszak

Executive Director, FYI