ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses ability to think on your feet while staying calm and focused on the dangerous situation at hand, assesses youth moods and behaviors and taking appropriate action. Youth organizations play a role in helping young people make good choices. As youth workers, it is necessary to minimize the harm of their inevitable experimentation with drugs, sexual activity, and challenging rules but all risky behavior can't be prevented. The chapter describes two youth worker stories. William and Rebecca are forced to balance the interests of young people involved in risky behavior with the safety and well-being of other young people. Both stories present the challenge of thinking on your feet in the face of youth's risky behavior. Rebecca is part of a small nonprofit organization that focuses on urban environmental and social justice. Her prior work with organizing former prisoners taught her a lot about how poor decisions as a young person can negatively affect a person's life.
