ABSTRACT
The children and youth who live in the central cities of the United States are often described in the most derogatory terms and the communities in which they grow up are described as violent, impoverished and dangerous places. It’s no wonder that so many citizens in the United States seem to be asking, “What’s wrong with those kids that live in the hood?” Many of the approaches to working with these inner city youth seem to be based on an assumption that something is broken and needs to be fixed. In some cases, the something is broken and needs to be fixed. In some cases, the something is the youth. In other cases, it is the parents, the schools or the community. The trouble with these descriptions of inner city youth and their communities is that they, for the most part, reflect the perspectives of outsiders and they emphasize remediating deficits rather than developing resources.
