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What
are the principles of
asset building?
Asset
building:
Is
needed by all youth.
Research shows
that all young people&endash;regardless of gender, age,
family composition, race or ethnicity&endash; can benefit
from having more assets. While we must continue to pay
special attention to children and youth who are in crisis
and those who are at risk, the central challenge is to
generate the kind of attention that will help all
young people.
Is
provided by everyone.
In an
asset-building community, everyone works at developing
relationships with young people.
Is
based on relationships.
Building assets
calls upon every single person to build both formal and
informal positive relationships with young
people.
Is an
ongoing process.
Asset building
begins before birth or adoption, by equipping parents-to-be
with skills and knowledge to care for a baby or child, and
continues throughout childhood, adolescence, and into
adulthood.
Requires
consistent messages.
Young people need
to receive consistent messages about what is important and
what is expected--from their families, schools, communities,
the media, and other sources.
Must
be reinforced.
Assets must be
continually reinforced across the years and in all areas of
a young person's
life.
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