Medcalf: We owe our most high-risk youth more than we’ve given them

The video is surreal. A 10-year-old boy who can barely see over the steering wheel maneuvered through a north Minneapolis playground as children on swings and slides enjoyed a sunny afternoon last month. He could have killed himself or another child.

The boy, who has not been identified by authorities because of his age, was jailed and charged last week, the latest mishap for a child who already has a lengthy list of interactions with local police, pivotal players in a system that continues to fail these children. The numerous reports of young men and women allegedly stealing cars and recklessly cruising through the Twin Cities seems less alarming now only because it has become more common.

But I’d like to believe that a 10-year-old accused of stealing a car and driving it across a playground in what could have been a tragic scenario should constitute a message that our community is facing a crisis, one that’s our collective burden to address. Our greatest priorities should be to inspire these children to believe in brighter days and hopeful futures and to offer every available resource to alter and uplift their lives.

The only reputable path for youth involved in these dangerous incidents must feature both mental health resources and restorative measures. These children deserve a chance to move forward and secure the opportunity to thrive in their adolescence. They still have time. But it’s clear that those who’ve tried to support this 10-year-old boy, including his mother, are seeking fresh solutions that entail more immediate assistance and measures.

It’s easy for people to decide that this 10-year-old boy is his mother’s challenge alone but that’s the antithesis of community. It can’t just be about me and mine. The young folks taking these risks on these streets pose a threat to everyone, including themselves.

That’s why this feels so urgent.

I’ve spent the last few days glued to coverage of Hurricane Milton, one of the most powerful tropical storms on record. My brother lives in Florida so I’ve been checking on him a few times a day.

And I have been struck by the hospitality and kindness I’ve witnessed as this has all unfolded. People have offered strangers their homes, vehicles and cash. I know folks who’ve driven down to Tampa to help their friends evacuate and flee. In these moments, we often see the best in people. They all know the danger of ignoring what’s ahead.

That’s how we must treat this issue of juvenile crime in the Twin Cities, too.

Every Minnesota politician should view this as a bipartisan obligation. Every corporate leader should devote a portion of the resources they set aside for community initiatives to provide more outlets and programming to support our most vulnerable children and families who need them. And every kind-hearted, intentional Minnesotan should make the effort to show each young person in their orbit — your children, your children’s friends, the kid in the neighborhood, the child who frequents your business — that their lives have value.

That happened to me.

When I was 7 years old, I participated in a home burglary. A handful of older kids, some of them in high school, encouraged me to enter the residence with them while the family had gone on vacation. I knew it was wrong, but I was hoping to find a toy or a piece of candy, honestly. Once we entered the home and I saw people tossing clothes, jewelry and other valuables into bags, however, I got scared and left.

I told a neighbor what we’d done and they called the police. I knew then that I’d never thrive in a life of crime. I had embarrassed my parents in a community that respected them and that was enough to ensure I would never cross that line again.

I had something else going for me too: hope. I did not think that way of life was my only path, however, I had already planted the seed for a journey that might have led to a more challenging life if I’d continued to commit those acts. This crisis of kids stealing cars and joy-riding is sparked by the dopamine hit and financial gain they might receive when they do these things. Those benefits alone don’t fuel the behavior, though.

I believe we have a number of kids involved in these delinquent activities who don’t care about tomorrow because they’re not convinced it will ever come, so their risks are more extreme and rooted in the idea that the present moment is all they have. At a prepubescent stage, some of our most vulnerable kids have decided that the future is fantasy. And if a young person has already reached that point in his or her life, it’s our responsibility to build a world that compels that child to cling to a more optimistic outlook, even though I understand that is not the complete solution.

Still, we can’t give up on them. That 10-year-old boy deserves our support because this is not the end for him. If he and others like him are given the tools for a restorative turn in their young lives, we may find that this is just the beginning.