No matter how well you believe your community is doing economically, more economic growth is always needed to provide more jobs, improve schools, repair roads, and so on. Through whatever means you get your news, the messages all seem the same -- “attract more businesses,” “create ‘shovel-ready’ jobs,” “cut spending,” and here’s my favorite, “RAISE TAXES.” With all of the talking heads giving government leaders advice on how to improve the economy, you never hear suggestions for preventing economic decline in the first place.
When I have a cold, I try to stay warm, eat better, and get plenty of sleep. Otherwise my cold could turn into pneumonia. The few dollars that I spend turning up the heat in my house and buying chicken soup is nothing compared to the medical bill that I would receive after being treated for pneumonia. The same is quite true for treating the symptoms of a community’s economic decline. Prevention is far less expensive than treating the symptoms.
Unemployment places a tremendous financial burden on our state and its taxpayers. The longer that a man or woman is jobless, the more difficult it becomes for them to find a job, and the more likely it is that they will receive or continue to receive welfare benefits. The economic development of any community improves as more people find jobs, buy homes, cars, insurance, groceries, and more.
Programs like: A Positive Approach to Teen Health (PATH) help teens make healthy choices, thereby preventing many of the unhealthy choices that lead to teen pregnancy, substance abuse, violence, and yes … joblessness.
Consider these:
PATH is a nonprofit organization that is helping teens to set positive goals, abstain from sex before marriage preventing teen pregnancies, and to avoid substance abuse, relationship violence, and bullying.
PREVENTION is what PATH is all about.
Check us out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/aPositiveApproachToTeenHealth?ref=hl
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