Understanding Biddeford’s Youth: Insights from Local Interviews
AUTHOR: Micayla Budd, HOB Summer Intern
Introduction: A Lifelong Connection to Biddeford
I’ve lived in Biddeford for my whole life, always loving being around town. Whether it was going out to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and going to see a show at City Theater or going out to events like River Jam and Winterfest with my grandfather, I have always loved being involved in seeing how our small town works and connects with the community. I am going into my senior year of high school at Biddeford High and am hoping to go to a community college before deciding to stay in state for English/performing arts, or going to New York for performing arts. I have always loved writing and being able to use my voice to educate others about things that I care about or have an interest in. I became curious about interning at Heart of Biddeford because I got the opportunity to learn about jobs I’m interested in through Jobs for Maine Graduates and Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute. Using this internship, I really hoped to be able to learn more about the young people in our town and use that information in some writings. I’ve been able to do just that. For the past few weeks, I’ve been interviewing the youth in Biddeford about things that they care about and what they want to see improved.
The Value of Youth Perspectives
Only about 30% of Biddeford’s population is teenagers and people in their mid-twenties, meaning that a small part of Biddeford is youth. But, that doesn’t mean that their opinions and the things that they see don’t matter. Over the past month, I’ve interviewed youth between the ages of 12-25 to see what they care about and what they see as important in our small but ever growing and changing town. They showed how much they care about our environment, community, entertainment, and unhoused population. These surveys were taken in person at events and over social media as well. I gathered a lot of insight, some that I didn’t think I’d see as much, and some that I thought may come up repeatedly.
Key Findings from Youth Interviews
When coming up with what I wanted to ask Biddeford’s youth, I wanted to see what our local youth saw in our town and what they wanted to improve. I set up 6 basic questions asking about their interests, what they care about, what they want other people to care more about, their needs, as well as other people’s needs that aren’t being addressed, the last question being age. I thought they would say that they cared about our environment and about our prominent unhoused population. I thought that they would probably say that those are the biggest things that they see needing to be addressed. This ended up being true. Many of the youth I interviewed brought up finding better and safer places for the unhoused and making sure that our town is clean, for people and animals alike. I didn’t think I’d see people wanting or needing more entertainment around town, as I see a great amount of things to do. But perspective can change what you see, what you can and/or want to do. Being under 18 myself, there is only so much I can do around town, but there is a lot for me to do. But, hearing people saying that they wanted more things like entertainment helped me see how diverse our communities’ opinions are.
Detailed Insights on Youth Interests
Hobbies and Activities
The first question I asked was about hobbies and interests that youth have. Many youth in Biddeford said that they have hobbies that pertain to the outdoors, entertainment, and the arts. They like reading, listening/creating music, hiking, adventuring, even skiing. They like creating their own arts like writing and drawing and creating/supporting the theatrical arts as well. I liked seeing these answers, as Biddeford is a great place for people that have interests in these. Here, we have places like Clifford Park for hiking and adventuring, we have places like Elements and the McArthur Library for reading, we have events like the Artwalk to help bring out the artist in people as well as Mill Studio Arts for people who want to create art, as well as our local ceramics studio and even the art bus. Biddeford’s music scene is also very rich, as we have events like Music in the Park every week during the summer. We also have many restaurants that host local musicians. Pertaining to our local theatrical arts, our schools have great programs for acting and watching alike, as well as our local City Theater, right on Main Street.
Youth Concerns and Desires
The next two questions I asked were about what our local youth care about and what they wish others cared more about. I found that youth in Biddeford mostly care about people in town, and the things that are central to Biddeford. They care about their families and friends, they care about people’s safety and equality. They also care about the school system and making sure there is affordable housing for everyone. This showed me that our local youth truly care about our town and its people. They care about how our people are treated and what they are going through, wanting to make sure they are the best they can be. They also wish others cared more about the cleanliness of our town and keeping spaces clean. They want others to care more about the people in Biddeford, wanting people to care more about the unhoused and drug addiction as well as kids and their experiences while growing up. These same ideas come up in the final two questions.
The final two questions were about people’s needs around town, whether it was their own, or what they believe others need. Many youth in Biddeford say that they need more/better entertainment like playgrounds and youth hangouts, as well as just general things around town like an improved school system and more/better parking. They also say that the unhoused population needs to be helped. People also see their fellow community members needing help in general. Many youth in Biddeford see that other people need more affordable housing and need to care more about the unhoused.
The last question that I asked was about people’s ages. Respondents to the in person and online surveys ranged from 12-25 years old, with about 25% being over 20 years old.
Recommendations for Heart of Biddeford
Overall, I learned a lot about our town’s youth, their cares, interests, and needs. This information can also be a big help to the Heart of Biddeford, as it can help them learn what they should do to help our youth and even help with getting them more involved in our communities. From people’s responses, HOB would want to consider creating more entertainment and events for kids under 18 as well as creating more events for young artists, helping them grow and show their talents, whether it be on a canvas or on a stage. Though HOB does have youth from the Maine Academy of Modern Music performing at River Jam and regularly has people from the High School, specifically from the Center of Technology, volunteering and helping in our community, helping to include youth even more can help our town grow in the coming years. HOB can also cater more to helping people who may not always be included because they are BIPOC, LGBTQ+, differently abled, or are living in poverty or struggling economically. These are groups that are included in HOB’s DEI Plan, as it is a plan that works to address the needs of all of Biddeford, no matter who they are. Including these groups more can truly help the community become more united and feel more welcoming and safe for everyone.