Most people assume that you’ll have your life figured out by the time you’re an adult, though for most people that isn’t the case. Worries about your career choices and even colleges may make many nervous about starting adulthood. Clinton GO, a town initiative they started over two years ago in 2023, understands these worries, however, and is making its mission to help young adults and teens navigate the struggles of growing up, while also connecting with their community.
The idea for Clinton GO originally started when many worries about the young adults of Clinton started to pop up, mainly due to feelings of loneliness and isolation from others and the general community, with many feeling upset and concerned about the high amount of suicides present in the Clinton community.
This caught the attention of Jules Abbott, one of the original founders of Clinton GO, who had an idea on how to combat this loneliness epidemic in town with help from others like Andrea Reu, an outreach to young adults and teenagers interested in Clinton GO, and Chris Carlisle, an associate of Clinton Conversations. These efforts eventually lead to the creation of Clinton GO, which started over two years ago, mainly as an effort to start connecting with young adults in town, and to show them support and to teach them how they can navigate life without feeling unsure of what they should do, or what future endeavors in work or college hold for them.
“[Clinton GO] started as an offshoot of from the Clinton Community Conversations, which started when we had a high number of suicides in town,” said Emma Riccio, a graduate of Morgan and brainstormer for Clinton GO’s events. “[Clinton GO’s] an effort to get kids and young adults involved with the community and reconnect with each other.”
Clinton GO mainly consists of small events held throughout the year which involve young adults in the community in an attempt to get them more active and confident in themselves and their futures.
And in the future, they’re going to showcase new events such as the Junior Achievement Program, where people from different organizations come in and help teach you how to deal with certain tasks you’ll have to manage while trying to apply for jobs and colleges.
The program will include events such as personal finance, which gives young adults help with and tips on how to manage your money as an adult; interview prep, which gives young adults a chance to practice and plan out how to go into an interview for a job or business; and resume help, which lets young adults build a portfolio of their past work and community service in an organized manner to showcase for new job opportunities and college interviews.
These events are held mainly for young adults and teens who’ve either struggled with job opportunities and financing or just want to get an understanding of their future when they try to go to college or the workforce. “I think they’re really trying to push the narrative that this middle age is awkward, …there’s so much focus on high school and when you’re a young adult and are about to go to a college or make a career choice.” Riccio explained. “You’re supposed to be better at this time in your life, but everyone needs help sometimes, everyone needs a little guidance.”
Clinton GO doesn’t just cover the trials of adulthood however, as they have many more events that are relaxed and focus on the community of Clinton and the exciting things around it. One example of this is Positive Painting with Cindy, an art event where people show up and learn to paint with Cindy Stevens, the owner of Cindy Stevens Fine Art in Clinton. During the event, people are guided by Ms. Stevens and follow what she paints, letting them learn how to paint while also getting a painting out of the event.
Many other events such as cooking, hiking, discussions, and just general showcases and explorations around the town of Clinton also occur to show the young adults and teens what they can do around the town.
All of this is done, however, in the ultimate goal to showcase for young adults in town the possibilities they can have for a career and support they can rely on when they don’t have the most clear direction in life.
Clinton GO wants to be able to show young adults and teens that they’re able to come out of their shells in one way or another, without feeling the pressure of others to do so. Most people in life have the two main spaces of home and work, usually having to act one way or another around others in those spaces to get by.
But with Clinton GO, Emma explained how they want to create a third space that can foster a sense of community through people being themselves, while enjoying and talking about what they like with one another to form strong bonds. “A third space is supposed to be a space where you could do things that are not at home, school or work.” Riccio said. “And to just be creative, and be more yourself around others.”
While Clinton GO first is a place for community, it’s so much more than that. With people having the ability in the future to learn about managing their work life and finances, and also coming to the events to hang out and talk with others, while doing fun activities like cooking and painting. Clinton GO is a place where the Clinton community can really shine through, and showcase what it offers for young adults and teenagers alike. “Big change on a certain scale starts from the grassroots level, starting from the bottom.” Riccio said. “If we all wanna work towards human connection, we have to do the connecting, where it’ll start growing up from there.”