Youth at Risk: How to Keep Your Teen Off the Wrong Path
They called him a bad kid. Musap Abdel grew up in Calgary as a first-generation immigrant with Sudanese roots, divorced parents, and a lot of trouble around him: he was bullied, beaten up, and witnessed a shooting. Today he is a two-time entrepreneur, a design thinker, and the founder of the nonprofit Struggle Is Your Success, which helps young people dream, plan, and build their future. On the show, he explained what parents, mentors, and the rest of us keep getting wrong about the kids we label.
What "Youth at Risk" Really Means
The phrase covers more than most people think. For Musap, youth at risk are young people carrying intergenerational trauma: domestic violence and physical or emotional abuse that has been passed down from one generation to the next. It also includes kids who are racialized, marginalized, or stigmatized, kids dealing with addiction, violence, or mental health concerns, and kids with ADHD or dyslexia who were never given the right support.
What they share is simple. They don't feel they belong. They don't have the resources. They are often misjudged, surrounded by the wrong crowd, or stuck in a school system that does not fit them. The real risk is that they end up outside society altogether.
Why Immigrant Kids Are More Vulnerable
Newcomer youth are a big part of this group. They arrive in Canada without understanding how things work here, and for many, learning English is a daily struggle at school. At home, both parents are often working full time, sometimes two jobs each, just to put food on the table. Nobody is neglecting anyone. There are simply not enough hours left to raise the kids the way the parents would want to.
When parents do not yet know the systems, do not speak the language well, and have no time, a child who is drifting can go unnoticed for a long time.
The Turning Point: Kids Who Turn Leaves into Wallets
Musap's own turning point came from two things. The first was mentorship from a friend and from his community. The second was a trip back to Sudan after surviving the violence he grew up around.
There, he saw kids with almost nothing building businesses. They would take a leaf, tie two strings to it, paint it, and sell it as a slipper. They would sew leaves from two different trees together and turn them into a wallet. Living in survival mode, with little access to clean water, education, funding, or mentorship, they were constantly creating and innovating.
It changed how he saw himself. He was a privileged Calgarian, a privileged Canadian, even with all the challenges in his life. He decided he had no reason not to succeed and no reason not to give back. That decision led him to the nonprofit world and to youth education.
The Biggest Misconception About "Bad Kids"
Society, Musap said, writes these kids off before they say a word. We judge them by the chain around their neck, the cap worn backwards, how loud they are at the mall, how they talk. And once we have labelled them, we give up on them.
Behind the label he sees five things: creativity, inspiration, authenticity, a warm heart, and a willingness to learn. Many of these young people already think like entrepreneurs. They are entrepreneurs on the wrong path. The energy is already there; it just needs to be pointed towards something good.
Why Pizza and Youth Clubs Don't Work
For years, the standard answer was the youth club: sports, recreation, a place to hang out, and free pizza and chocolate bars. Musap's view is blunt. Those programs never challenged the kids' thinking. Adults decided what young people needed and handed it to them. Walk into many of these clubs and you will see teenagers scrolling on their phones, bored, and feeling forced to be there.
What was missing was a voice. Nobody asked the youth what they valued, what they dreamed about, or how they could help solve real problems.
Dream It, Plan It, Build It
That is the idea behind the flagship program at Struggle Is Your Success. Young people come in without being judged or labelled, wearing whatever they want. The only requirement is that they have a dream. It can be bold, it can be crazy, it does not even have to look sustainable yet. The program helps them figure it out, and just as importantly, gives them a sense of belonging.
The results are real. A young man referred by Alberta Health Services wanted to animate his own culture through digital design. He graduated, was featured in the newspaper, and is now paid for his animation work through a partner nonprofit. Another graduate, a filmmaker focused on the under-represented engineering sector, was named one of Calgary's Top 20 Under 20. A young woman who had been through the justice system designed a GPS bracelet to help protect Indigenous women and girls, a product she wants to sell to law enforcement. She is out of the justice system and studying technology.
The message Musap wants every one of them to hear: struggle is temporary. Used as fuel, struggle is your success.
Early Warning Signs Every Parent Should Know
Musap was honest that this is a difficult question, but there are signs worth watching for:
- Your child is not involved in anything and shows no interest in programs, visits, or community activities.
- They become very quiet, withdrawn, and stay in their own darkness.
- They stop talking or stop eating.
- Money or things appear that you cannot explain. Suddenly there is an expensive car, and nobody can say where the money came from.
But he insisted the real solution is not watching for signs. It is becoming more than a parent: becoming your child's best friend. Listen to them. Give them a voice. Look for their talent and connect it to education. If your son wants to be a basketball player, show him how basketball connects to kinesiology or sports medicine. A side talent, a side hustle, or a small business alongside school is normal and healthy. When you are present, you will see their creativity and you will see where they need you.
Sam added one thing his own parents got right: let kids explore. Try different sports, languages, and activities until you see what they lean towards. Musap agreed. Trial and error, he said, is the best way to think, to innovate, and to find out who you are.
Why Entrepreneurship Works
Why teach entrepreneurship rather than something else? Because entrepreneurship teaches you how to accept failure and keep climbing anyway. Success can look different for everyone, but the habit of getting back up is the same. For youth who already have an entrepreneurial streak, the program is not about adding something new. It is a mindset shift, and it helps them cut out the noise. Struggle Is Your Success also serves young people who are not at risk but are struggling, changing careers, or facing mental health challenges and want to build something out of nothing.
Three Mistakes Mentors Make
If you want to mentor young people, Musap's advice comes down to three things to get right:
- Don't judge. Remove the labels before you walk in.
- Don't arrive with a solution. Come in as someone who wants to listen. Most of these youth want to open up but do not know how.
- Build trust. Even without lived experience, you can be the safe space where they open up. When they do, their imagination can take you to amazing places.
His Advice to Every Struggling Teen
For any young person who is struggling, Musap's advice is short: follow who you are, believe in who you are, and make it happen. Listen to your parents, go to school, get your education, but remember you are the one in control of your journey. Ask for help, ask for mentorship, and don't be shy about it. And if you don't yet know who you are, that is exactly what a program like Dream It, Plan It, Build It is for.
Key takeaways
- "Youth at risk" covers trauma, marginalization, mental health, learning differences, and newcomer kids who are struggling to fit in, not just kids in trouble with the law.
- Immigrant youth face extra risk when language is a barrier and parents are stretched across two jobs.
- Behind the label are creativity, inspiration, authenticity, a warm heart, and a willingness to learn. Many at-risk youth are already entrepreneurs on the wrong path.
- Watch for withdrawal, silence, changes in eating, and unexplained money, but the best protection is being present and becoming your child's best friend.
- Mentors should drop the judgement, listen instead of fixing, and build trust.
Learn more about the programs at Struggle Is Your Success: siys.ca/programs. If you know a parent or a teenager who needs to hear this, please share it with them.
This article is for general information only and is not professional advice. If you are worried about a young person's safety or mental health, contact a qualified professional or local support services.