In this week’s CFK Weekly, Caitlin Johnson linked to a study with the title Vstreet.com A Web-Based Community for At-Risk Teens. My gut reaction was to wonder whether Web-based communities are really the best type of connections for teens to be making (things like cyber sex and stalking for some reason entered my mind).

So, I had to learn a little more about Vstreet.com. At first glance, it looks like a cartoon version of the organizational and living tools that I have in both my home and work offices: an address book, calendar, chat room, bulletin board, art and writing gallery, e-mail access, file cabinets, a series of e-zines, and tips on finding apartments.

It was created by the Northwest Media, Inc., an educational and social learning product developer. An annual subscription to Vstreet.com costs $24 for a single user (organizations – any kind of organization, I was told by the person who answered the phone when I called Northwest Media – can buy subscriptions for as many kids as they like at a cost of $24 each).

Noting that the study of Vstreet was conducted by the same firm that created it, I kind of suspected that the findings might be positive: “Findings showed that the [site] was very effective in improving [user’s] knowledge of apartment hunting skills, their confidence in using these skills, and their comfort in talking to others about looking for an apartment.” Youth also became more interested in using e-mail to stay in touch and were interested in having Web sites designed for their needs.

All that sounds great. But, I have to think that a Web site that doesn’t cost the user a cent could be established to accomplish the same goals: teaching at-risk kids how to find places to live, use e-mail, and connect with their peers shouldn’t really be $24 a year, should it? Apartment guides, e-mail tutorials and positive peer connection sites are all already out there for free. What’s needed is a framework putting all this information together – and a promotional campaign highlighting that the information is readily available in one place. Maybe, I hope, a nonprofit out there already does something this?

The most resounding bit of info I took away from the study was this: “To date, attempts at using the Web to help at-risk youth have been fairly narrow in scope. Sites that merely list resources do not take advantage of the audiovisual or interactive capabilities of the Web. Some sites that focus on specific interests such as jobs or health are not designed for the at-risk population and tend to cover a very limited range of lifeskills.”

It seems to me that those shortcomings should be remedied fast. The Web’s been around long enough.

Send comments to rob@connectforkids.org.