If you ask young people in Roanoke what they think about their city, chances are you might hear a few complaints. City officials want to change that with a comprehensive plan.

They invited young people to a meeting Monday evening at the Roanoke Civic Center to hear their thoughts for making the city a better place for youths. The ideas from the meeting and the ideas from another similar meeting next week will be put in a youth plan that will be presented to the planning commission and then to the city council before being incorporated into the city's overall comprehensive plan.

When Roanoke Parks and Recreation Director Steve Buschor first started talking to young people, "the answer nine times out of 10 was no one listens to us."

And when young people don't feel like they have a voice or a reason to stay, they're more likely to leave Roanoke and not return.

"We need to have economic development so that we can have young people who want to come back," said Marion Vaughn-Howard, youth services superintendent with the parks department. "You've got to have the jobs."

Now the city is making an effort to reach out to young people, through the Roanoke Youth Commission and through meetings like Monday's.

"We've never had a process like this before," said Buschor.

Under the direction of Paula Wilder, a Blacksburg-based organizational consultant, more than 100 young people and adults sat in small groups jotting down their "ideas for how to get a better future." Wilder ran the meeting under the banner of "appreciative enquiry," which she said has been very successful ("They're using it to create peace in Zimbabwe.") by asking participants to focus on the positive rather than on the negative.

"Again and again, by focusing on the problems, people lose energy for creating something better," said Vaughn-Howard.

Some of the young people at the meeting seemed to take that advice to heart. Two youth commission members, Whitney Parson, 17, and Zuri Pryor-Graves, 18, said they enjoyed the city's seasonal festivals such as the Chili Cook-Off, Dickens of a Christmas or Local Colors. But they'd also like to see more after-school clubs or athletic opportunities, such as AAU sports.

Chantell Rivens, 14, said she came to the meeting to try to help bring the city together.

"There's still a lot of youth in the streets," she said. "I think there should be more support groups."

Still, despite the city's efforts, it may not be enough to keep some of the city's younger residents in Roanoke.

"We're leaving," said Pryor-Graves, a North Cross student. Both she and Parson, a William Fleming student, are considering college elsewhere.

"Mainly because there's nothing to do," she added. "It's too late for us."