The media seem almost to lie in wait to pounce on “the bad things” that happen in the world of child and youth care, youth detention, residential treatment and such services. Is that because we are silent ... we don't tell the world about “the good things” that happen in our programs, we feel we shouldn't say anything, or we don't know how to? What do you think? And if you had the opportunity, what would you like to say? How? Replies ... I do not think the media pounces on
the "bad things" of Child and Youth Care because the field is silent
and not telling the world the "good things" that are happening. The
media is doing their job, and if the story will catch people's
attention, then the media will print it. The other thing to remember
is that the media is not printing the whole story of a particular
case. Readers are only getting a piece of what really happened, and
it is left to the reader to create their own judgements. ____________ ____________ Fourteen year old Angela arrives at the Center. Her parents had enough and literally dropped her of at the door of the local CAS. Teachers no longer wanted her in their classrooms. Local merchants didn't want her in their stores. Her friends were "wall people", a group of teens who came out at night and sat around the Town Hall wall. She enters the Center extremely angry and unwilling to abide by House rules. Angela's social workers and probation officers firmly believed that Angela was destined for the criminal justice system. The only expectation was that the "system" provide her with a safe place to live believing that she would run and prove to the "authorities" that she was unwilling to cooperate. Something happened at this 'Center'. Angela connected with the CYC workers at this center and after three years Angela left the center. During this time she graduated from High School, got re-united with her mom and dad, did volunteer work at the Food Bank and obtained part-time work with one of the local merchants. She left our small community and entered a post secondary institution in one of our provincial cities. Angela is now preparing for graduation and has dreams of being accepted into a graduate program next year. Angela is the one that was able to turn her own life around. Her resilience was simply hidden by her behaviour in our community. However, the many CYC workers at our Center were committed to hang in with Angela, they persevered by always highlighting her strengths and being willing to take each daily situation and turn them into learning opportunities. We gave her the space so she could freely express her anger, her sadness and her rebellion without punishment. Sure there were consequences, but every action in life have consequences. We were prepared to advocate and never give up with connecting with all those other people in her life — the school, the probation office, the social workers, therapists, the doctors, the local merchants, her family. We were able to provide ample doses of attention, discipline, security, and routine. Angela quickly learned that all of us at the Center valued her as a young lady. She eventually saw our genuineness in our acceptance and eventually was able to accept some of her own great qualities. This acceptance eventually grew into an awareness that she was indeed a very meaningful person to us, her parents, school and our community. Angela blossomed as she contributed her skills and qualities to others in our community. I hear a lot from others in our community that it is really too late for the kids who are growing up in our Residential Treatment Centers. Some of these people believe that we need to invest in children under the age of six. I agree wholeheartly that more effort needs to be extended in 'preventative ' work. However, stories like those of Angela will not allow me to ever give up on the potential of our youth. Youth do have the resilience and strength to become self sufficient independent contributing members of our society. Sometimes that resilience is simply hidden by their behaviour and CYC workers are committed to assist the youth to discover their own resiliency! Hugh MacIntyre ____________ “ ... we feel we shouldn't say anything ...” — maybe that comes closest. Our profession expects from us a level of discretion and confidentiality unknown to the media. We would not identify or talk about a client outside of our program, yet if there is a problem the media will often report every detail — he said, she said, names, even pictures. On the other side, “readers or viewers have a right to know” is the moral high ground claimed by the media. We might say that the public and the donors also have a right to know the types of problems we work on — and which the community presents us with — and the rates of success we achieve. Margie ____________ Hi! I am not a Youth Care Worker yet but I am one in the making :-) I have a feeling that the role and definition of the Youth Care Worker is very much misunderstood and taken for granted. I am NOT a baby sitter and I know I have a lot to bring into the field. Here, in New Brunswick, it is extremely hard to get accepted into a Youth Care Worker college program, and the very lucky ones who do are not recognized for their potential. Intervention Worker programs are being cut left and right because of lack of funds and the ADHD statistics are sky-rocketing. I will not rest my case but that is all I have to bring for now. This "Assignment" is the beginning of something very positive. Thank you very much for the opportunity. It's very cool! Louise
Recently the Toronto media has discussed "youth workers" in regards to a young autistic female that died as a result of the restraint she was put in. It outlined how physically aggressive this girl was and that the "youth worker" only did what they had to do - restrain her. The media made it actually seem as though sitting on a person in a bean bag chair is the proper way to restrain a physically aggressive child. I was outraged. The mere mention of this "normal" restraint method scared me to think: How do parents feel who have children in group homes, knowing their child is or has been restrained? So I decided to take a stand. I wrote a letter to the editor stating I am a Child and Youth Worker student and proceeded to explain how inhumane the "youth worker" was in sitting on a child in a bean bag chair. I also outlined the CPI model of restraints, stating that children are perfectly safe if this method is executed by a trained professional. I also encourage concerned and unsure parents to contact the agency that is looking after their child to make sure each employed professional is properly trained. Let's speak up, and advocate for the voices that are all too forgotten - the children's. Numerous issues arise from all over and there are most certainly always something to write about. If everyone sent in one letter to their local or national newspaper, think of how much more informed the media and it's readers would be. Or something as simple as placing CYC or CYW on your business card or professional document. So the next time someone tells you that you are a day care worker, simply state to the person that you are a Child and Youth Worker who is specialized in working with behaviourally, emotionally, and mentally ill children. Stand proud, the work we do deserves to be acknowledged and appreciated - after all, we are working with our nation's youth. David Brennan ____________ The media, like many other institutions, have a tendency to focus on the pathology of youth and their place in society because they, the media and other institutions, fail to see youth in a multi-layered way; rather, they see youth in a linear and cumulative way, seeing youth only as youth and not as people intertwined in the full multi-layered truths and realities of society (simple answers to difficult questions, really). Thus, when there is a moral panic, related to youth, or youth care, youth detention, residential treatment and such services, etc., the blame is easily left on the backs of youth, rather than society as a whole (Example: Children's poor education is the children's fault rather than the children's schools being a part of the problem). Youth and our agencies that serve youth need to be looked at beyond simple cultural norms. We need to begin to "rethink" youth through a new understanding of time and space and most definitely focus on the thousands of variables which make youth, youth. Conservative ideas on what it means to "do" effective youth work no longer work. The media and our institutions, particularly government, must begin to look at youth work past "quick fixes." This stuff takes time. Interpersonal relationships with young people, and the empowerment of youth, are important so that youth can become full partners in the construction or reconstruction of our institutions and society. The media knocks on us youth workers because our work is qualitative, when most institutions, including the media (who do have an agenda), want quantitative results. That's my 2 cents! Nate Whittaker ____________ Hello, I’m intrigued by the notion of “assignment.” Are we naturally curious as human beings to the items that cause us to react strongly and get adrenalin going? Maybe the media is predisposed to reporting negatively about most topics forgetting about or ignoring the positive stories. Part of this is that, due to the nature of our work and the challenges we face, both systemic and with the clients themselves, the positives are sometimes so small! In my experience it is the small success, sometimes just a moment, that gives hope and provides the reason for continuing in the field when budgets and programs are reduced or cut completely and there seems to be little regard to what work is (and needs to continue) being done. Reporting that Sally was at school Thursday is not a big press item, but if Sally continues hanging out on the street at 12 years of age, flashing for cigarettes, then that is what readers will react to. Celebrating the small, seemingly insignificant moments is left up to us. We all know how much effort it took for Sally to just show up at class and that it is the first positive choice she has made in weeks. That’s my opinion. Sheryl Wilson
|
______