Safety
On a fairly related note I am taking some early steps towards setting up a safe house for teen aged boys in the city. It is a long shot right now but if it happens it would provide that kind of space for 10-12 boys who are at high risk.I realized that my role as a mentor was to provide a space for self-discovery, there is no setting better than a youth retreat outside of their hoods. Two weeks ago, along with some colleagues, I took 14 youth camping, three of them were females and the rest were males. They were all 8th graders. They came from all gang backgrounds, Norteno, Sureno, Cambodian and Laotian Crips. Half of the kids had criminal records, and most of them had been involved in a gang related fight at their school. Some of them had tattoos and all of them claimed to have a gang affiliation.
During the first day of the three day camp I asked them to introduce themselves by answering, "What is it that you fear?" With the exception of two kids, they all said that they feared their fathers. For the first time, they all shared an intimate moment with their "enemies." Through out the camp we did activities that talked about our own strengths, families, and other discussion that dealt with us taking control of our destinies. For those three days they bonded; they played hide and seek together, ate together, laughed together, and shed tears together. The last night young Crips, Surenos, and Nortenos hugged one another.
Although they returned to their hoods represented by different gang sets, they will embrace the moment when with the help of there rival gang members, they were able to share some of the most symbolic moments of their lives, reflect on them, and heal their wounds.
After hearing the testimonies of so many kids, I know for a fact, that the only way to help anyone transform their life is by creating a space where people can have intimate moments by sharing their lives, reflecting on them, and finding the solution for their problems by themselves and for themselves.
Labels: community, Saskatoon, Third Space, urban
9:38 AM ::
1 Comments:
I'll pray for guidance for you in the "long shot" of the safe house. It seems that you are plenty busy already, but if God places a burden on our hearts then we must follow. He will guide you and provide for the vision that He gives. My oldest child is a 10 year old boy. Anybody that spends a few minutes with boys this age can easily see that it is a critical age in a young man's life. With so many vacant, disconnected, or "overly connected" fathers in too many young boy's lives, it is critical that followers of Christ lovingly provide a safe haven for them to share their innermost thoughts, fears, and dreams. The evils of the world offer them so much that we can't stand idly by and expect them to turn out okay.
I guess the same could pretty much be said for all of humanity...we all need a safe loving place to connect (duh).
If God says "do it", please blog about it. I would love to read about your work with them!
keith
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