What do you do?

I work with court-adjudicated youth, at a residential treatment facility, as a recreation coordinator.  I help to facilitate the off campus adventure-based learning programs, as well as put together the on campus recreational activities.  To translate: I am here to help these boys by being a positive role model in lives that often don't have any, by establishing a model of behavior in lives that can be void or lacking in examples of healthy social behaviors. 

What is the most important “thing,” do you think, that your students/clients/guests need from you?  What do you do to try to provide this?

What my clients need most is a stable life. So many have lived in chaotic, unloving, and inhospitable places, unsupported and uncared for by the people they should have been able to trust to provide the nurturing that I took for granted when I grew up. Sometimes this has been the case since their birth, and sometimes it is the result of many recent factors converging on them at once. There has been general lack of concern in their lives and so they have learned to be independent before they were physically, emotionally and psychologically ready to do so. As a result these boys have made poor decisions resulting in their enrollment at La Salle School. Here the 200 or so staff show them the love that they might never have had before, and possibly have never known that they deserve. Between the residential child care workers, the educational staff, the social workers, and all the other various support staff such as me and my co-workers in the recreation department, we provide a theraputic milliue for every boy, meaning that every aspect of their time here is designed to help in their treatment. In recreation we have the opportunity to teach some great skills such as appropriate behavior in public (during off campus trips), team work (during activities like team sports, and on adventure trips like rock climbing and caving), and to instill a sense of appreciation for the world and nature (during camping and hiking trips).

What is the most challenging obstacle that your students/clients/guests face?  How do your school/agency and your own outreach try to empower them to overcome this obstacle?

The most challenging obstacle my students face is this cycle of violence, poverty, and apathy.  You would be hard pressed to find a single boy here on campus that comes from what an outsider looking in would call a normal childhood.  Boys here have been witness and subject to sexual, drug, and domestic abuse.  Those who are here for truancy or vagrancy have all seemed to be ignored or treated with apathy, and labeled a failure by those who could have rather helped to show them the "right" way.  For many of these kids it's a miracle if they can break free from this cycle.  Without the help of an agency like La Salle School I don't think many would. This is where I can have an impact. Without the medium of La Salle School and the LV's it would be very unlikely for me to have any contact with boys like these. They would float under the radar, as they are not necessarily out there seeking help. I make it my goal here to try to just make any small something stick with any one of the boys here each day. It is a slow moving process, I understand that I am not going to change the life of any one of these kids all in a day. For the most part their past experiences have made them hesitant to trust anyone. I don't have the lofty goal of perfecting these guys, rather I make it my goal to try and get the small pieces of what I can teach to stick so that maybe some of these boys will leave here with the skills not only to survive outside of here but to thrive.

Have you noticed any signs of success in your work?  What are they?

The greatest part of working with the population here at a residential treatment facility is you can see glimpses of your own successes and the successes of the agency on a larger scale in so many small ways.  While looking from the outside in, these boys may seem damaged, yet when you work with them every day you can see progress in the seemingly minute increments.  In this line of work, again, it is not about radically changing every kid you come in contact with, rather it is about making enough impact to set these boys up for success in the future.  A simple thank you, or attentiveness during a coaching lesson, or act of teamwork from a certain kid is MORE than enough to see how you are creating success.

What would you say to a friend from home who questioned why you chose to live with the Brothers?

I would just start to describe Brother Richard, my community director, and the coolest old dude I've ever met. He manages the community without being overbearing, and yet when he needs to he knows how (and only at the most appropriate moment) to speak up. Despite always speaking with slight sarcasm, he is always taken serious, and his opinion is valued by everyone he comes into contact with. He is the spiritual face of our agency making sure to be present at everything from prayer services to baptisms and funerals for friends and family of the agency and yet also never misses NASCAR and the action show 24. He is the model of what I hope to be, and I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to live with and learn from him.

Why would you recommend the LV program to a college senior considering volunteering?

I would recommend this program for the level of support you receive.  I came into the program a little later than most, and yet was welcomed with open arms.  Entering the LV's you have support coming from every direction.  First it comes from the staff of the Lasallian Volunteers, who help you through every step from application to assignment at a site, to contemplative retreats, and everything in between. You also have the support and automatic relationships built with 50+ other volunteers around the country, who are going through many of the same things that you are experiencing.  Next you have the support of the Christian Brothers.  They value our service and community involvement so much.  I know that if I ever needed ANYTHING, all I need do is ask the Brothers and a solution or answer would be given.  Lastly you have the support of the site you are working for.  In many cases these schools and agencies could never survive without the presence of LV's, from the very top to the bottom, those involved at these sites know our value and often bend to offer all they can in our support.

Click here to learn more about La Salle School in Albany, NY >