I have a confession to make. It's something I've been thinking about announcing for 2 months now, but I've been afraid. Afraid of saying something, of committing myself to a thing I might not be able to follow through on. But as I think more and more about this thing, I also prepare myself more and more for its eventuality. And so it is finally time for me to come out with it, to risk failure but strive for success. I am going to run the Memphis Marathon on December 4. It will be more than twice the longest distance I had ever before run, and that worried me when I signed up, but my long training runs have broken in the double digits, and I'm still alive and (mostly) healthy. So, hopefully I'll make it. There's been some stiffness and occasional pain in my right knee and both my ankles, but nothing debilitating by any means, and those have been my biggest problems so far. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and putting rubber on the road.
Having announced my plan to run the Memphis Marathon, I have to also tell you all that it would never have even occurred to me to do this if not for the fact that my whole program (the LVs) is involved. Of the 57 volunteers, almost all are running in one of the three races, either the full marathon, the half marathon, or the 5k. We are doing this in an effort to raise money for the program. Each person's goal, even those not running, is $1,000 for a total volunteer contribution of $57,000. For me to reach my goal, I need your help. There are just over 50 people on my "blog update" list, and if every one of those people donated just $20, my goal would be met. Can you help me do this? You know from my blog what I've been up to and who your donation ultimately serves, so if you consider my current endeavor worthwhile, I hope you will consider aiding the future of this program financially.
There are 2 WAYS TO MAKE A DONATION. The best for us is if you send a check to the main office in Washington D.C. The check needs to be made out to Christian Brothers Conference and needs "LV Marathon - Alex Branch" on the memo line. You can send the check to
Lasallian Volunteers
Hecker Center, Suite 300
3025 Fourth Street, NE
Washington, DC 20017
The second way to make a donation is via our online fundraising website, LVs Running in Memphis This is less preferred because the host company for the page takes a small cut from each online donation. Snail mail donations will also show up here, but don't lose the cut.
Many (though not all) of you will receive some snail mail from me regarding fundraising as well, so please be on the lookout for that.
Finally, there is one other interesting bit of news from the Volunteers. We have a new recruiting video, "I am an LV"! You can check it out on the LV website, HERE. It will introduce you to some of the other Volunteers serving around the United States and show you what else we're up to.
Peace.
Alex
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
La Salle School for boys: An agent of healing since 1854
I've been promising for a while now to tell everybody out there just what it means to be at La Salle School - what this place really is, who the kids are, and what we do. Well, let the promising end. Here we go...
THE AGENCY
La Salle School has undergone a lot of changes since its founding by the Brother of the Christian Schools back in the mid-1800s. For more than a century, this place was essentially an orphanage. The kids were like any other kids, except for the primary identifying characteristic of their not having homes. So, we took them in and took care of them. La Salle began undergoing changes in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, however, and continues to change even today. We are now a facility with essentially 3-4 primary programs: day school, residential treatment, after school center, and evening reporting center. Two of these programs, day school and after school center, are voluntary. Parents choose to enroll their children in the day school or in ASC because they believe their child will benefit from the La Salle environment and opportunities. The other 2 programs are not optional. Our residential treatment center and the evening reporting center serve court adjudicated boys. ERC students live at home, go to school at other schools, and come to La Salle for evening recreation, classes, counseling, etc. I have nothing to do with the ERC, however. My job focuses entirely on the Residential Treatment Center (RTC).
RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER
Boys in the RTC are court mandated to be at La Salle, usually for 6-12 months. They end up here for a variety of reasons. Some because the homes they live in are simply too volatile due to alcoholism, drug abuse, physical abuse, neglect, etc on the part of the parents. Those boys tend to end up at La Salle longer than the usual 6-12 months. There are a couple boys starting college right now through our independent living program who have been at La Salle since they were 11 years old. This is not common, but it does happen. 50% of our boys are in La Salle's Juvenile Sex Victims and Offenders Program (JSVOP - Prounounced J-sop). They are here for 2 reasons. First, they are a sex victim or offender. Second, La Salle is one of (if not THE) only treatment facility in the state of New York that does not segregate JSVOP from the rest of our clients. Our facility is fully integrated, meaning there is no special division, special bedroom, or special anything to separate JSVOP clients from the other boys.
There is an important bit of philosophy behind this, a philosophy permeating this agency. We believe that these boys, all of them, are just like any other boys. They've made some bad decisions, they've been put in some unhealthy situations, they've been deprived of the social training required to live successfully with other people, and they cause a lot of trouble, but they are still good boys. We are technically part of the Juvenile Justice System in New York State, but we are not a youth detention facility, we are a treatment agency. The sign at the front of the school says "An Agent of Healing Since 1854" because we are not jailers or police officers, but social workers. We believe these boys can be helped, and we are doing our best to fulfill our potential as healers by helping them fulfill their potential as humans.
Philosophy aside, there are some other demons our boys are struggling with. Many who come here also have major issues with truancy. 100% of our boys have a DSM-IV diagnosis, and about 50% have a 2nd or 3rd DSM diagnosis. A DSM-IV diagnosis means the client has a psychological or behavioral disorder categorized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (1994). About half the disorders are partially defined by "clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning" (Wikipedia). 70% of the boys at La Salle are on psychotropic medications. About 62% of our boys screen in for chemical dependency when they arrive. Several boys have high-need medical conditions, as well.
MY JOB
My title is "Recreation Coordinator." What do I do? I run after school recreation programs for boys in the RTC. There are 70-80 boys in RTC, and the recreation department serves them in a couple ways. First, we are a complement to the work being done in the school, in therapy, with the social worker, and in the divisions (where they boys live on campus). The idea is that through recreational activity, boys can build confidence, learn new coping skills, and practice utilizing more effective coping skills. I also consider it an important part of our job to do something much simpler than help kids out of their emotional crises...we also provide a distraction. Rec is the kids' best opportunity to get out of the division, to do something preserving a semblance of a 'normal' teenage life. Basketball, flag football, cards, chess, softball, dodgeball; these things provide an alternative focus, something besides "being at la salle sucks." And I think that matters. In addition to the after school rec programs, we also do off-campus trips. Camping, canoeing, hiking, rock climbing, theme parks, professional sports games, concerts, museums, etc. These trips happen once every 1-2 weeks, typically, and sometimes more. Some trips challenge the boys to do something they aren't comfortable with (like rock climbing today), some are a chance to feel privileged, some are just fun. The trips also give us (the rec staff) a chance to get to know kids better 1 on 1. A typical backcountry (I use the term loosely) trip is 2 rec staff to about 6 kids, so there's a lot more chance to interact, talk, and build up relationships. It's benefit on both ends.
So what else do I say about this place? I can't say that I have a full grasp yet of what goes on here, but I'm excited about the philosophy, I'm excited about the boys, and I'm excited about the job. As I come up with more wonderful things to tell you, you will get to read them.
Until then,
Alex
PS. As always, please feel free to comment or email me with questions and thoughts.
THE AGENCY
La Salle School has undergone a lot of changes since its founding by the Brother of the Christian Schools back in the mid-1800s. For more than a century, this place was essentially an orphanage. The kids were like any other kids, except for the primary identifying characteristic of their not having homes. So, we took them in and took care of them. La Salle began undergoing changes in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, however, and continues to change even today. We are now a facility with essentially 3-4 primary programs: day school, residential treatment, after school center, and evening reporting center. Two of these programs, day school and after school center, are voluntary. Parents choose to enroll their children in the day school or in ASC because they believe their child will benefit from the La Salle environment and opportunities. The other 2 programs are not optional. Our residential treatment center and the evening reporting center serve court adjudicated boys. ERC students live at home, go to school at other schools, and come to La Salle for evening recreation, classes, counseling, etc. I have nothing to do with the ERC, however. My job focuses entirely on the Residential Treatment Center (RTC).
RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER
Boys in the RTC are court mandated to be at La Salle, usually for 6-12 months. They end up here for a variety of reasons. Some because the homes they live in are simply too volatile due to alcoholism, drug abuse, physical abuse, neglect, etc on the part of the parents. Those boys tend to end up at La Salle longer than the usual 6-12 months. There are a couple boys starting college right now through our independent living program who have been at La Salle since they were 11 years old. This is not common, but it does happen. 50% of our boys are in La Salle's Juvenile Sex Victims and Offenders Program (JSVOP - Prounounced J-sop). They are here for 2 reasons. First, they are a sex victim or offender. Second, La Salle is one of (if not THE) only treatment facility in the state of New York that does not segregate JSVOP from the rest of our clients. Our facility is fully integrated, meaning there is no special division, special bedroom, or special anything to separate JSVOP clients from the other boys.
There is an important bit of philosophy behind this, a philosophy permeating this agency. We believe that these boys, all of them, are just like any other boys. They've made some bad decisions, they've been put in some unhealthy situations, they've been deprived of the social training required to live successfully with other people, and they cause a lot of trouble, but they are still good boys. We are technically part of the Juvenile Justice System in New York State, but we are not a youth detention facility, we are a treatment agency. The sign at the front of the school says "An Agent of Healing Since 1854" because we are not jailers or police officers, but social workers. We believe these boys can be helped, and we are doing our best to fulfill our potential as healers by helping them fulfill their potential as humans.
Philosophy aside, there are some other demons our boys are struggling with. Many who come here also have major issues with truancy. 100% of our boys have a DSM-IV diagnosis, and about 50% have a 2nd or 3rd DSM diagnosis. A DSM-IV diagnosis means the client has a psychological or behavioral disorder categorized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (1994). About half the disorders are partially defined by "clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning" (Wikipedia). 70% of the boys at La Salle are on psychotropic medications. About 62% of our boys screen in for chemical dependency when they arrive. Several boys have high-need medical conditions, as well.
MY JOB
My title is "Recreation Coordinator." What do I do? I run after school recreation programs for boys in the RTC. There are 70-80 boys in RTC, and the recreation department serves them in a couple ways. First, we are a complement to the work being done in the school, in therapy, with the social worker, and in the divisions (where they boys live on campus). The idea is that through recreational activity, boys can build confidence, learn new coping skills, and practice utilizing more effective coping skills. I also consider it an important part of our job to do something much simpler than help kids out of their emotional crises...we also provide a distraction. Rec is the kids' best opportunity to get out of the division, to do something preserving a semblance of a 'normal' teenage life. Basketball, flag football, cards, chess, softball, dodgeball; these things provide an alternative focus, something besides "being at la salle sucks." And I think that matters. In addition to the after school rec programs, we also do off-campus trips. Camping, canoeing, hiking, rock climbing, theme parks, professional sports games, concerts, museums, etc. These trips happen once every 1-2 weeks, typically, and sometimes more. Some trips challenge the boys to do something they aren't comfortable with (like rock climbing today), some are a chance to feel privileged, some are just fun. The trips also give us (the rec staff) a chance to get to know kids better 1 on 1. A typical backcountry (I use the term loosely) trip is 2 rec staff to about 6 kids, so there's a lot more chance to interact, talk, and build up relationships. It's benefit on both ends.
So what else do I say about this place? I can't say that I have a full grasp yet of what goes on here, but I'm excited about the philosophy, I'm excited about the boys, and I'm excited about the job. As I come up with more wonderful things to tell you, you will get to read them.
Until then,
Alex
PS. As always, please feel free to comment or email me with questions and thoughts.
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