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Our Community Connection team recently hosted a mental health fair at Youth Village Juvenile Detention Center. Our Behavior Health Specialists had stations with various activities, conversation topics, and goodies revolving around the importance of mental health and healthy choices. Our facilitators met children ages 10-17 who were spending at least three to six months at Youth Village. With barbed wire fences, security gates and correctional officers, 10-17-year-old youth with a consistent "Yes ma'am, No sir" attitude might not be the first thing that comes to your mind.
Our mental health fair topics included: positive coping skills, stress and anger management, how to deal with your emotions in a healthy way, daily decisions, choosing to change and more.
All the youth Rainbow Days serves are in adversity and facing strenuous or traumatic circumstances. A Rainbow Days message that helps address these situations is "Choosing to Change," which allows a child outline what their situation is, what they would like to change, what they do have control over, what they do not possess control over, what they will choose to do to make a positive change. This station resonated with many of the children at Youth Village.
Each group of kids we encountered was engaged, responsive and simply wanted an adult to care about their future. These youth were surprised when Rainbow Days Facilitators asked questions about their future plans, mental health and how they were truly doing. Multiple replied, "Why do you care? I just met you." When our adults responded with encouraging words of how they are important and their future can be very bright, there were many looks of surprise and confusion.
One high school student stood out in specific. While the young boys crowded in groups to each station, he walked alone. Once he arrived at our "Choosing to Change" station, and our facilitator asked if he wanted to begin by himself, he shared, "Yes, I am alone... I am always alone." He was engaged in each word our facilitator was saying about mental health, the power of our daily choices, how to cope with heavy feelings and how he can build a positive future. This high schooler thanked each adult for taking the time to talk to him.
After we left, this high school student shared that he now wanted to give therapy a chance. He shared, "Maybe if each of those adults in there actually believes in my future and that I can change and grow, then maybe it is true." This high schooler told his probation officer that he is now willing to go to therapy and that he wants to "grow and change." Authority figures at the detention center informed Rainbow Days Facilitators that this was the first time he had engaged with an adult in three months and that he had refused therapy for his entire stay at Youth Village.
This young high school student reflected the purpose and mission of Rainbow Days, that one adult can be a difference maker in a child's life. That there is the power for one adult to change the life and future of a child.
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