If you are a youth or have a youth issue to share please submit your issues to responsevoices@hotmail.com. This is a protected site in that youth under 16 should not view it unless they are legally emancipated and act as their own guardian. Names of minors are prohibited unless you are the minor and are emancipated.
AMBER ALERTS are generally known for young children but do include missing youth.WE also know that several youth that live on the streets or in shelters or are on street corners prostituting are missing or displaced from other cities in Canada or our own are taken from Nova Scotia to other American or Canadian cities against their will to exploit. Please get involved.
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Tiny island school a beacon for wayward teens
Last modified: January 24, 2011 12:07 a.m
This school is not a place you end up by accident.
"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" That's exactly what 18-year-old Katie Daugherty thought as she arrived at the Beaver Island Lighthouse School last September.
She was scared; felt sick to her stomach. She hardly talked to anyone.
It is a common response for newbies, as the students who already have been at the school a semester or two call the newcomers. All of them are here either because they have dropped out of traditional high school or are at risk of doing so.
This is, however, no boot camp, no forced existence. These students come to the school by choice, and they decide whether to stay.
For many, it is a last chance to get a diploma, to wipe the slate clean and move beyond past mistakes. Some are trying to escape family problems or friends who are bad influences. Some have been kicked out of their homes. Others, for whatever reason, simply have not been able to make it in the usual school setting.
Daugherty was living with friends, shifting from place to place, when a youth counsellor came across her case.
Torn up by her parents' divorce, and her father's remarriage, she had dropped out of school just months from graduation. She had lost confidence, she says, hidden herself from the world. All but given up, really.
Now there was this place, and this chance.
"I wanted to prove to myself that I was worthy of it," Daugherty said, "that I could accomplish something very big."
Something very big in a very small place, where the surroundings and close living quarters in those log cabins make it impossible for just about anyone to close themselves off for too long. That is the hope, anyway.
This semester, like any other, there would be dramas and disappointments, but triumphs, too.
Four of the 25 students would not make it at the school. Seven of the remaining 21, Daugherty included, would have the chance to graduate in three months' time.
And one of those seven — not necessarily the person they all thought — would be the valedictorian.
This journey far off the beaten path might, indeed, change the course of the lives of the young people who dared to come here.
"But first," says Steve Finch, the school's site supervisor, "they have to trust us."
___
The first step toward gaining that trust is overcoming the shock of being cut off from the outside.
Until they travel to the island, most of these students have never been on a plane or a ferry. Nor have most been this far from home, or this isolated.
"Out here, we call the mainland 'America,'" says Taylor Fisher. One of the seniors, he is a shaggy-haired, self-proclaimed hippie who has transformed himself from high school dropout to class president. A jovial sort who seems like he could talk to anyone, even he cried himself to sleep the first night he arrived at the school last February.
Although Michigan's lower peninsula is less than 20 miles (32 kilometres) east of the island, as the crow flies, it feels much farther.
The students are not allowed to have cellphones, and even if they did, most of the gadgets do not work here. So they have to use a community land line to make occasional calls home. They have computer time, and access to social networking sites and email.
With a schedule that sees them up at 7 a.m. or earlier most days, and in class six days a week into the evening, there is little time for that.
Nor is there room for typical student excuses.
It is impossible, for instance, to say they missed a bus or could not find a way to school; classrooms are a short walk from the student cabins. And even if they wanted to skip, there is nowhere to go, except for a long hike through dense hardwood forests, or along miles of dunes and beaches that are usually more populated by deer than people, especially outside the tourist season.
A few students cannot get accustomed to the setup and start packing. They do not like the rules, they say; or maybe it is simply that self-sabotage is a habit too ingrained to overcome.
"We traditionally lose one student in the first 24 hours," says Ken Roehling. He heads the Lighthouse School from Traverse City, Michigan, home of one of two mainland school districts that oversee the place. Students, though, come from districts all over the state's rural northwest lower peninsula.
One of the first people they meet is Finch, the site supervisor, a gentle giant of a man who never imagined he would be here.
A few years back, he was working in sales, travelling the country. Then his own son, who was struggling at school, came here and graduated in 2004. Finch then spent time working with the school's summer construction camps and came to a realization.
"I figured I could end my life having sold a bunch of stuff, or I could help change some lives," he says. So he quit his sales job and took his current position.
When he arrived, the school had more of a lock-down atmosphere. That caused conflict between the students and Finch's tiny staff, which includes four teachers who live in the cabins with the students.
Finch decided to compromise on some things: He gave the students a bit of free time after meals, and told them that while they had to stay on campus, they did not have to ask to go to the bathroom or to their cabins.
"It's my belief that if we treat them like derelicts, they're going to act like derelicts," says Finch, who immediately noted a shift in student behaviour. "It didn't make things perfect, but it eased tension a lot."
So did spelling out the rules. Finch tells students: "You need to be where you need to be. You need to do your schoolwork. You need to respect the staff and each other."
That is the boiled-down version of a system that gives points, up to 15, for various infractions.
Students know from the start that the worst offences — violence, arson or drug possession — lead to maximum points, immediate dismissal and a talk with the local sheriff's deputy. Other bad deeds are penalized with fewer points, which can be erased if the student does something good, the equivalent of community service.
The idea is to allow students to take responsibility and learn new ways to handle themselves.
When possible, the staff also uses a little humour to convey those lessons.
Teacher Justin Noordhoek, whom the students affectionately call "J-dog," does not hesitate to blast a loud air horn to get the young men in his cabin out of bed in the morning.
Students who leave backpacks or other belongings in a classroom or the dining hall have to dance to get them back.
"Tough love," Noordhoek says, grinning.
___
Getting up early is a particularly difficult adjustment for some of the newbies.
"These girls got to get up!" Daugherty says of the younger students who share her room. All of the young women at the school live in one cabin. There are three of them in each of the two rooms, with a loft above for their teacher/counsellor, the only female member of the staff.
It still is the first of four 17-day sessions of the semester that are broken up with four-day visits home. But already, Daugherty is transforming from the quiet wallflower to one of the resident den mothers, much like the other two seniors in her cabin.
She flips on the lights in her room: "Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey."
The younger girls groan, having been up until 1 a.m. whispering and giggling. But they slowly rise and rub their eyes.
There is routine here. There are expectations. Even if some gripe about it a little, it is pretty clear that most of them like it, thrive on it, even.
Less than two weeks into the semester, Daugherty had not expected to feel this comfortable. She did not think the other seniors, all of whom have been here longer, would take her in. Then they invited her to sit at their table during meals.
"I found out that a lot of the kids here are in the same boat as me," she says.
Sure, there are squabbles, over love interests or lack of privacy or any number of things that seem like a big deal at the time.
But there also is an acceptance here that a lot of these students have not been able to find at their old schools. Even if they do categorize themselves with lighthearted labels such as "rednecks," ''hippies" and "nerds," here there is little room for pretense.
"If you're trying to be something you're not — boom! — they'll go after that," Finch says. "They see right through it."
___
Acceptance from the island community, which has a year-round population of about 650, also is important to the students, although they are not always sure they get it.
Senior Michelle Schlappi still remembers the comment one resident made as students served plates of spaghetti at a dinner they hosted at an island township hall: "Oh look!" the islander said. "They let all the students out of their shackles."
It was a joke to him, no doubt, but Schlappi's heart sank when she heard it.
"They assume we're bad kids," she says, "and we're not."
The perception of them as delinquents partly stems from the school's earlier days as a vocational camp in the 1970s and then a school where more students had been in trouble with the law.
Certainly, there's still some of that.
One past semester, Finch and the staff had sheriff's deputies bring a drug dog to search the cabins after they found a student's stash.
"Sorry I had to do that," Finch told everyone, when they did not find more drugs.
But many students came forward to support him. "Don't apologize," one said. "We came here to get away from that."
That does not surprise Aaron Sue Meyer, a youth adviser on the mainland who often refers students to the school. She has noticed that young people who come here now are softer than they used to be. She remembers students from past years punching walls and expressing anger in other inappropriate ways.
"Now, not so much," says Meyer, who is based in Petoskey, with Michigan Works, a state employment agency.
More of them are like Daugherty or Fisher or Schlappi, teens who somehow have become lost along the way but who now dream about being a crime scene detective, a chef or a dental hygienist, as those three do.
May Sandel, another senior, readily acknowledges that she would have become a "hoodlum," as she puts it, had she not found this school. More bubbly than the hardened criminal type, though, she now talks excitedly about being a writer and a photographer.
"I just don't think I had the courage before I came here," Sandel says, "and I have a lot of that now."
She, Fisher and Schlappi have made it clear that they have another goal: to graduate, in a few short weeks, at the top of their tiny class.
It is a friendly competition, but a competition nonetheless. Fisher fantasizes about walking into his old high school in his cap and gown, carrying a big sign: "VALEDICTORIAN."
But not Daugherty. Though doing very well in her classes, she does not mention wanting to compete for the honour. It is not her style to draw attention to herself.
"But she may be our dark horse," Finch says.
___
No matter what their academic level, though, most students show up for class eager to participate. They discuss Greek mythology. Some catch up on basic skills they have missed. Others work to solve complicated math and chemistry problems.
They write essays and discuss government policies.
"Why is the government required to pay for a school like this because you made bad choices?" teacher Noordhoek asks during one class debate.
"Because," responds 17-year-old Micah Braden, "I'm trying to improve myself."
With the tone set by the seniors, it also is clear that students do not want to let each other down. When they do, they often own up to it.
At one group meeting, Braden tearfully apologized for getting in trouble earlier in the semester. He and a few other male students were caught "huffing," or inhaling men's body spray to get high.
"Thank you for giving me a chance to learn from my mistake," he said, dropping his head humbly as the staff and his classmates sat around him quietly, some of them nodding.
He was embarrassed, he later said, and felt like he had belittled the place that he has grown to love so much.
"Without that school and the people in it, I would be dropped out and on the fast track to prison," he said. Instead, he plans to return to the school when the next semester begins in February and will run for class president.
Those are the stories that keep the staff coming back, even if it means spending weeks away from their families and having little time to themselves when they are on the island with the students.
Even the successes do not always soothe the sting when a student leaves.
This past semester, one student left after he got in a fight with his girlfriend and refused to give up the cellphone he used to call her. Another was angry at his parents and convinced that they only wanted him at the school so they could claim him for public assistance.
Two others left because they said they wanted more freedom.
"Does your mom know you're coming home?" Sandel asked one of the latter two.
"Nope," the young woman said, as she packed her sleeping bag and other belongings.
"Will she be mad?" Sandel asked.
"I don't care," she said, noting that she was not going home, anyway. Instead, she planned to sleep under a tarp behind a friend's house. The young woman's mother eventually called, begging the school staff to persuade her daughter to stay, but they had no power to force the issue.
Such departures leave staff members feeling as if they have failed somehow.
"I hate it, but at this point, it's something I can't control," Finch said.
___
By December, and the day before graduation, the campus at the Beaver Island Lighthouse School is a snowy wonderland, the students a jumble of conflicting emotions.
They are excited, but also nervous and a little crabby.
"I almost don't want to graduate. It's like home here," Sandel says as she stands on a deck near her cabin overlooking the frigid, stirred-up waves of Lake Michigan. Early the next morning, she and the staff and the rest of the students head onto those waters, on a ferry bound for Charlevoix, Michigan. There, family and friends meet them and head to a graduation ceremony at the local VFW Hall.
Daugherty's mom is among them. Daugherty had hoped more family would come — hoped past family strife would not cast a shadow on her big moment — but she tries not to think about it.
As the seniors file into the ceremony in their caps and gowns, some carry big boxes of tissues.
There is a saying at the school when people start getting teary: Wiping their eyes, students say, "The room is getting kind of dusty." That has been happening a lot the past few days.
Schlappi and Fisher give emotional speeches.
"The relationships we've built here feel as though they've lasted a lifetime," Fisher says, his face red and voice quivering, "as if these people were more of a family than friends."
And finally, the announcement for valedictorian comes.
Finch says it was the closest race for the honour since he has been at the school. The young women in the class were in the top three spots. But it was Daugherty, the new senior, who earned the best grades throughout the semester.
The dark horse, the young woman who wanted to accomplish something very big, has done it, although she is too shy to stand in front of everyone to give a speech.
When she is awarded the $800 scholarship for academic achievement, she feels sick to her stomach again, just as she did when she first arrived on the island. Now 19 and headed to community college, she may well feel those pangs as she starts her new classes this winter.
That is how it works, though. The place that took these students out of their element, the place on a faraway island that they did not necessarily want to like, became a refuge where they could prepare for the next step.
Now they will forge their way back into "America," diploma in hand.
___
Online:
Lighthouse School http://www.nwm.org/bils.asp
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Great news for female youth!
The YWCA in Halifax announcing its new program camps for youth..... check out the FLY-W and HUB programs .....
email Kim the youth programmer
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Group says troubled teen returned to N.S.
CP August 25/2010
HALIFAX - A troubled Nova Scotia teen who was being treated for behavioural disorders at a facility in Ontario has been transferred to a facility in his home province, says an advocacy group that has been working with his family.
Roch Longueepee, who leads the group, said they were notified late Tuesday that the 15-year-old had been moved to Nova Scotia.
There was no immediate confirmation from the province.
"We are delighted that the boy is here," Longueepee said in an interview.
"He's back in our territory now and we are going to push harder for a program that we proposed to the province ... because we feel it's going to give him the best life outcome at this stage."
The family, who can't be named to protect the youth's identity, held a news conference earlier in the day and produced a letter from Nova Scotia's Department of Community Services that said their contact with the boy had been suspended on the recommendation of the Ontario facility where he was housed.
The department sent the letter to his grandmother last week arguing that family contact had become an obstacle to the youth's treatment.
The boy has alleged he was abused at an Ontario facility, a claim that is under police investigation.
He has been in the care of the government of Nova Scotia since November 2008, when it was determined he was a threat to himself and the community.
He suffers from various cognitive challenges, but his grandmother and the family's lawyer say there has never been a conclusive diagnosis.
The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia agreed last year that he could be sent away because all local treatment options had been exhausted.
His mother lost custody of him in British Columbia and his father was never in the picture.
Roch Longueepee, who leads the group, said they were notified late Tuesday that the 15-year-old had been moved to Nova Scotia.
There was no immediate confirmation from the province.
"We are delighted that the boy is here," Longueepee said in an interview.
"He's back in our territory now and we are going to push harder for a program that we proposed to the province ... because we feel it's going to give him the best life outcome at this stage."
The family, who can't be named to protect the youth's identity, held a news conference earlier in the day and produced a letter from Nova Scotia's Department of Community Services that said their contact with the boy had been suspended on the recommendation of the Ontario facility where he was housed.
The department sent the letter to his grandmother last week arguing that family contact had become an obstacle to the youth's treatment.
The boy has alleged he was abused at an Ontario facility, a claim that is under police investigation.
He has been in the care of the government of Nova Scotia since November 2008, when it was determined he was a threat to himself and the community.
He suffers from various cognitive challenges, but his grandmother and the family's lawyer say there has never been a conclusive diagnosis.
The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia agreed last year that he could be sent away because all local treatment options had been exhausted.
His mother lost custody of him in British Columbia and his father was never in the picture.
| RESPONSE: | |||
| truth be told The youth had to be sent away because everything was exhausted here....wake up folks..it is because we have substandard services her delivered by unqualified persons playing dress-up. There is no excuse that we do not have any programming here, this discussion was started by Judge Neidermeyer years ago. Why do we not have the services needed...why are we blaming lack of service rather than lack of intelligent standard care for children and youth...answer= a weak ass and grossly incompetent D of Community Services who have left a parade of victim for decades because of their inability to act smartly and with due diligence. This is a public servant issue not a lack of services issue. When you have smart people in place the rest follows.... |
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KEN FELLS HAS FALLEN:
HOPING STUDENT/PARENTS SUE SCHOOL BOARD and BLACK EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION for
RACISM and CHILD ABUSE
HOPING STUDENT/PARENTS SUE SCHOOL BOARD and BLACK EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION for
RACISM and CHILD ABUSE
Dartmouth junior high security footage goes viral
ALEX BOUTILIER FOR METRO HALIFAX May 31, 2010 12:09 a.m.
Security footage of a March confrontation between a Dartmouth junior high principal and a student has gone viral.
The video, obtained and posted by Halifax gossip magazine Frank, appears to show an altercation between Ken Fells, then the principal of Graham Creighton Junior High, and a student.
The video depicts Fells attempting to detain the student, blocking his path. The student appears to push Fells arm out of the way, before being put in a headlock, thrown to the ground, and taken down the hallway to the office. The footage ends there.
As of yesterday afternoon, “Graham Creighton Jr. High Video” had received more than 73,400 hits on YouTube. Commenting on the footage has been closed by the popular video sharing site.
Fells was relieved of his duties as principal of Graham Creighton on May 20, after a marathon meeting of school board officials. He remains an employee of the Halifax Regional School Board.
RESPONSE:
31-May-10 12:06 Fells has fallen
Now that I have finally seen the tape Fells should have been fired and charged.The student was already behind Fells, walked forward a few steps and doubled backed. Fells touch and controlled him first and that was uncalled for..He could have used his Indoor Voice...Had Fells did that to me I would have responded the same way as the student.
Thankfully another student seen what was going on and tried to intervene which is more than the Others did. Fells used excessive force on this White student and doubt he would have done it to a Black student, he should be very ashamed as should the School Board and BEA.(My opinion is based solely on what I have seen based on the video....when more information comes forward it may change but for now Fells has fallen)
racism in HRM schools
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On June 29, 2005, the provincial government appointed Justice Merlin Nunn to
head a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the release of a youth
offender who was convicted under the Youth Criminal Justice Act as the result of
a fatal car crash. Commissioner Nunn submitted his report on December 5, 2006,
including 34 recommendations
Supporting Documents
January, 2007: Helping Kids, Protecting Communities, a response to the Nunn Commission Report (PDF) Nunn Commission Backgrounder (PDF) Nunn Commission Report: Spiralling Out of Control, Lessons Learned From a Boy in Trouble, December 2006 (PDF)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.michaelungar.ca/
“Too Safe for Their Own Good" offers us fresh, powerful and deeply relevant ideas about the developmental needs of teenagers. Ungar’s thought-provoking book is both wise and practical. All of us parents, therapists and educators who work with adolescents will benefit from his ideas on what teenagers require for optimal growth. This is a paradigm-shifting book.” – Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia( a great book too)
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Eastern Passage Needs its own High School!
Please sign the petition to have a community based high school for Eastern Passage.
As it is $350,000 is spent bussing students to Cole Harbour when we have a community large enough to sustain a school right here.
Enclosed is the sample email being sent to the minister when you sign the petition...
'To the Minister of Education and the Deputy Minister of Education
:Eastern Passage needs a high school.
As the government is in the process of finalizing the new school construction projects for the Halifax Regional School Board, I want to add my voice to those in my community who want a high school in Eastern Passage.Eastern Passage is a growing community with already over 13,000 residents and more housing developments are currently underway. Currently, over 60 per cent of the students at Cole Harbour District High School are residents of Eastern Passage.
It is neither in the students' best interests, nor is it cost-effective to bus these students out of our community.Halifax Regional School Board has recognized this need and recommended to the Department of Education that a fifth high school is needed in the Dartmouth area. I encourage you, as Minister of Education, to show your support for this school. Thank you for your consideration of this issue.'
author unknown
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BEYOND THE STREET YOUTH CONFERENCE
Where: The Battery Hotel and Suites -
When: September 27 - 29, 2006
Details: This event promises to be enlightening and unforgettable!
The Beyond the Street national conference will profile issues and initiatives from across Canada focused on youth homelessness. This event will bring together key stakeholders to help lay the foundation for ongoing national, regional, and local action to respond to youth homelessness in our country. The Beyond the Street conference is designed to maximize shared learning, networking, and collaboration among delegates.
Engaging Youth: in housing and shelter development, community leadership and social enterprise
Housing: innovative design, housing and support programs
Youth in Crisis: addressing mental health and addictions issues and sexual exploitation
Field Work: youth culture and empowerment, translating learnings between large and small communities, networking, collaborating ...and more!
Research in Action: highlighting programs that think outside the shelter box
Beyond the Street will be presented in both Official Languages. French conference information and contacts will be available soon.
Beyond the Street sera présenté dans les deux Langues Officielles. L'information sur la conférence et les relations françaises seront disponibles bientôt.
We actively encourage the participation of youth (up to 30 years old) and young housing professionals.
Conference seats are limited - contact us to register today!
The Beyond the Street conference website (with registration form) and program will be available at www.youthhomelessness.ca. Bookmark the site and watch for updates!
Would you like to receive exciting updates on the Beyond the Street conference?
If so, please email updates@youthhomelessness.ca to add your email address to a list-serve.
Don't miss this important event - see you in St. John's!
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Preventing Youth Suicide:
What’s the Problem;
What Should We Be Doing?
The
IWK Health Centre and Dalhousie University are pleased to host a public
lecture on strategies for preventing youth suicide, as part of National Mental Health Week (May 7-13).
All are welcome to attend.
“During
adolescence, youth travel through a period of major physical,
emotional, social and vocational changes,” says Dr. Stan Kutcher, Sun
Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health. “Though the youth
years are among the most physically healthy, they are also a time when
mental illness most commonly develops. It is important that youth engage
in activities that help build self-esteem, create positive family
relationships, and stimulate their mental and physical health. Young
people and their parents should learn the warning signs of mental
illness, which can often be effectively treated if caught early on.
Mental health is everyone’s business; we all need to be informed.”
Tuesday, May 15 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
O.E. Smith Auditorium, IWK Health Centre
The O.E. Smith Auditorium is located on the main floor of the IWK Health Centre, nearest the Children’s Site entrance.
Dr.
Stan Kutcher, Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental HealthDr.
Kutcher is an internationally renowned expert in the area of adolescent
mental health, a national and international leader in mental health
research, advocacy, training, policy, and health services, and holds the
Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health.
For more information, please contact: IWK Public Relations, (902) 470-6740
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RESPONSE: A THOUSAND VOICES
PRESENTS: A POW PRODUCTION
A Holistic Approach to ADHD and Poverty
No Child Left Behind
May 05 2007 Halifax Nova Scotia
Halifax North Memorial Public Library
2286 Gottigen Street Halifax NS
Pre-registration required.
