The experience allowed me to see how families are interconnected and if something happens to one member of the family it can affect the rest of the family including the children. Teen Reach is an outstanding program for teens because many children face abuse in the form of neglect at home and Teen Reach is able to be attentive to those needs of the teens.
During my experience I was able to speak with two professionals, Lindsay Vandermeer and Brenda Ingram. Lindsay works with Teen Reach and Brenda Ingram works with the Open Door Program. Lindsay talked to me about her daily experience with the teens. Sometimes things are hard because the teens come to the program expressing how they may feel about their day and it may be through violence or inappropriate communication. All of the teens have different lifestyle backgrounds and sometimes it may be hard to work with so many different personalities. Lindsay works with all of the teens in the program no matter the age.
The teens are able to attend the program from 1-4:30p.m. They seemed to be very excited to attend the program and one young man stated, "I come here every chance that I get". The program is designed to meet the needs of teens that may be disadvantaged or those trying to stay out of trouble. Teen Reach is like a safe haven for the teens that participate.
This experience allowed me to understand the lives of disadvantaged teens. I heard some conversations that reflected on that particular teens life. I also heard some stories about some of their feelings towards their parents. As I prepared meals for the children, I saw some of them constantly watching to see if the food was available yet and when it became available they ate quickly and came back for seconds and thirds. The teens that I interacted with were very outgoing and all the wanted was attention. Some teens only wanted a meal, but the great part is that Teen Reach is available for them.
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