Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center
Timothy Stevens, Summer 2010
The Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center is a fulltime emergency center for youth ages 10 to 17. The facility is the only one of its type in the Cincinnati area. Youth in need come to the YCC for a variety of reason, including abuse, parents/guardians unwilling to care for them anymore, runaways, and discharges from juvenile detainment. No matter what the reason, the Youth Crisis Center provides a safe place to stay and as much normality in day-to-day life as possible for teens in crisis. The YCC maintains an open door police and all youth stay at the center by their own choice, for up to three weeks if necessary, while the staff social workers attempt to find stable placement for the youth.
During their stay at the YCC, youth are asked to follow a set of rules established to inspire respect both for themselves and others. Additionally, youth are kept on a daily schedule of activities in order to provide stability, normalcy, and some education at the YCC. Without school in session during the summer, the YCC's resident numbers increase greatly and strain the fulltime staffs' abilities, which is where the Urban Health Project Intern fits in.
An intern's day starts at 8:30 a.m. during the summer. Each day the log notes from the previous shifts are read and then breakfast is set out for the youth, followed by wake-up calls. The intern is responsible for maintaining medication logs and dispensings medications, keeping daily logs of general activity, and maintaining safety logs of certain youth. Youth are supervised until 10:00 a.m., when they are taken upstairs to the classroom to participate in a group education session followed by free time on the computers. Lunch is given at 12:00 (a very good lunch I might add), followed by an outing usually from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Outings this past summer included parks, the Cincinnati Zoo, Reds games, roller skating, bowling, the Observatory Musuem, Union Terminal Museum Center, Rumpke Facility, and movies. Upon returning the intern is responsible for providing a snack for the youth, getting them upstairs for their afternoon group session, and then finally finishing up the log notes for the shift.
The largest part of my daily work was spent supervising and redirecting youth. Since they came from such varied and often unstable backgrounds, the youth would often come to conflict over simple matters due to the daily stresses of living together without a clear future. This was usually quelled by talking to the youth and hearing out the many sides of an argument, which required patience and a strong type of leadership that could still be identified as a friend and confidant. Additionally, I would often lead the morning group session, providing insight and information in various subjects such as leadership, volunteering, diet, exercise, cost of raising a child, personal hygiene, tattoo and piercing care, positive influences in life, future goals, and job/college applications. Occasionally, residents would feel much more comfortable talking to me, rather than one of the full time staff. In these special cases I was able to counsil youth on their past, current, and future situations, while gaining priceless insight into their troubled lives.
Through my summer internship at the YCC I was able to be a teacher, mentor, health advisor, and a friend to both the youth and staff at the Crisis Center. I had set out into my summer break hoping to gain greater insight into the community of Cincinnati, while also aiding the underserved. I thankfully was able to do this and more. I am certain that the experience I gained in communicating with adolescents, partnering with social workers, and the appreciation I have gained for trouble that people can persevere through will be ever helpful during the rest of my education and career.