Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center

Nick DePriest, Summer 2016

My time at the Youth Crisis Center was quite eye-opening and a very strong learning experience. Prior to this time I had not worked extensively with inner-city youth, and I was exposed to many of the challenges that they face. Most of these children were the victims of extreme poverty, and many had experienced some amount of physical, psychological or sexual abuse. I was able to see how these traumatic experiences can manifest in behavioral traits within the children. Some would be withdrawn, while others might express aggressive behavior. The staff there was amazing at working with the kids and teaching myself how to work with these children and create a safe and open environment for them to share. I feel much more equipped at communicating with children after my time at the Youth Crisis Center.

My project was fairly successful in educating the children about the benefits of healthy, balanced meals and some of the potential health risks associated with poor diet. They enjoyed the educational sessions and finding healthy recipes that correlated with the lessons afterwards. And finally they loved it when we cooked those recipes for them to try. I believe we removed some of the stigma in their minds that healthy food cannot taste good. Overall I feel it was a successful project and hopefully will benefit these children over the long term.

As I said, I most likely learned so much more from these kids then they could have learned from me. I walk away with an entirely new perspective on the challenges and many benefits of working with at-risk youths.