Lighthouse Youth Development Center

Nathan Schomaker, Summer 2010

My time at the Lighthouse Youth Development Center taught me so much about Cincinnati through my exposure to the urban youth. The paths by which these kids came to the center vary greatly, but I saw a common denominator in that most come from broken homes. This is an issue that creates huge obstacles for these kids to overcome in adolescence, in addition to the normal growing pains that everyone goes through. I worked hard every day to try to break through the barriers that these kids have formed throughout their lives in an effort to protect themselves from the type of harm that they have experienced so early in their lives. From drug addict parents to sexual abuse by relatives, these kids have faced terrible predicaments which were unavoidable, and they are forced into a struggle to rehabilitate and become productive members of society. Forming a relationship of trust with the kids was very difficult, but I could see progress being made day to day and week to week, so that by the end of my time there, I could see an incredible change in their attitudes toward me.

Although some days were harder than others to get through, I had the pleasure of seeing the success story of one of the kids who had fully rehabilitated himself and was moving on to independent living. After learning the story of his past and how he landed in the house, and then seeing two and a half years later how kind, happy, and goal-oriented this young man had become, it erased all doubts in my mind that these kids could still change for the better and become successful individuals. It became clear that the key is to understand that these kids are not fundamentally flawed because of their upbringing, and they are certainly not tainted because of their life experiences, but they are still young and still exhibit the plasticity that will allow them to turn everything around, given the right direction and the proper role models. This was a good experience that provided me the opportunity to work with a population which is definitely one of the toughest of the potential patient populations. I am thankful for the people I was able to work with throughout the summer, and I know that these kids stand the best chance of becoming successful and productive adults since they are under the care of the staff at the Lighthouse YDC.