Dear friends and supporters of RE:SOUL:
In the midst of this unprecedented time I have found myself saying to others that I am a hopeless optimist. Merriam-Webster describes this as one “who looks for the good in everyone and everything.” While I believe this would be an accurate statement of both myself and the team at RE:SOUL, the much deeper truth is that we are a community of FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE … and we are committed to being such, even in trying times like these.
Despite the fact that we have had to close the youth centre and suspend our drop-in programs, we have NOT stopped connecting with the teens. In fact, the combination of technology and creativity has enabled us to continue meeting with our youth, and perhaps is even expanding our ability to connect with new teens during this crisis. Here are just a few of the ways we’re connecting with teens during this time:
Live Streaming – On Friday last week Breanna and I hosted our first Live Stream via Instagram. We are calling this “Isolation Games – Live” and will be facilitating these two or three times a week. During these live streams, we’ll be asking questions for the teens to reply to, giving them challenges to complete, and sharing some encouraging words to help them through this time.
Discord – We have been using this app to connect with teens for the purpose of texting or chatting. It also enables us to play some games together online as well.
Zoom – We will also be using this app to connect with teens who want to connect visually, as it enables us to all video chat with each other. It can host up to 100 people per session, so our “drop-in” programs will happen on this platform for the next little while.
Online Gaming – For those who have the ability to connect via gaming consoles, we’ll be doing this as well. For many of them, this is a common place to connect already, so it’s a natural place for us to join them. Many of them are finding great pleasure in gaming with staff, mostly for connection purposes but also because they beat us most of the time.
Donuts in the Driveway – We began this last week and will continue to do so until we feel it’s necessary to stop. (I have spoken to a health care professional about this and they said as long as we maintain 2 metres distance, we should be okay.) It’s also just a simple way to remind teens we’re thinking of them and surprise them with a little treat.
During one of our most recent “Donuts in the Driveway” delivery, the teen we visited welled up with tears and their mom shared with us how much they are missing their friends and staff at RE:SOUL. It was a reminder of how important community is to our youth and how much it matters to know you’re being thought of. At the end of the day, it’s our relationships that matter the most, so being there for vulnerable, the lonely and those who depend on us is absolutely vital.
For now, I simply want to say THANK YOU for your ongoing partnership with RE:SOUL. Your prayers, your public support, and your financial generosity are deeply cherished and needed! We will keep you updated in the days and weeks ahead, but for now we just wanted you to know that COMPASSION IS NOT CLOSED … and therefore, neither are we!
Sincerely, and with gratitude,
Michael Burns
Director
RE:SOUL Youth Centre / YFC Milton
