What if I told you our young people are dying inside? Would you believe me? Would you at least keep reading to find out more?
What if told you they are drowning, just barely keeping their heads above water, and running out of strength to keep up? Would you do something?
Let me tell you with no uncertainty that this is the reality for many of our youth today!
I have been working with young people for over 20 years now and I am truly grieved when I view the landscape of this generation. The overall health and wellbeing of our youth is far worse than ever before and few have answers for the cure.
We have been living through an unprecedented time in history as we collectively fight the global pandemic of COVID-19. Once again, the world has changed dramatically and the future will be shaped by our experiences of today. Therefore, as talk even begins about “getting back to normal” or “life as we knew it” we at RE:SOUL want to start a conversation about what RETURNING TO LIFE really means?
- How can we begin to offer hope to a generation that feels hopeless?
- How can we address the surge of mental health issues amongst our youth?
- How can we speak to the fear and anxiety that cripples so many teens?
- How can we identify and address the societal causes of despair and insignificance?
- How can we offer genuine presence to a generation that feels so alone?
As we explore these things over the coming weeks, I would like to invite your participation in two ways:
- I invite you to dialogue with us and join the conversation. We all learn more in community, so press in, ask questions, challenge assumptions, and let’s take this journey together.
- I invite you to invest in our youth by participating in our Spring Fundraiser. We are on the front lines of serving youth in our community and we are the only dedicated youth drop-in centre in Milton. We are 100% donor funded and all of our funding comes from people like you, who care about community, who care about young people, and who care about the future.
Finally, for those who don’t know us well, RE:SOUL Youth Centre is a faith-based organization and we are a program of Southwestern Ontario Youth for Christ. For some, knowing we are a faith-based organization creates both trust and affinity. However, we also know that for others being faith based creates both suspicion and aversion. I recognize and understand both responses. However, as we say to the teens all the time at the youth centre, “You don’t have to agree with us to be with us!” So I would simply once again invite you to take the journey with us. We all have much to learn from one another!
CLICK BELOW TO PARTICIPATE:
Sincerely, and with gratitude,
Michael Burns
Director
RE:SOUL Youth Centre / YFC Milton