RE:SOUL SPRING FUNDRAISER 2019
The Time to Act is NOW …
Most of the time I like to be positive. I consider myself an optimist, or perhaps more accurately, an optimistic realist. I have no desire to deny reality but I also believe there is alway reason for hope. So as I write today, I remain hopeful … but I also feel compelled to share with you some realities that are taking place amongst the youth in Milton.
Just a little over a month ago a young man died due to a drug overdose.We knew this 17 year old well, as he played hockey with my son, and several other teens who attend RE:SOUL knew him as well. His parents, who we also know, bravely shared his story recently with Inside Halton in the hopes of saving other young lives. You can read the story here:
Not more than two weeks later, another two teens almost lost their lives due to drug overdose. Had it not been for the fast thinking police officers who arrived on the scene and administered Naloxone, these two teens would have likely lost their lives as well. You can read about this here:
Halton Police Save Two Teenage Lives
For those working on the front lines with youth, there is little doubt that a drug problem that once was creeping in now seems to be sweeping in and way too many young people are falling victim to it’s allure.
In addition to the rapidly growing drug culture is a rise in violence amongst our youth. Rarely is this just one teen wanting to fight another teen, but rather large groups of youth (often from different schools) wanting to settle some score with another group of youth. While I hesitate to use the term “gang” as I believe it is less formalized than that, the behaviour of these groups is very similar. I have seen many videos of these fights go down and our teens at RE:SOUL are not immune. Many have witnessed these clashes; others have regretfully been involved.
It is also not uncommon to hear of teens following, robbing and beating up another student or a smaller group of students. Several of our teens at RE:SOUL have experienced this and once again, the behaviour seems to be on the rise. Only on occasion does this get reported, often due to a reluctance on the victims part. Either they do not wish to be known as a “rat” or they fear further harm if they get the police involved.
Here is one example of an incident that was reported on:
Youth Assaulted, Robbed in Milton
This past Saturday at the Downtown Milton Street Festival I had the opportunity to chat with a police officer who has been very supportive of RE:SOUL for the last few years. He shared with me that officers are overwhelmed right now with the number of calls they are getting from schools, mostly relating to matters of violence and drugs. He agreed that things have changed dramatically over the last few years and doesn’t see things changing for the better anytime soon.
The following was written by the mother of a teen on Milton Talks a few weeks ago:
I believe with all my heart that we must take these changes seriously! There is a severe shortage of services for youth in Milton and I fear too many are beginning to fall through the cracks.
Teens need guidance!
They need caring adults who will encourage them and help them make the right decisions in life!
They need a place where they can belong, where they can be surrounded by people who see their true value and who accept them no matter what!
Teens need to know their lives have meaning and purpose and that they can live into that purpose now!
Teens need to know that God loves them with an unconditional love and that he is with them always!
By giving to RE:SOUL Youth Centre, you enable these things to happen! You help us change lives! You help us save lives! You help us share the most important truth of all to this generation of youth!
Please take this opportunity seriously! The time to act is now!
CLICK BELOW TO PARTICIPATE: