Redirection and Resilience
In the social service sector, the words “risk” and “resilience” are most commonly followed by the word “factor” and, of course, numbers. While the numbers act as protective buffers from the horrors of witnessing risk factors first hand, they can also obscure the beauty of “resilience” when it occurs right in front of our faces. Andre’s is the face of resilience.
Andre is a member of Street Academy, our after-school program for elementary school boys. The goals of this program are to improve literacy and decrease behavior deferrals. Increased school connectivity is the end-game, as it is a proven protective factor. What stands between most of our boys and school connectivity is trauma and to be involved with the Street Academy is to meet boys who have suffered the unspeakable. As the Lead Instructor at Roosevelt Perry, Rodney has committed himself to helping young boys process the unspeakable on a daily basis. Still, when Andre casually revealed that he’d lost his mother to suicide just months before, Rodney was taken aback.
When we say that children are incredibly resilient, we are actually describing redirection. School, extracurricular activities, and programs like Street Academy provide positive redirection for young boys with adult stressors. Andre’s resilience, his ability to move forward while carrying this incredible weight, depends on such redirection. We count Andre among our success stories because even with grief that would crack most adults, he has managed to improve his grades in school, avoid any behavioral referrals, and remain engaged with the Street Academy.
Perhaps because of his experience with trauma, Andre has become an astute observer of mood and energy. When his peers are restless and Rodney is under strain, Andre volunteers to corral his friends. Andre can also spot the perfect place to insert a joke for levity. An active listener, he mirrors Rodney’s lessons in thoughtful and surprising ways. Even a casual observer would recognize the bond that Andre has formed with Rodney; their connection bolsters his resilience, Rodney’s commitment, and our efforts to create a more equitable world.
