Bangor Daily News Photo by Bridget Brown
In Tuesday’s Bangor Daily News, an article ran about our facility scoring 100 percent on our recent ACA audit. When I first read through the article, (Charleston youth center scores high), I was generally pleased. Here is a piece that shows our facility in a positive light, that talks about the good things that happen here, and that features a nice picture of some of the students in my Culinary Arts class (always a plus in my book). The article also cites several statistics about the residents:
The youths require a variety of services. About 80 percent have at least one mental health diagnosis; 60 percent meet special education requirements; 80 percent come with significant substance abuse problems; 25 percent have significant learning disabilities, about 25 percent of the boys and about 90 percent of the girls have been sexually, mentally or physically abused and only 17 percent come from two-parent biological families.
In talking with several residents yesterday, I discovered that many of you were less than pleased about being included in these groups, and were upset about being made a statistic. Here is your opportunity to respond. How did you feel after reading the article? Why did you feel that way? Were there any parts of the article that you liked? If so, which ones and why did you like them? What can you do to make sure that you do not continue to be a statistic?