Rylee Fraser believes Ranch Ehrlo has changed his life, and he’s made a video to prove it.
Rylee, 13, came to Ranch Ehrlo in January of this year. He spent three months in Appleton House before his parents, Tara Fraser and Shaun Smith, came down from their home in Whitehorse to join him in the Ranch’s Family Treatment Program (FTP). They have been part of the program since April.
“It’s different (in Saskatchewan) – I’m not used to seeing fields instead of trees and mountains,” Rylee said. “But it’s a nice place, and there’s nice people.”
Since being in the FTP, Rylee has been taking videos and photos of his daily life. A budding videographer, he didn’t stop there – Rylee has edited his footage into a professional-looking movie trailer that manages to both showcase the fun he has and capture the distance he and his family travelled to get the help they needed.
Using his iPhone’s built-in movie maker, Rylee has cut together videos and photos from his family’s time in the program and overlaid it with music, text, and a voiceover.
“(Basically, it’s about) how Ranch Ehrlo changed my life,” he said. “I used to have rough times back home, but after getting tons of help and support here, it helped me change.”
“I started it one day actually because I was bored, but then I thought, ‘maybe I should do this more’,” Rylee said of his trailer. “Then I did it – and it turned out really good.”
He worked on the trailer for about a month. He plans to upload it to YouTube and burn it to a disc for FTP director Patti Petrucka to keep, as his way of thanking everyone in the program for all they’ve done.
“I think it’s a great project,” said Rylee’s mom Tara. “I’m really proud of him for all the creative things he’s done.”
Rylee is also writing about his experiences in the Family Treatment Program and hopes to get his work published through the Family Treatment Program’s writing group.