Submitted by Matheson House youth care leader Sean Bader

I like to think the commodities we deal with at Ranch Ehrlo are futures. We generally don’t see any immediate change in youth, but the appreciation that we hope for tends to come after a couple of years.

Personally, I try to focus on being an effective youth care leader (YCL). I put a lot of emphasis on the “home” aspect of “group home”. To me, this is a career that I thoroughly enjoy and that grants me an amount of fulfillment that I never expected. But I get to go home after my shift. For our youth, Matheson House is their home.

I generally don’t focus too much on when the youth arrive, or when they leave, but try to function as a parent – imparting the lessons I’ve learned, the values I believe, and some perspective for the future – during the time they are physically in our care. Because I believe that our voices and the lessons we’ve taught carry on in our youth, much like an adopted conscience.

A few weeks ago, one of our youth returned for a visit. *Jordan came to the Ranch in 2013 and he eventually came to live in Matheson House where I am a YCL. When he arrived, Jordan was impulsive, prone to anger, and antagonistic. He struggled a lot in school, and in his last year with us, he was unable to complete his classes. This was unfortunate in some ways, but I believe it led to some of his most significant growth.

Not being in school, his focus shifted to self-improvement and resume building.

Developing a resume, thinking about his personal skills and positive attributes, really helped shift Jordan’s perspective. It sparked a brief period of improved self-esteem and gave Jordan some insight about his life after school.

Unfortunately, Jordan lost his job due to some impulsive decisions and not being in school, Jordan began to float around like a leaf on the wind. In early December, Jordan’s agency pulled funding and he was returned to his home community.

Six months later, he was back in Prince Albert for a family matter and stopped in at Matheson House for a visit. We learned that he is living at home, going to school and working weekends with his father – in short, Jordan is thriving.

That afternoon, he was asked to join group therapy where the focus was what the youth had learned while at Ranch Ehrlo. Most of the youth had one word answers, but Jordan spoke about how he’d learned the importance of personal self-care and schooling, the ability to plan and execute a cleaning list, cooking, healthy eating, making phone calls, setting up appointments – and so on. Our case worker was moved to tears and I believe everyone who was witness to *Jordan’s level of maturity and appreciation for his time at Ranch Ehrlo was impacted.

Personally, I couldn't contain the pride I felt for Jordan. All the work, all the frustration, all the conversations that we had, and we sometimes felt that it was in one ear and out the other. Not true. Jordan was still the same young man, he hasn't lost that twinkle of mischief in his eye, but being on the other side of the door has changed his perspective. That is exactly why I love what I do.

It's going to be different with every youth, but whether we see the change, or not. It happens. We may not reach this level with every youth we encounter, it's important to focus on the successes.

*name change