Teens and Trauma
Growing up, I was always around the topic of mental health. In the state of the North Carolina, my mother worked with individuals who suffered from mental health issues and helped them find jobs that properly fit them and their mental health status. My father owned a couple of group-homes for delinquent children who often found themselves in trouble with the law, school, and family. I did not pay much attention to my parents and their jobs at the time, but after taking this course a lot of memories of conversations, terms, and even people came back to me.
Around my pre-teen years, my father owned and managed a group-home for troubled teenagers in the area. Soon after my father opened his first group-home he realized that these young men were not dangerous, harmful, or delinquent. He found them to be the opposite of that. He did mention that there is a barrier at first but once they trust in someone they are caring, helpful, respectful and fun to be around. Although these teens were able to behave for the majority of the time, they did suffer from PTSD. They had triggers and when they were triggered you could see the bad habits and emotions surface. My father was the only one could calm them down, and I believe its due to the fact that they trusted him and he knew how to reach them. Despite their short-comings when triggered, my father still had faith and trust in the young men. He trusted them enough to where he was comfortable bringing me around them to do small activities like play video games, or play basketball. Out of respect for my father they had a high level of respect for me as well. What made them like me, even more, was the fact that I was not rude, judgmental, or treated differently from them. My father treated us all the same; he treated us like we were people.
Basketball seemed to be the common ground for all of us and most importantly, a safe haven. My father made going to the gym to play basketball a reward for the boys. They had to do their homework before going, they had to behave fairly well in school, do their chores around the house, and make sure they were respectful and grateful for the opportunity to be able to go play basketball and of course, it was good exercise and fun for everyone. NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of North Carolina would provide opportunities for the young men to participate in things outside of basketball like game nights, venting seminars, and therapy sessions; all in which the young men usually did not enjoy. In my opinion, the state provides these opportunities to actually help with the young men’s trauma issues. The young men typically did not know the people that were trying to help them very well, which led to a lack of trust, which led to the young men not engaging and listening to the therapist or activity at hand.
The group-home keeps the young men out of trouble, helps them with school, helps them develop good habits, and allows them to be in their safe haven; doing what they love to do all with the guidance of an individual who truly cares about them. The group-home situation is great for the young men but there is one problem. The state ends funding for these young men at the age of 18, disallowing them to continue living in the group-home. At the age of 18, these young men end up moving back home. Home is where these young men were physically, sexually and verbally abused along with being traumatized by poverty, crime, and abandonment. I had the opportunity to interview Joe McCauley, owner and founder of a group-home in North Carolina, YouthExtension, to get some insight on how he feels about the cut off age. He stated, “I have seen numerous young men make progression throughout their time period in my [group-]homes, and when they turn 18 I really worry. They are released back into the wild where they starved, beaten up, cursed out, and got in trouble. Years of training these young men to do the right things and putting them in a safe environment goes down the drain as soon as they arrive back on their doorstep.” My father agrees with this statement and says he can do nothing but pray and hope the young men have changed their ways by the time they turn 18-years-old. When they are out on their own, they are not going to be able to go to their local gym and just play with friends. They have to pay to get in most indoor gyms, they are not protected by their group-home leader, and they could easily find themselves in trouble. All in which they did not have to worry about prior to being 18. After taking this course and understanding how PTSD works, there is not a lot of hope for these young men because they never overcame their trauma; the group-homes only pushed their trauma aside. Group-homes have trouble trying to help the young men face their trauma because they do not want the young men to feel uncomfortable, do not want to touch sensitive subjects, and they do not want to trigger them. Group-homes employees are not required to be therapists so, therefore, to keep the peace, they do the best they can with avoiding the mental issue of PTSD.
After brainstorming I came up with an idea that I thought could work long-term for the young men for when they are in the group home and when they are 18 and have to be back home. The simple idea of planting came to mind. It is a skill that has to be learned and developed throughout time and experience. To further my idea, I did some research on the health effects of planting. Turns out there are a lot of positive effects for mental health that are useful especially for this group of young men. According to Psychology Today, there are 10 great reasons why planting is good for a person’s mental health, but there are five that stood out to me the most:
- “Looking after plants gives us responsibility”
- “Gardening allows us to be nurturers”
- “Some aspects of gardening allow us to vent anger and aggression…”
- “Working in nature releases happy hormones.”
- “…whilst others [Gardening] allow us to feel in control”
These five statements listed are vital in a group-home young man’s life and could act as a form of CBT. If they are able to learn how to plant and have some enjoyment for it then they are a little better off than they would be without it. I asked Joe McCauley about the idea of his clients planting as an extra-curricular activity and he absolutely loved it. For his group-home, he could easily set-up a small garden in the back and provide each young man with their own section to plant. Another option for Joe McCauley and his group-home could be community gardens. Depending on the city, there are usually community gardens where the public is allowed to come and plant different things, which would be great for the young men to be able to get away from the house and be involved with the community. To push the idea even further I thought about how planting could benefit the young man outside of their mental health. There are plenty of job opportunities in the agricultural field. If they continue to learn about gardening and the science of it, they could not only grow their own foods and feed themselves, but they can also make a living out of it. Most importantly, this is a skill or opportunity they can take beyond the group-home that could be there safe haven or place of comfort.
Overall, I believe there is no ultimate answer to fix everything for these group-home young men. I also believe there are good intentions from both the group-home side and NAMI. The group-home is there to make these young men feel as comfortable as possible by placing them outside of the place of trauma, teaching them beneficial traits, and guiding them along the way. The best example of how a group-home fulfills these qualities is through basketball. Basketball was a reward which implemented structure and discipline, it is also a way the young men can have fun, exercise, compete, and bond. NAMI has more of the approach to help their PTSD. Providing therapists, and seminars are all in an attempt to help these young men face their trauma in hopes of overcoming it. Even though both branches have good intentions, these young men still end up heading down the wrong path because of their inability to function outside of their trauma in their home circumstances. These young men usually do not pursue higher education or find stable jobs, but find themselves in trouble with the law instead. Planting, however, will provide a skill set in which they can benefit from during their time at a group-home and beyond. In a perfect world, these young men could make a living out of the agricultural world, but the most important part of this skill is to help their mental illness as well as keeping them occupied, thinking, productive and out of trouble all as a form of cognitive behavioral therapy. Planting may not completely resolve their trauma, but it provides them with an activity that can allow them to make something of themselves and have a positive impact on the community. In my opinion everyone, even successful people, live with some type of trauma, whether it is something minor or major, but they made the best out of their situation; these young men can do the same. Again, planting may not cure their trauma, but it for sure can be the foundation to a life worth-while.
Works cited:
Rayner, S. (n.d.). Petal Power: Why Is Gardening So Good For Our Mental Health? Retrieved September 5, 2018, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/worry-and-panic/201505/petal-power-why-is-gardening-so-good-our-mental-health
Joe McCauley, Founder of YouthExtension. Personal Interview