Information for Youth
FYI is a safe shelter for teenagers having problems at home; a safe
alternative to the streets. Many people we see have run away from
home, or want to because they feel they cannot solve their problems.
We firmly believe that running away does not solve problems. With
our help and an opportunity to think, you can come up with better
ways to deal with your problems. You may have never thought about
running away. FYI can assist with issues such as family conflict,
school problems and behavior problems. We help families through
individual, group and family counseling. Counseling is based upon
the idea that all family members share responsibility for the family’s
well¬being, and all must work to improve family relationships,
including you. The maximum length of stay at this facility is 15
days.
FYI is a voluntary program, which means no one can force you to
stay here. If after entering the program you decide that you do
not want to stay here, your parents/legal guardians must give permission
for you to leave. If you leave without your parents’ permission,
we will contact your parents immediately to notify them that you
have run away from the program. A missing person report will be
filed with the police. Remember, running away doesn’t solve
problems.
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What Others Have Said
-a 15 year old female wrote us this letter after her 2 week stay-
I Love You, FYI
2-28-06
When does one begin to explain one’s gratitude toward a group of people, if that gratitude has no set beginning, let alone end? I suppose an abstract beginning could be the day I met this group of people, but – I’m grateful for beyond this people. I give thanks to the people before and after, and those that do not contain themselves in this group that make the same thanks-worthy impact elsewhere.
Why am I full of such admiration and respect? Because the persons at FYI aided me in doing what I once believed impossible. The first day I came here I was “suicidal, depressed, and unmotivated,” like I admitted on the question sheet. After the first five minutes during the intake, I cried due to the fact I was too uncomfortable sitting next to my father in the same room, and even when he left the building I was still sick to my stomach with dread. The woman at my intake gave me the option of returning the same night, week, or whatever was most comfortable. I chose two hours later.
Yes, I was unsure. No, I did not worry. It had already been bedtime by the time I unpacked and such, so I laid in bed. At my house in the past few weeks prior to, I did not attend school, I did not participate in any thought-related activity (yup – did absolutely nothing), and the only way I slept was after 20-hours awake. Even then I did not sleep, I passed out. So…easily sleeping through the night following a mere hour of lying in bed, well. It was a miracle. Actually, the more I slept here, the better or easier it was to sleep in just a few minutes of quiet.
The next morning I minded not the doing of chores, making meals, and mandatory scheduled activities. Not because I liked doing what I am told to do, but because I just kept thinking, “it’s better than ‘home.’” The other “clients” have varried in personality, yet somehow we were/are so related. The same, or similar, problems molded us into a family. When one of us leaves we are shortly saddened. Then, anxious for the new arrival. Yeah – a family. A family by what the definition probably should be; a definition that I think few understand enough to admit exists.
Within less than 24 hours, my family made me laugh, cry, pissed off, and blissfully hopeful for the new 24 hours to come. It’s kind of like watching a really good movie that everyone likes, or can stand, to see repeatedly. And then you anticipate a sequel (unfortunately there are only so many sequels, and this program lasts for so long).
Anyways. There are millions of amazing experiences I experienced with amazing people at FYI. There are thousands of inside jokes and stories, of which I will keep such – inside. I came, I saw, I connected, if only in this smaller and almost separated version of the world. And although I decidedly am uncertain as to the exact place I go to after here, that is not home, FYI has helped me to comprehend that I know where I am not going and what I pray I will not do again. A family away from “family” was/is what I wish I had wished for forever ago.
Sincerely Thankful,
Your Favorite.
(#068)
PS – FYI should stand for “the Family You Imitate.” |
