I mean, seriously, who pulls aside people that move into their little "private property" community and say things like:
"So yeah...I'm doing this great thing by helping all these really screwed up kids, women, and men. Our programs are great and really help people get their lives in order and get over their addictions and stuff. But don't talk to the program people, ok? They have issues and stuff. They say they want our help, and maybe they do, but a lot of them just want to keep pretending to be the victim so they never have to deal with their problems. So just keep that in mind."
Cuz that sure seems to be the speech they might get after moving to Heartland. I mean, there are families who avoid "program people" like the plague, won't let any of them near the children, won't speak to them, etc. Some even have the audacity to say to the program people that we need to stop complaining about everything and start appreciating all the blessings heartland is giving us. That we need to stop be so "ungrateful" for "everything Heartland is doing for you!"
Since they are naive, we can forgive them their cruel words. Only those who have been through the program will ever truly understand what it does to a person, and the flaws in the system, and the favoritism, and the holier-than-thou staff that beats down on you. Unless you are an inherently good person, you can't understand without having been through it. But there were a handful of them there, like the Shorts, the Palmers, the Nickersons, the Whites, the Metzgers the Powells, the Newlands, and the Kippings. They all genuinely care about the kids in the program and want to help them learn, heal, and grow. They are wonderful people who will always be in my favorite memories. I hope they continue to do the Host Parent nights every week and that these families continue to participate, because spending time with them, even for a few hours once a week, made life at Heartland infinitely better.
The weeks I spent at the Palmers playing uno and making dinner together made my senior year tons of fun. The games of hide-and-seek with the Nickerson/White kids before church and the times we goofed off during class activities/nonacademic days were always hilarious. The times Mrs. Kipping brought us to her house after school to make delicious cookies was always relaxing. The times Mama Powell interrupted our Life Studies class to go to her house and bake those perfect mini bananabread loaves and listen to hear stories always cheered me up on a bad day. Every afternoon spent working with Mrs. Metzger and the kids was so much fun, so eventful. Every class with Coach Short going on rabbit trails and telling stories and making us laugh makes me smile. I will never forget these great memories as long as I live.
But the people who treat the "program people" like the plague because they don't know better, you really have to wonder how that came to be. What do Charlie and Laurie tell them about us to get them to fear and loathe us? What do the staff and leadership say about us that makes us seem so terrible? And how can you not find it terribly suspicious when someone says that you shouldn't interact with all the program people, if you're a good Christian person who wants to help? I mean, that's like saying,"No, no, let ME handle it, because only I can fix them. Even though you mean well, you shouldn't try to help. They might try to drag you down. Let me take care of this, and please, just don't interfere." Isn that not toally screaming "HEY LOOK- NO CHECKS AND BALANCES!!"
They can't be held responsible for any wrongdoings if they insist that everyone making claims of said wrongdoings is totally crazy or out for attention, can they? If the people who accuse them of abuse, or unkindness, or unfairness are all mental, or just "trying to play the victim" then of course they don't have to ever admit to any wrongs, and then they never have to fix anything. They can do anything they please- that is BAD.
Sources:
- The original statement on Topix.com
- Factsheet about the facility (Fornits Wiki)
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