Love and trust are the key elements you need especially when you work with vulnerable people. Without trust you have nothing and you can’t move forward without that. Sometimes it takes a long time to build that trust. They want to know that you will be there for them no matter what they do.
This brings me back to my childhood and how I distrusted adults. They had proven over and over again that they could not be trusted. Love does win over that theory. I loved school so much even though I didn’t learn much. I came to school to get away from the crappy home I was in. I loved it but it was often confusing for me. So many emotions but I kept them close to me. I never mentioned a word of it to anyone. This was partly because I had challenged my family one day and said I would tell about what what happening in my home and my dad told me that if I did I would be taken away and I would never see my family again. That terrified me so I kept my mouth shut .
Years later I found out that teachers at school knew something was wrong in my home. I learned what teachers I could trust and ones what would call home and life would become even more unbearable. I would seek out the kind ones often. They gave me that love and kindness that I didn’t get at home. They believed in me. I wanted to go home with them. I see that in children I’ve worked with. They would rather join any home but there’s.
It took me a long time to gain trust from one of my students. When they see me now their face lights up and they come and give me a huge hug. They tell me that they were bad before but I tell them that their brain was needing help and now that you have it, you can choose how to make decisions that effect how your day is. They tell me that they have made good decisions and I tell them how proud of them I am and that what happened before was not their fault. There face lights up. I tell them often how proud of them I am. What a difference of who this child was to who they are now.
I look forward to my hugs everyday the check ins. It took a long time to get to where we are today but I never gave up even when it was so hard. I’m so glad that nobody gave up on me either. Sometimes it takes a lot of extra time, love and compassion to help us through. Love conquers everything.
So next time you feel like you can’t get through to someone. Keep persisting. It’s so worth it. Remember the foundation is Trust and Love.
Beauty from Ashes. 