Over the past few weeks I have faced several issues related to how my job as a counselor is affected by legality. One particular instance comes to mind. I went on one of my first home visit. I knew from studying the case that the high school student has regularly used cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana. The visit was to officially address truancy. However, as I went into the suburban home that could resemble any home of kids I grew up with or even my own, I found a teenager weaving a web of manipulation and fear. I spoke with the mother about how she could communicate with her son. I felt removed from the entire conversation - as if I was watching it from a dream. My real self seemed to be looking at the dream self sitting on the couch telling some inane advice while screaming at the top my lungs and shaking the mother "your son does cocaine until his nose bleeds daily!! He can't deal with the pain of his dad leaving!!"
I was legally bound as a counselor to not break confidentiality. I could not say any of that. I had to watch myself sit there guided by the laws which allow teens to trust us. Laws enacted by California legislatures who in the past prioritized teens being able to get drug and alcohol, pregnancy, and mental health counseling without parental consent.
Later that week I learned how our funding is being drastically cut. The very means by which these youth can access our services is going to be made extremely difficult. The means by which this law in California can be tangible to youth is now narrowed and strangled to the point of almost not existing. But it still exists a a bare minimum because the state is legally bound to do so.
Today was law school graduation. I can't help but think of where and who I would have been if I had continued down that path. I know this is what God wants me to do. How else can I explain why my heart is so in this? Today I face the law daily in charges against youth I counsel, legal boundaries I must respect, legal loopholes legislatures may use, and today the past reminder of the lawyer I could have become. However, I must focus not on the bigger picture of the "system".
I must focus on the individual youth I have met. Honestly, it is them who have taught me so much about life; a glimpse into a lifestyle and culture I have never experienced. I am grateful for this and for their allowing me to throw my two cents in here and there. No matter how broken the system and what is "in the best interests of youth" according to the capital.
How great that you are a compassionate, listener for these hurting teens. You are making a difference even if it seems like one starfish you are tossing back into the ocean amidst the thousands that litter the sand. It's interesting to hear your perspective on the law that keeps parents out of the loop. I'm sure it is needed in a few cases where the teens are in abusive home environments. However, it leaves parents like me at a disadvantage, willing to help, desperate to help - yet left in the dark.
ReplyDelete