Clad in a
black sweatshirt and baggy khaki pants, Willie Rodriguez lounged comfortably in
his swivel chair in his office at RCIL’s Main Street Program. However, as
mentor of 75 at-risk 14-21 year olds, Rodriguez’s persona of laidback geniality
acts as a necessity as well as a tool.
The
responsibilities of the job are varied, but in short, when a kid’s life is
crumbling around him—whether due to crime, family issues, abuse, or lack of
stability at home- Rodriguez is the puzzle piece that holds it all together. He
attends court cases, works with school administration and faculty, counsels
parents and family members and of course, serves as an advisor, friend, and
confidant to “his kids.”
The
program was started by Rodriguez in collaboration with Director of Advocacy
Services, Gene Hughes in 2006 while
during previous company retreats, RCIL staff noted that a whole subset of the
population –“youth in the juvenile justice system, the criminal justice system,
on the streets- wasn’t being served.”
Receiving
funding from the United Way, the 38-year-old father of six got the program
underway, offering mentoring to teens and young adults from Utica and the
surrounding communities. The Main Street program is free of charge for
participants, which Rodriguez lauds as key to pushing for the best interest of
the youth. He grins mischievously as he tells stories about confronting
stubborn judges. “I can advocate for a kid, without jeopardizing my funding,”
he noted.
Upon referral
to the program, each youth is evaluated to determine the needs that should be
met, and assigned to Level 1-3. Depending on the individual and his or her
circumstances, he will talk with Rodriguez every day, either in person or by
text message, or a few times a month. Currently, he and Kim Walsh, who joined
the program last year, together work with 125 at-risk youths, with plans to
serve at least 25 per year.
Both
explicitly and through his body language, Rodriguez emphasized his casual
approach to interacting with kids. “I probably hear more than a (hired)
therapist will ever hear,” he said. “We have the time to build up that rapport.
We talk about”-he shrugged- “sports, personal life, whatever.”
Perhaps
most impressive are Main Street
“It’s easy to
tell a kid what to do, but without providing (the means), words are just
words,” he explained. “You have to walk them down that road.”
- Katie J.
Being a person with a disability in Utica is utterly hopeless. It is a life of absolute desperation. One is better off dead.
ReplyDeleteErnest Hemingway once wrote: "The world breaks everyone and afterward some are strong at the broken places." Kids who are at risk or have disabilities that make it difficult for them to function in a very tough world, (or who have difficulty making and keeping friends) need all the help and support that they can get. Without supports, these kids might always be lost and never find their own strength.
ReplyDeletePeter O: I am of the belief that no one, whether they are considered "vulnerable" or not, or whether they are children or adults should be forgotten or passed over. Talking about it can be the start of a positive solution.
Dear RCIL Blog Censor:
ReplyDeleteAfter this I'll let it go and leave you to your dreamland experience of People with Disabilities [PWD]. In this age of social networks you can't delete this truth which conflicts with your noble but inaccurate philosophy faster than I can tweet and facebook it.
Today one of my neighbors here in Utica who has a disability came up to me and told me--for the first time--that he was so discouraged that he--yes he--not I--was seriously thinking of committing suicide.
So what could I say to him? "RCIL is fighting for your civil rights and helping you and all the other PWD in Utica claw out of abject poverty?"
Had I said this he would either have laughed at me or punched me in the face. That's reality for a great many PWD in your Utopian Utica.
Godpeed.
RCIL has never promoted Utopia, or ignored cries for help. However, we choose not to endorse pessimism or negative thinking. I believe in the strength and intelligence of the people I work with, and in a community's ability to find just solutions and change for the better.
ReplyDelete