Dear City of Clawson: You can SUCK it.
Hi Mrs. Heppner!
I am so glad that you are willing to go to the Parks and Recreation meeting to talk to Mickey that more than any other of the "concerned" parents would do. I truly appreciate it. Mickey does not like kids. He never has like the teens; he sees them all as punk kids that only cause problems. This is obviously based solely on the way they dress and the music that they blare from the teen center. I can understand, as you can too I would imagine, how he may get that perception, along with the rest of the people in the building, that the teen center kids are bad kids. BUT as we know- They are far from it.
The problem:
The Teen Center is a place for middle school kids to go to get homework help, hang out with their friends, stay active, and be in a safe environment after school.
The reality:
The teen Center is a place for ALL KIDS, during the most influential and formative years of their lives. They can play music, be themselves, play games, make jokes, talk about anything that is on their mind, and not feel uncomfortable. They have safe place to go and people that work there, who really want to be there, to help and plan activities to keep them busy.
Now, when I left, I left the teen center in the hands of a complete stranger, who I thought looked like a complete creep. I worry about it everyday. When I heard that the high schoolers weren't allowed there anymore I just about lost it. I would never have made them leave. They are an important part of that place, and the middle school kids know that too. Personally I think that the TC should be for high schoolers and that the schools should put together a program for middle school kids. The high school kids are GOOD KIDS. They need a place to go just as much as any other kid, maybe more. I know that without the teen center a lot of the kids may have been making much different choices in their lives. High school kids need homework help, they need someone to talk to about the stuff that is going on in their lives, and they also need someone to help them see their potential.
The staff is all kids that are in school- College and Taylor in high-school. They all have goals, are smart and want to help the kids succeed. Who would most benefit being around the staff? HIGH SCHOOLERS! College is around the corner for some, and we always knew how to help and talk about it with them.
I still get at least one phone call a day from a TC kid and one of my staff calls me daily too. The kids that call me are mostly kids that aren't allowed there anymore. But a good example is Mike Stephenson, he is in middle school, but he hangs out with the high schoolers just fine. He has high school friends that look out for him, and he is better off. All the middle schoolers at teen center can potentially have older friends who can look out for them in the future. And that’s a good feeling.
The problem with the high schoolers is the language! They swear too much and they talk about things that some parents might not want their kids to know about just yet. That is the one thing I have had the most trouble with in the past. The high schoolers do not listen and swear in front of parents that are picking their kids up. That needs to be fixed.
Mickey was happy I left teen center, because he could brain-wash the new guy and make the program back to "normal", so the city would get off his back about the budget and blah. Boring, and without any older kids. He would have loved to get rid of my staff and started over too. But the kids love the staff, and vice versa. He told me that the teen center needs a new face, and it wouldn't happen with me around. I worked there for 8 years. I ran the teen center for 5 and I never thought it was bad. He just let the problems and the complaints build up so high that it got out of my control. Then I was blamed for a lot, which wouldn't have been strictly my fault, had Mickey stepped up and participated in the program from the beginning.
I don't actually know if any of this even hoped at all but maybe it gave you some ideas of things to say at the meeting. I used to go to lots of meeting, and I used to try to make changes, but after getting shot down so often I just started to lose my spirit. So I put all my time into 89x and then that backfired, and then I was back to square one.
I miss Teen Center the most of anything at home. I went to that building everyday of my life since kindergarten latchkey. And most of all I miss my kids! You have two really great boys. I love talking with them and I am glad that Joel keeps in touch with me. Thanks for showing interest in the Teen Center and I hope that this helps in some way. I will be home on oct. 19-22. So I am going to steal your boys and make them go to a hunted house or something on Friday night! See you then!
Thanks again,
Lindsay Hoffman
I am so glad that you are willing to go to the Parks and Recreation meeting to talk to Mickey that more than any other of the "concerned" parents would do. I truly appreciate it. Mickey does not like kids. He never has like the teens; he sees them all as punk kids that only cause problems. This is obviously based solely on the way they dress and the music that they blare from the teen center. I can understand, as you can too I would imagine, how he may get that perception, along with the rest of the people in the building, that the teen center kids are bad kids. BUT as we know- They are far from it.
The problem:
The Teen Center is a place for middle school kids to go to get homework help, hang out with their friends, stay active, and be in a safe environment after school.
The reality:
The teen Center is a place for ALL KIDS, during the most influential and formative years of their lives. They can play music, be themselves, play games, make jokes, talk about anything that is on their mind, and not feel uncomfortable. They have safe place to go and people that work there, who really want to be there, to help and plan activities to keep them busy.
Now, when I left, I left the teen center in the hands of a complete stranger, who I thought looked like a complete creep. I worry about it everyday. When I heard that the high schoolers weren't allowed there anymore I just about lost it. I would never have made them leave. They are an important part of that place, and the middle school kids know that too. Personally I think that the TC should be for high schoolers and that the schools should put together a program for middle school kids. The high school kids are GOOD KIDS. They need a place to go just as much as any other kid, maybe more. I know that without the teen center a lot of the kids may have been making much different choices in their lives. High school kids need homework help, they need someone to talk to about the stuff that is going on in their lives, and they also need someone to help them see their potential.
The staff is all kids that are in school- College and Taylor in high-school. They all have goals, are smart and want to help the kids succeed. Who would most benefit being around the staff? HIGH SCHOOLERS! College is around the corner for some, and we always knew how to help and talk about it with them.
I still get at least one phone call a day from a TC kid and one of my staff calls me daily too. The kids that call me are mostly kids that aren't allowed there anymore. But a good example is Mike Stephenson, he is in middle school, but he hangs out with the high schoolers just fine. He has high school friends that look out for him, and he is better off. All the middle schoolers at teen center can potentially have older friends who can look out for them in the future. And that’s a good feeling.
The problem with the high schoolers is the language! They swear too much and they talk about things that some parents might not want their kids to know about just yet. That is the one thing I have had the most trouble with in the past. The high schoolers do not listen and swear in front of parents that are picking their kids up. That needs to be fixed.
Mickey was happy I left teen center, because he could brain-wash the new guy and make the program back to "normal", so the city would get off his back about the budget and blah. Boring, and without any older kids. He would have loved to get rid of my staff and started over too. But the kids love the staff, and vice versa. He told me that the teen center needs a new face, and it wouldn't happen with me around. I worked there for 8 years. I ran the teen center for 5 and I never thought it was bad. He just let the problems and the complaints build up so high that it got out of my control. Then I was blamed for a lot, which wouldn't have been strictly my fault, had Mickey stepped up and participated in the program from the beginning.
I don't actually know if any of this even hoped at all but maybe it gave you some ideas of things to say at the meeting. I used to go to lots of meeting, and I used to try to make changes, but after getting shot down so often I just started to lose my spirit. So I put all my time into 89x and then that backfired, and then I was back to square one.
I miss Teen Center the most of anything at home. I went to that building everyday of my life since kindergarten latchkey. And most of all I miss my kids! You have two really great boys. I love talking with them and I am glad that Joel keeps in touch with me. Thanks for showing interest in the Teen Center and I hope that this helps in some way. I will be home on oct. 19-22. So I am going to steal your boys and make them go to a hunted house or something on Friday night! See you then!
Thanks again,
Lindsay Hoffman