had a few friends that worked together at a boy's home. tough, tough neighborhood. harder job.
essentially this boy's home was an adolescent prison without bars. kids that had got in serious enough trouble to be incarcerated in some form, but that were too young for prison could sometimes go to court and be assigned to this boy's home.
there was essentially no behavior (short of murder) that would result in any more punishment.
so the system handed them kids from horribly broken homes, that had been abused, maybe were homeless, maybe bouncing between relatives, etc. whose actions found them in state custody, separated from any support system & often whatever family they did have never communicated with them or visited.
the thing was prison in all but name and cell bars. just a wild place. constant fights. other kids coming from outside to start fights. they had gets get shot and stabbed INSIDE the building. horrible.
these guys were tasked with being security, counselor, parent, confidant all while trying not to get too close because 50% of the kids would be dead in a year anyways and forming bonds would have destroyed them.
one of the guys stuck with the profession/career and still works in a related occupation helping troubled kids. the other two tapped out long ago. these are three guys who, prior to working at this boy's home, had been through the ****ing wringer in life and thought they could relate/handle the job but it just wrecked them. the people who do these jobs are absolute saints. the pay is trash. the kids are ****ed beyond belief. the families don't care. the state doesn't care. people want the kids to just disappear.. and unfortunately a lot of them do.
just an absolutely soul-sucking job with very little positive outcome.
This one of the more depressing things I've ever read. Damn. :(
these guys.. tough, tough guys. really when i say they had been through the wringer, i mean.. you name it.
but to hear them commiserating about work and seeing/hearing how it affected them every day. yikes.
popped in there one night with one of my friends to get his check and met a few of the kids. couldn't tell you names or whatever anymore.. it was 20+ years ago. it was clear there were some kids who didn't fit/didn't belong/weren't street tough who were close(r) to the workers. kids that lashed out maybe one unfortunate time at school, or home, whatever and they paid the price of being locked away.
met a couple of those boys that night. they seemed like regular, sweet, 12/13 year old kids. just normal tween/teens in the wrong environment. they stood out to me because they madea point of talking with me whereas the others didn't seem interested.. normal kid stuff...they were shooting paper balls off one of those mini-hoops and just being goofy kids, hanging out with my friends during a little free time.
within maybe a few months both those kids were dead. they never got to go home. prey in a predator's environment.
that has stuck with me all these years. can't imagine how it must have been being around those kids every day knowing their likely fate and just waiting for the inevitable.
