I work at a live-in treatment program for criminal Justice youth that was suddenly shut down yesterday. We were all called in for a last minute meeting and told that we were closing, and that all of our youth were being shipped out that day.

They all left within an hour. They’d been there for months. We barely got to say goodbye and I am completely devastated. I had a really great rapport with one of the youth in particular, and he’s called in a few times from his new place, crying because he wants to come back and “it doesn’t feel right.” He said he wasn’t ready for this, and that we were the only place that’s ever made him feel cared for.

I’ve seen such an improvement in him in his time here, and in so many of the other youth. I cant handle feeling like we’re just giving up on them. I feel like this field is going to destroy me because I am so crushed by this news, and every single fibre of my being wants to help these kids that we just abandoned. But I am helpless to do anything and that’s the worst part.