Youth 360 September Helpful Hero
Contributed by Angel and Jovan Archuleta
September has been a month full of hearing stories about new sport accomplishments, continued issues darkening steps, and a mix of hesitant "sure I'll try I guess" and dirty looks. Attendance dropped a bit, but volunteers showed to help with e-sports, crafts, thank you projects, and to share fun stories. Once again, we had youth nominate and pick one of their peers as the Helpful Hero of the Month.
The September HH is actually home schooled. HH enjoys their time at Youth 360 and is grateful for the opportunity "to get out of the house to meet other teens and socialize". They were once in public school and had started their time with Youth 360 then. When first transitioning to the home school environment, they stopped attending, then began again last year.
When asked what they liked about coming to Youth, they replied "all this" as they swept their arm pointing to the schedule, a game going on, and other teens sitting back and watching, adding "even if I don't use (activities and information staff provide) It's good to know it's here".
As described by peers: HH is always positive and patient with others. If someone is having trouble understanding, they will patiently explain and help them to better understand. They are kind to everyone, and even if they don't get along with someone, they will still show respect. If someone needs assistance, HH is willing to jump up to be a helping hand. Whenever they are around, people light up. "HH brings joy into a room".