Homeless?

Four of the staff arrived today and there was lots of screaming and hugging and skipping around and laughter as they ran through camp, touching everything and celebrating their arrival. After dinner and the first day of the "Turtle Run Club" (PDS, PDP and I running while whining about being out of shape), I was chatting on the phone when my new maintenance assistant (MA) knocked on the door.

"Um, I was wondering if you had any empty cabins somewhere at camp that I could possibly stay in?" He was wearing a backpack and looking like a lost puppy.

I asked him to sit down and tell me what was going on. He told me his grandparents had kicked him out of his house and he didn't have anywhere to go. I asked if that happened often and he said yes. His dad lives in a nearby town and they have a difficult relationship, which causes tension with his grandparents. After a few days it usually passes and he can go home.

I knew he probably didn't have the ideal home life when he told me he'd moved away from home two years ago to live with his grandparents, so I wasn't shocked at all of this information. I asked what he usually does when this happens and he told me sometimes he goes to a friend's house, but that friend is out of town, or sometimes he sleeps outside. When I asked, "like in a tent?" he said, "no, just outside. You know where the docks are? Under those. I could catch the bus for school on the road nearby." My reply, "so, like a homeless person?" He's working two jobs this summer to try to afford his own place to live, and then he offered to pay rent if I let him stay in a cabin.

I told him that most of our staff live onsite and he could too, as long as he followed the code of conduct rules. I gave him a few choices for cabins and he decided to move in with the two male counselors that just arrived. I took him to the cabin, showed him the locker room, bathrooms, the dining hall, told him what time meals are served and then introduced him to the staff. MA is very quiet and looked a little nervous about the overly excited, giggling group, but he went with them to watch a movie and hang out.

When I returned to my house, it occurred to me that his small backpack probably didn't have any bedding in it, so I got out sheets, a blanket, a pillow, a towel, and then made a toiletry bag with soap, shampoo, a toothbrush and toothpaste. I'm not sure what he has with him, and while a bare mattress in a cabin is probably better than under a dock outside, the idea of him falling asleep with nothing is entirely too sad to even consider.

I should probably be more cynical, cautious and my response to a troubled 18 year old who just got kicked out of his house should be much more skeptical. But my natural instinct is to assume the best of people. And thus far, he's been a hard worker, taken initiative several times, been very respectful and helpful. He's been kind, had a great attitude and he smiles a lot. He hasn't given me any reason to hesitate to help him. He reminds me of an abandoned puppy, sweet and pathetic and every time I see him, I just want to offer him milk and cookies and tell him everything will be okay.

In the 5 hours the other four staff have been here, every single one of them has knocked on my door needing something (a sweatshirt, a scanner, several questions). Taking care of needy 19 year olds is a big part of my job. My exBF never understood this and it drove him insane. "They are staff. You are their boss. They need to be more professional." He didn't understand that camp is a much different job than anywhere else. They aren't just here for a shift and then go home. They live here, it's 24/7, it's intense and constant, and 19 is so much younger than anyone realizes. Yes, they are employees and they have to be able to do their jobs, but when you live at your workplace, your boss has a lot of influence on your life overall.

So MA appearing on my doorstep carrying a small backpack, with no where to go, no plan and apparently no family or friends to turn to was no different than all of the other needs of all of the other staff. He's less innocent, sheltered and Jesus loving than my typical staff, but he's still a kid, struggling to be independent but just as in need of a parent as ever. He's only worked here one week, so the fact that he felt like camp was a safe place and that I was someone he could go to for help means that either I've done a really good job of building a welcoming environment or I have "sucker" written all over me. I hope that living at camp is just what he needs to help him through this difficult time rather than this being a lesson to me about needing to be more skeptical.