March 18, 2020

by Devan Haddad, Prevention Educator

A typical day for me during the school year is filled with a variety of tasks surrounding my 3 weekly clubs. This includes placing the pizza order (SOOO VITAL!), planning for club sessions, sending reminders via text to students, and bringing all necessary supplies to each site. However, clubs have drastically changed during this unprecedented time. Students and adults alike are working from home for the coming weeks. This can mean a lot of things - more family arguments, less opportunity to connect with friends, financial strain, mental health concerns and a general anxiety about the state of our world. Youth already have so many stressors in their lives from grades to social pressures to just figuring out who they are and where they fit in that this situation compounds those stressors.

Thankfully, we have technology as a valuable resource to stay connected to each other! Since schools closed on Monday, March 16, I have been trying something new - sending my club members daily texts. These texts have ranged from a silly meme, a selfie of me and my trusty home-office assistant snuggling (see above!) to some tips to keep the boredom at bay. Additionally I recently created an Instagram page specifically for club members to stay connected! It’s been wonderful to find new ways to be available to my students and I am looking forward to discovering even more creative ways for us to stay connected!