Blake struggled with anger for most of his childhood, and as he got older, he became more physical. He attended weekly therapy, but it didn’t have much of an impact on his ability to cope.
![Healing from Within, Blake’s Path to Finding Self Control](https://youthvillages.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Youth-and-adult-playing-basketball.webp)
Blake struggled with anger for most of his childhood, and as he got older, he became more physical. He attended weekly therapy, but it didn’t have much of an impact on his ability to cope.
Stable housing can make – or break – a family. Due to the state of their single mom’s home, 10 children were at risk of being removed and experiencing the trauma that comes with it.
For a long time, Stacy was worried her 12-year-old son, Jay, would be removed from her home. Despite Jay being very social, active among his peer group and good at engaging with other kids his age, he was often physically aggressive at home, struggled with substance use, general delinquency and was destroying items in his home.
Creativity is important. Simply engaging in creative activities can boost your mental health and a new survey from APA finds about 46% of Americans use creative activities to relieve stress or anxiety, such as playing the piano, crocheting a blanket, dancing with friends or solving crossword puzzles.
Teenagers can create challenging moments for many parents. Those trying moments can be even greater for a single parent who loves and provides for their children but is stretched by work and other demands.
Her 13-year-old daughter was already involved in the juvenile court system, was skipping school and the single-mother from Peabody feared her daughter could end up in prison. But she didn’t know where to turn.
Youth Villages has offered services in Massachusetts since 2007 and in 2010, expanded into New Hampshire. I’ve worked for Youth Villages for six years and, in that time, I’ve held multiple roles. I started as a family intervention specialist and transitioned to a regional supervisor.
Having children is a life-changing experience, and most parents will admit you’re never ready until you become one. There is certainly not a universal manual on how to parent, and at the end of the day, most parents want to raise their children the best way they know how.
At Youth Villages, we believe children are raised best at home. However, some families need extra support to unload those extra stressors off their shoulders and learn tools to ease some of that weight.
When working with children experiencing behavioral and mental health challenges, a little creativity goes a long way. And for Intercept specialist Noah Galiffi-Caster, making a connection with the young people he works with is often a key to success.