If you’ve been through the drop-in at Teen Resource Centre, you will have seen many of the walls covered in “bubbles.”
Each bubble has the name of a former or current youth from the drop-in program. When 14-year-old Emily started attending the program last year, she asked why some people got to put their name on the wall.
Staff told her that youth were welcome to claim a bubble when they felt that they had become part of the Teen Resource Centre community by treating people with respect, helping others and generally being a good citizen.
Months later, staff noticed that Emily had made major improvements in her behaviour and complimented her on it. Emily smiled and noted she had been consciously working on improving herself.
Staff congratulated Emily on her hard work and asked what helped her when she struggled.
Emily smiled, pointed up at the wall and said that she wanted to earn her bubble. Emily started painting that afternoon.