shimmel:
Working with the ANGRY at-risk population is very trying and demanding. The most influential mentors are those who walked a mile in the shoes of the at-risk teen. They are able to understand a question asked from cynicism vs. from pain. Most people would simply walk away, but onl;y one who has gone through it understands the questions coming from pain.
As a mentor in Chicago explained it very succinctly, “An at-risk professional is a mechanech, one who is well versed in psychology, and who has gone through the pain, all wrapped in one person. Would you go to a grief counselor who never experienced loss? Only someone who has gone through the pain the teen is going through can give true hadracha”
Not everyone who has experienced the pain and anger the at-risk teens experience is cut out to VOLUNTEER his/her time. Those who do volunteer deserve all the bracha in the world. Hashem should repay them for their efforts and their wives dedication for allowing late night shifts.