Maggie describes a young father’s perseverance

Maggie is always delighted to relate stories of youth who have managed to break the cycle of poverty and violence. As part of her role with Dans la rue’s Family Services, she helps young parents bond with their children.

“Some of the young parents I work with have no idea how to go about developing a positive emotional connection with their child, having come from a broken home without any role models to learn from. If parents are well adjusted, children will be too. So we begin with them and help them overcome their past difficulties.

We start by working on their self-esteem, which is often all but non-existent. I help them to develop a sense of self-worth and recognize their potential, so they can see that they have a bright future ahead of them. After a few conversations and some time spent thinking, they’re usually the ones to come to me with ideas of how to move forward.”

“You can let yourself dream. If I had a magic wand, what would you wish for?” We can be the first people to tell them they have what it takes to make their dreams come true!

I remember one young father who had built a complex device for his bicycle so he could go camping along the P’tit Train du Nord bike trail. When the counsellors saw what he had created, they were so impressed that they encouraged him to enrol in some engineering classes as an independent university student. He came from a family that didn’t have any money or education, so he didn’t think he could do it. He’s since earned his PhD and become a respected engineer.“