Lindsey has been working with the probation clients a little over a year now. She has an incredible ability to connect with young men and women who couldn’t be more different than her.
The individuals she works with confront challenging and potentially harmful circumstances each day. They all come to love and cherish the refuge and guidance that she provides.
On a daily basis Lindsey drives to meet these kids in their neighborhoods-either at their schools or local libraries or wherever she could find a quiet space (mostly on the south side of Chicago). She sits with them and asks them about their lives, who they are, what they’ve been through and their hopes and dreams. She listens.
As you can imagine for most of these kids it’s also the first time that anyone has ever told them that they are good at anything. She buys them books or plays therapeutic games with them and offers them a glimpse of a world where things can be better and different. These are kids that society just writes off but not Lindsey. They told her that she had mattered to them- that she was like a sister.
Lindsey battles traffic to drive into these tough neighborhoods to meet with the next one and then the next. Even though this is extremely draining and emotional work Lindsey gets up the next day and does it again because she genuinely cares about these kids. She looks past the rough exteriors (tattoos, hard looks, and piercings) and sees the positives in them and it makes a difference.
Lindsey is a brave young woman and an amazing clinician. Truly an amazing testimony to the work that Infant Welfare does on a day to day basis. We thank you Lindsey.
