Sweet Memories

My internship is officially over yet the imprint of the staff and students are engraved in my heart. The challenges were great but the rewards were greater. Over the past few weeks I have seen several students in the community away from the pressure that comes from being in school and our interaction has been extremely pleasant. I wonder if the challenge of having to succeed in a classroom setting when you have a disability adds to their stress. My UCAN experience has taught me that life has no friends and is not fair. However, in every situation I can choose the proper response to dictate my future. My students are well versed on their rights, DCFS system, foster care, and the CPS system. Many even know how to manipulate the system. As Dr. King Jr. Spoke of in "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" we are all tied together. Injustice or suffering anywhere is injustice everywhere. Therefore, I am forever tied to UCAN and their cause to heal those who have suffered trauma.

Weathering the Storm

My stay at UCAN can be difficult at times especially when students are escalated. Recently I had to physically restrain a student who was attacking a staff member. The incident was exhausting, problematic, and heart wrenching. I believe I forget that the children at the school have a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder when I see them performing at their base level. The illness is so spontaneous in its appearance that you have to just weather the storm. UCAN is a healing center because love is the only vehicle that will allow you to process with a student who has been escalated and move forward as if nothing ever happened. My heart has become attached to some of these young people because I recognize their will to overcome the limitations.

Eye Opener

My internship as a behavior intervention specialist has been a real eye opener. I have witnessed first hand what the crack epidemic and rebirth of heroine use has birthed in our community, the after effects are drastic. I often sat around scholars wondering how could children be so cruel to shoot up a whole crowd and gave remedies that sounded great in theory. However, to be able to work with kids who are considered the rejects of society, who have suffered great trauma, and who are immune to violence I learned that they have become desensitized. On top of many being in a dysfunctional home, most are daily under the influence of drugs like marijuana or mollies which is a purer form of ecstasy a hallucinogenic which allows them to escape the horror of their reality. My heart aches for this generation and I know the answer to this problem is more complicated than a new law or a fancy theory. We have a generation who truly need healing and the love which can heal must come from everyone in our community.

Working at the Academy

I purposely waited to post my next blog until I had a better understanding of the real UCAN Academy experience. Each day I walk into another world as I enter the doors of the school. It is a world of bottled up pain, unfulfilled potential, and masked emotions. My work as a Behavior Intervention Crisis Specialist keeps me in the line of fire. I have been trained in TCI Therepuetic Crisis Intervention to deescalate situations. Seeing many students coming out everyday fighting to get through school despite the labels society has put on them forces me to reevaluate my insignificant complaints at times. I have always had a heart for youth but now I am giving them a hand as well.

3110 w. Grand Chicago, IL 60622

Phone: 773-588-0180

Fax: 773-588-7762

Email: info@ucanchicago.org

Vision

Youth who have suffered trauma can become our future leaders

Mission

UCAN strives to build strong youth and families through compassionate healing, education and empowerment

UCAN's Core Values:

• We hold true the belief that healing is possible and that providing care with compassion is essential to our work
• We challenge all individuals to become advocates for justice
• We believe that integrity and honesty are the cornerstones of our work
• We honor the intrinsic value of all people and believe inclusiveness is a strength
• Providing youth a voice is a personal healing experience as well as a chance to advocate for others
• Excellence derives from knowledge, hard work and innovation
• We strive fo
•  fairness and equality for our clients and in our workplace
• Financial viability is necessary and requires control and individual responsibility

Ucan started during the civil war as a promise to take care of the children who fathers' didn't return from war. It started as a small German orphanage in 1866 on Ontario & Lasalle.  March of 1869 the Illinois Legislature approved to incorporate the Uhlich Evangelical Lutheran Orphan Asylum. In 2002, the company became Uhlich Children's Advantage Network (UCAN) to reflect the plethra of services provided. Also in 2004, UCAN merged with FamilyCare of Illinois (a similar organization).