Meet Mr. Schafer

Dorothy, here. This week I spoke with Mr. Schafer. Mr. Schafer is a Unit Charge in the Gemini II unit. Gemini II is a girl’s locked unit and the method of therapy is DBT (dialectical behavior therapy).

Mr. Schafer had initially come to work at The Children’s Campus because he really needed a job. He worked for a year and quit to pursue another line of work. He grew deeply unsatisfied with his new job and decided to return to The Children’s Campus; it was a job he enjoyed doing and utilized his aptitude for working with kids. Since returning to The Children’s Campus he has worked here for 3 years.

I inquired what he thought was the biggest challenge facing him when working with the kids. He stated, “There are two main problems: the first is convincing the kids that they do need help or could benefit from being here; the second is helping the kids believe that change is possible in them and that others do not cause it. When they come here they start leaning on others and become too comfortable, and when they leave from The Children’s Campus they start thinking that it was the people there who did it. “Not me, I can’t change for good,” and they end up in other places or right back here.”

Next I asked him what is the most rewarding part of working here, he said, “Seeing the kids go from really hurting to happy.”

I asked him if he had any kids of his own he replied “no.” Then I asked if working here is like having your own kids. He said, “There is an attachment that you get with some of the kids. For example, if there was a really bad day on the unit I go home thinking about it or if they had a really good day I go home thinking about it, also.”

I asked him if there was ever a time that residents did something so nice that it made you want to cry. Mr. Schafer replied, “One of the staff’s son had passed away recently and the girls wrote really kind things and I could tell that it really came from the heart; it really touched me.”

To wrap up the interview I asked him if he had anything else to add. He said, “My philosophy in working here is if you can help one kid feel safe there is no limit how far they can grow or how much they can do.”

Note: The above interview was performed by a 17 year old resident of The Children’s Campus.The program descriptions are solely her interpretation of services.To learn more about specific programs or treatments, please contact our Admissions Office at 1-888-8-CAMPUS x288 or TCCAdmissions@childrenscampus.org.