90年代在林肯长大, Bill Michener never imagined he would graduate from college at all, much less twice in four years to receive both his undergraduate degree and a Master of Arts in Counseling. 现在, 米切纳是灯塔的执行董事, 林肯的课后项目, and uses his experiences to help Nebraska youth discover their potential and to train local schools and law enforcement on 恢复实践 instead of punishments.
米切纳曾一度从高中辍学. But after a couple friends said they enjoyed going to Lighthouse, he joined them. And found a completely different path, and mentors who not only cared for him but believed in him.
灯塔的工作人员过去是——现在也是, to this day — dedicated to helping young people like him experience healthy love, 建立边界, 并学习对他们成年后有益的技能.
“一旦我知道我很聪明, and that my choices really guided the reason to why I dropped out of school in the first place, 我真的只想继续提高自己,米切纳说. “One of those ways was clearly to get a degree and start understanding the world in a different way.”
Michener began taking psychology courses at the University of Nebraska–林肯, 但没有与更大的校园和班级联系起来. He finished his undergraduate degree in 2002 at Doane’s 林肯 campus, which had a more familial atmosphere similar to what he experienced at Lighthouse.
“I felt like a number [at UNL], where at Doane, I felt like family.他说.
He joined the Masters of Arts in Counseling (MAC) program several years later, graduating in 2006.
“One thing that made it feel like a family going to Doane were the incredible instructors and professors that were a part of both programs,米切纳说. “I became very close and still remain very close to many of them to this day in my professional career.”
Michener said he felt like the faculty at Doane were invested in making connections with their students, and providing them with opportunities to learn from the world around them. Getting his degrees has been a major help in his work at Lighthouse, too, in listening to people.
He’s now been part of the Lighthouse family for 26 years, 作为非营利组织服务的参与者, 然后是家庭管理者和志愿者协调员, 过去的14年.5年，担任执行董事.
Lighthouse as a whole celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2020. 而组织的目标并没有改变, its operations and programming has morphed to meet the needs of current students, 技术与教育.
“You think, 30 years ago, afterschool programs were just unheard of,米切纳说. “When I first started, when I was coming here, we were really a drop-in teen center. 我们没有太多的编程.”
现在, Lighthouse has honed its programming to help participants “progress through the stormy waters of teenage years,他说. There’s a food program that provides an afternoon snack and a hot, homemade evening meal.
大流行期间, these services migrated to provide Lighthouse’s young people and their families with meals. 随着学校向在线学习过渡, the organization opened its doors to provide a safe place with stable internet and support from staff, 还有早餐和午餐. 米切纳说，这样就没有人掉队了.
“对于非营利组织, the challenge is learning to stick to what you’re the expert at, not chasing grant dollars for programs but really staying on track,米切纳说. “We decided to be the best at being an after school program. I think that’s what made us successful and continue to grow.”
通过网上服务, Lighthouse is also able to reach students outside of 林肯, 内布拉斯加州.
Its extensive programming is one reason that Lighthouse is different from other afterschool programs in the state. Another reason is the organization’s emphasis on providing a family-like environment.
“We say that our change agent is ‘love’ here because we want our young people to experience love from healthy, 有爱心的成年人，有健康的界限, 这样他们才能学会茁壮成长,米切纳说.
此外，使用 恢复实践 是灯塔公司运营的重要组成部分. 例如, an alternative suspension program provides students a place to go outside of school instead of an empty home. 工作人员 work with the student to identify harm that was caused to or by them, 如何学习, 以及如何从中治愈. 首页work is sent to Lighthouse so students won’t fall behind, 有爱的支持, 关怀的成年人.
Michener has provided training on 恢复实践 to school resource officers, and is now leading trainings for the 林肯 Police Department. It changes the mindset that small crimes all need to be processed through the traditional justice system, and helps officers respond to issues in ways that help young people learn from errors rather than be punished for them.
下一步, 他说, 对年轻人进行恢复性训练吗, 也, so they can lead peer groups and be proactive in changing the community.
“I want us to continue to climb mountains, and be a leader for other non-profits,米切纳说. “The future of Lighthouse is to help systems change to better serve our young people.”
“We can’t live within our own little bubble and think that our kids have a better shot in the world,他说, 并在林肯身上实施变革, hopes that Lighthouse and the young people who have walked through its doors will create wider change, 也.
