Next Step provides teens and young adults who are facing serious and life threatening medical diagnoses with community, mentorship, and music therapy. They offer support for the transitional periods of life to help young people connect with one another and pursue their potential. Next Step’s holistic programming teaches young people that their diagnosis is part of their story, but they don’t have to be defined by it. Learn more about their impactful work here!
What inspired you to start Next Step?
I previously worked at a residential camp for children with serious illnesses and watched them grow and thrive from the magic of that community. When teens eventually age out of the camp, they are also transitioning from pediatric to adult care, and adapting to a new support system as they pursue an independent life. Next Step combined the magic, joy, and community aspects from camp with the educational aspects of a conference to create a hybrid model that is aimed at teens and young adults. Our programs are built on positive identity development, a strong sense of community, and opportunities for young people to immerse themselves in their own possibilities. The end goal is for our young people to be able to confidently say, “I believe in me.”
Can you tell me about the young adults you work with?
We’ve served about 8,000 young people in the last 20 years, and the trajectory has been consistent. It follows three steps: engagement, education, and empowerment. For example, a young woman first came to us full of skepticism with a deer in headlights look on her face. We brought her into the community one step at a time until she was able to have meaningful conversations with others in the program and make close friendships. The next time we saw her, she developed a discussion platform for youth to talk about experiences sharing their diagnoses with others. She wanted to give back to the younger individuals entering the program and became the youth leader of the discussion group to help them feel more comfortable in a safe space. From engagement, to education, to empowerment, she is a perfect example that shows how our unique intervention model builds a supportive, positive community.
What is the role of music in your programming?
We have an incredible music therapist who created a methodology to help young people craft their story, write it on paper, and put it to music. There is a recording studio on site where they can record the music and share it how they wish. Music is an opportunity for young people to reflect on their experiences and become more comfortable talking about their story. Talking about yourself is a form of social currency for making friends, job interviews, dates, and any social interaction. Those stories are complicated for young people with a serious diagnosis, and music helps them talk about how they got here, educate others, and share their impact.
Are there any prominent themes young people bond over in your programs?
Isolation is an overarching theme— our young people almost always feel isolated from their peers who can stay up all night studying, can eat pizza, or go out to a party. Those things are difficult or impossible for those with a serious diagnosis, which is especially hard in a time when all they want is to fit in. As a society, we now have a better opportunity for empathy than ever after going through a pandemic. We faced something that was out of our control, scary, uncomfortable, isolating, and required us to change how we lived our lives. As we come out the other side, there is still a lot of apprehension and fear around waiting for the other shoe to drop. Those are all feelings that our young people have dealt with for years, which should bring us solace as a society.
Yorumlar