We often say that a career in human services, especially youth-focused human services, is both “hard work and heart work”. Working alongside tweens and teens is incredibly rewarding, and at times, it can also be incredibly demanding. Your listening ears are always on, your name gets called more times than you can count in a single afterschool session, and you pour A+ energy into creating safe, engaging spaces and activities five days a week. Because we take that reality serio

Bekah hanging an encouraging poster on the wall in our Leland Middle School LIFT room. Today’s Generation We hear the sentiment “kids these days” all the time, usually paired with a sigh, a complaint, or a shake of the head. It’s a phrase that tends to carry a negative connotation, suggesting that younger generations are somehow lacking compared to those who came before them. But from where I sit, after nearly 15 years of working with “kids these days”, I’m here to set the re

Guest blog post written by LIFT volunteer Melissa Johnson When Corrie (the Suttons Bay Middle School Program Coordinator) asked me to say...

By Rob Selesky I remember sitting down with Audrey in the LIFT room. It was early January, cold, but unusually rainy. Around town, lots...

Part of our mission at LIFT is to ensure that the teens we interact with become inclusive, innovative, and vibrant parts of the...

Welcome to another fantastic year here at The LIFT Teen Center! We're thrilled to be able to provide our amazing teens with unique...

“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they...