We are going to have a dance party! For most kids, a dance party is something to get excited about but for Katie, not so much. She started to recluse, mope around, and became slightly insolent. I picked up on these behaviors and knew something was triggering anxiety within her. My heart became saddened, and I felt a deep sorrow for her.

 

Later that day, Katie and I had been sitting together when she blurted out “I don’t want to go to the dance, I hate dances!” I tried to encourage her and tell her all the reasons she should go and convince her of how much fun it would be. She continued to tell me she did not want to go. She said that the reason she hated dances is because her dad had taken her to a father daughter dance and left her there. She was devastated. She was re-living that devastation every time she heard the word “dance.” Our conversation concluded with me telling her she didn’t have to go to the dance, I understand, and I care.

 

The story doesn’t end there. To make it short, the night ended with her and I on the dance floor! We laughed, danced, jumped, screamed, ran around, and acted silly! The pain that Katie feels from what her father did cannot miraculously disappear but the pain that was associated with the word “dance” can. By providing a place where youth feel secure, delivering a message of real hope, and by being people kids can truly count on, we are seeing lives like Katie’s be transformed.