By Frankie Reyna, Youth Advocate

The role of a Youth Advocate (YA) requires a keen eye to identify potential pitfalls for youth, unspoken messages conveyed through body language, and small moments of victory that become the first stitches in a youth’s evolving success story. Beyond these essential skills, a YA must also recognize valuable opportunities in the many emails we receive. This is how I discovered the Howl That Heals program, shared by a colleague, which led me to take four youth to a wolf sanctuary deep in the Angeles Forest. Two of the youth were from my caseload, and two were from another YA’s. I continue to be grateful to my fellow YA for trusting me to help his youth grow alongside mine.

To keep my writing focused, I offer three highlights that capture the wonderful dimensions of this trip, where four youth and one YA mingled with wolves.

• Driving to the sanctuary, we passed through hills alive with the sounds of lush green. We stopped at a bluff to breathe in the fresh mountain-top air. I watched the youth take pictures and videos of the vast view. By recording the moment, they prepared to share the day’s value with others on social media. As we know, an Instagram-worthy moment is top-tier currency in our youth’s social economy. Being the chauffeur who made this photo shoot possible felt like warm confetti falling upon me.
• One of my youth forwarded the flyer to her sister, who lives far away from her. Her sister also attended the retreat. They met, giggled at all times, and petted wolves together. An email sent led to a cherished family reunion that will likely become a lifelong memory. I will never underestimate the value of spotlighting opportunities for youth and facilitating their movement because I truly never know what the effort will create.
• Two youth, roommates, are struggling to cohabitate, not because of brazen conflict, but rather a mismatch in cleanliness habits and personality. Despite this, both agreed to ride in the same car. I hoped this experience would help them see each other’s humanity, not for them to become friends, but to make their differences smaller and allow respect and patience to grow amongst these young people. At the beginning of the trip, one youth offered gum to the other. At the retreat, they petted a wolf together, and at the end they swapped cereal bars. I am grateful that my commitment to this intervention seemed to have worked, in ways that are yet to be seen.

As I sat with some of my youth while wolves walked among us, a chorus of howls began. The howls had tonal differences, almost like an off-key melody that was still beautiful. The main organizer explained that the wolves were calling to other wolves hiking in the mountains, a reminder to return home before sunset. This experience hit me spiritually and reminded me of the importance of calling those who may be lost back to safety, back to the pack.

On this day, I was reminded that wolves live only in the present moment; they do not regret the past or worry about the future because they embody a calm that exists when one knows the present is the only moment that matters. I hope all the youth we serve can know this kind of calm. Because when one knows calm and lives in the present moment, one tends to make decisions and take actions from a better place, which often leads to better results.

Thank you to the Leimert Youth Advocates for your collaboration, trust, and shared commitment to creating meaningful experiences that help our youth grow, connect, and find their way back to the pack.

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