The Last Navigator

I began my career with DYS (Missouri Division of Youth Services) about 23 years ago.  My first job with the division was at the W. E. Sears Youth Center which is north of Poplar Bluff, Missouri.  From the moment I started working with troubled youth, I loved my job.  Oh, it has not always been pleasant by any stretch of the word, but I’ve loved the challenge of trying to decide exactly what to do to help each individual boy.  It’s a job that’s impossible to do 100% right every time, but I was with several other staff who wanted the same thing.  All of us were doing the best job we could.  Sears was a great place to work.

And then I left.

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From the day I began working at Sears, I was assigned to midnight shift, and I was designated to be a rover.  For eight hours every night I walked around the facility, checking on staff and giving them breaks as needed.  I also filled in for groups that were short-staffed.  As the rover, I could drive my car around the area that consisted of several widely spread out buildings, or I could take a flashlight and walk it.  I chose to walk, although I rarely used the flashlight unless there was something I needed to see clearly.  I loved my job there although I rarely worked directly with the youth more than an hour a day.  So, after working on midnights for six months at Sears I felt like I could do more good for my own family as well as the boys at the facility if I could work days instead. 

I heard about the New Madrid Bend Youth Center.  Because of the location they tended to have a lot of staff turnover.  Thus, there would be more opportunities for me to switch to days.

I put in for the transfer and, lo-and-behold, there was a staff at New Madrid Bend who wanted to transfer to Sears.  Good for me and good for him.

“The Bend,” was set up for only about 24 boys, separated into two groups, called the Navigators and the Explorers.  I was assigned to the Navigators.  It was a strong group with dedicated staff. 

I fit right in.

I worked at The Bend for almost exactly 20 years, and I feel like I helped quite a few boys to find the answers to their needs and help them change their negative behaviors in such a way that would keep them from getting back in trouble.  Not every boy responded to the treatment and some didn’t actually want to change, but many did and I felt like I’d found a home for life at “The Bend.”

Then COVID hit.

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It’s no secret that many people had their lives negatively impacted by the disease, with losing their livelihoods and some suffering financially.  Many died.

Employees of DYS got regular emails from people in positions of authority telling us of progress and changes within the division.  The money in state government was getting tight, and we knew there would be some belt-tightening.

In the meantime, our facility was downsizing.  The two groups combined into one, smaller, group and held onto the name, Navigators.  Although there were only 12 boys in the entire facility the remaining staff still gave 100% to their jobs.  When the pandemic really hit hard we started sending a few boys home, I guess to help limit the number of chances for infection from people coming into the facility.

We were down to six boys so, when the word came that the belt-tightening might include facility closings and staff layoffs, those of us still at NMBYC figured we would be on the short list, so to speak.  Oh, we still did our jobs, all the while hoping and praying for the best.  A few new staff were hired and some former staff rejoined the facility.  If COVID 19 didn’t hang on too much longer, we thought we might avoid further problems.

It wasn’t to be so.

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One Tuesday all remaining New Madrid Bend staff received a text from our bosses at the facility that there was a mandatory meeting at 10 am, THAT DAY.  We figured the other shoe was about to drop.

And it did.

As we waited for the meeting to start, staff pretty much all agreed that it was time for “The Bend” to get the axe.  Indomitable people that the employees were, there was more than a little gallows humor, most of them including inside jokes referencing the job and the process we used to teach the boys how to handle problems appropriately.

“If they fire me, you may have to restrain me!” one staff said.

Another added, “I want to express myself.”

Still another, “Group, let’s circle-up and give (the people who made the previous comments) some help.”

Then the Regional Director and other high ranking officers in our region came into the room.

With tears in her eyes, the Regional Director explained that, as of September 1, New Madrid Bend Youth Facility would lock its doors permanently, as would five other facilities in Missouri.  Staff could stay on and help get the building ready to close and stay on the payroll until September 1.  By working into the new month, DYS had made certain that we would all have insurance through the month of September.

The six remaining boys at New Madrid Bend would be transferred to W. E. Sears Youth Center. 

Yes, the facility where I started my career with DYS.

All of us employed at the Bend could stay on until September 1, getting the facility ready to close down.  After that, we would be out of a job.

The future seemed pretty dark for most of us.

But then I saw the smallest pinpoint of light.

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The Regional Director has earned her job by being smart, industrious, and capable.  More than that, she truly cares about people, both the boys in the facilities and every single employee she oversees.  After the bad-news meeting, she met with each employee individually to tell us our options. 

Basically, there was a list of other government entities that were willing to give those of us who had lost our jobs because of the money-crunch a chance for jobs they had open.  Luckily for us, there was a fairly long list of those.  She also gave us a list of facilities across the state that had openings.   Those of us displaced by the closing were encouraged to pick from the list places we would like to transfer to.  She suggested we each pick our four top preferences.  Most of the places would require a move and were obviously not for me.  Several were in my area, but would require significantly longer drive-times to and from.

I chose only two: Sears and Sierra Osage Youth Centers.  The two facilities shared the same campus.

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I had already volunteered to drive the facility bus to move our boys to Sears, a little more than an hour away.  The boys’ new group leader rode the bus to give him a chance to get to know the boys.  I took the opportunity to get to know their new group leader a little too.

Thanks to good planning and caring staff, the boys handled the transfer to their new home very well. 

I’m still not clear how it came about, but, because I had chosen Sears as my top preference for transfer, and I knew the boys well, I was granted permission to work at Sears…at least until September 1.

After that, there was a very real possibility that I would be out of a job.

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I showed up at Sears every day, eager to do my job and do it right.  Meanwhile, I researched my options for retirement…just in case. 

A young lady named Jennifer is another example of the good people who work for DYS.  She was the Human Resources person I talked to.  She walked me through the process of starting my application for retirement.  The whole time she was friendly and patient.

Even though things were going smoothly for me, and seemed promising, I won’t try to tell you there was no stress.  I was worried that I just might not get a transfer.  More than that, I worried about my friends at the Bend.  What would they all do after September 1?

What was going to happen?  The days seemed like weeks as I waited for that fateful telephone call.

I had a medical procedure scheduled for August 14 so I had the day off and was in Sikeston, Missouri when I got a telephone call.  It was Jennifer.  Yes, the same Jennifer who had been so helpful when I called HR about retirement.  She told me I would be receiving another call that day, to tell me whether I got my transfer or not.

Would I continue to work for DYS, or was it retirement time for me?

Let’s just say I wasn’t 100% relaxed during my procedure.

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After the procedure was finished and I’d scheduled my follow-up appointment, I headed home.  I stopped long enough to pick up something to eat for lunch as I drove. 

Just as I washed down the last bite of food, my phone rang.  It was one of my longest-term friends with DYS…my first group leader.  He was with the Assistant Regional Director, another long-time friend.  After we exchanged our greetings, he got right to the point.  

I’d gotten the job…uh, transfer.

I worked with Alpha group, which was made up of the boys I’d brought from New Madrid.  The boys gradually made progress and were released from the facility.  I got a chance to transfer to another group (Omega – yes, I see the irony of going from Alpha to Omega) for my last year or so with DYS.

Other of my coworkers at New Madrid left DYS and found other jobs.  Some of them managed to get back on with DYS after a while but I was the one who stayed with the group the longest, plus had unbroken time with DYS.

I was the last Navigator.

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Today is November 30, 2022.  My time with the Missouri Division of Youth Services has finally come to an end and I will retire, effective tomorrow. 

I’ve spent a big part of my life working with boys and tried hard to help them learn how to function in society.  The sad thing about the job is that we hear more about the boys who failed than about the ones who succeeded.  Oh, I’ve heard about a few who have gone on to hold jobs, marry, and start families, but those who succeed usually just leave the facility and fade away from my existence.  Sadly, I’ve heard on the news or on the grape vine about too many kids who have left us only to commit crimes and go to jail or prison, or gotten shot or killed, or killed someone else.

It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it…for the kids’ sake.

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I’ve also worked with a lot of staff, many good ones who had a gift, a “way” with the kids.  Sadly most of those have left DYS because of the stress or the poor pay.  Some have stayed.  I talked to one just a few months ago who has some real potential to do good things and help a lot of kids.  He was discouraged because of a particularly tough shift.  He was disheartened, having one of those, “I’m wasting my time and the time of all these boys,” days.

I shared with him what I had seen and the potential I saw in him.  We shared a few stories from his experience and I helped him understand it in the light of my own 22-plus years.

I don’t know how disheartened he actually was when I stopped him, but yesterday he told me he was here for, “the long haul.”

I had a similar experience with the female staff I told you about in the post “Passing the Baton,” which I posted on November 4.

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As I move on into my retirement years I’m sure I will sometimes think about DYS and wonder what happened to the boys and the staff I’ve worked with.  I’ll probably never know for sure but one thing I will know is that I am leaving it all in the hands of many capable people who have the right attitude and the determination to do what is right.

Another thing I know is that, when I walk out the door today, it will be the end of an era. 

The last Navigator is leaving DYS.

Here’s to the future.

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