Kingston: Not Just A Student Town

Though Kingston, Ontario is  a small city, commonly identified as a city for just the schools and penitentiaries, it really is more than that. There are three post-secondary schools, one of which I attend (Queen's), and seven federal correctional facilities, and on this side of town, all you really see are students and young people.

Yeah, there are obviously normal Kingston residents and your average middle-class families. But what I have come to realize is my lack of awareness for those who come from problem areas, in particular children from low-income families. Through my youth fellowship, I volunteer once a week to hold a fun event called JAM (Jesus and Me), where we share Bible stories with children and preteens and do activities, crafts, play games and have a good time. JAM takes place in Rideau Heights, a not so reputable neighbourhood just about ten minutes north of Queen's campus near the highway.

After the first few events, I began to notice the drastic demographic change. You could tell that a fair portion of these children come from low-income family homes with single-parents and/or dysfunctional family systems. I once came across a young four-year-old boy who constantly isolates himself from others and sometimes alludes to his unhappiness with his parents. When he gets upset or frustrated, he strikes himself on the head. Also, In some instances, you can suspect that some parents don't go out of their way to minimize their child's exposure to second-hand smoking. Some children as young as seven years old are sometimes also expected to walk back home at night by themselves. Even we students, as young adults, have a WalkHome service on campus! 

Some children are also very easily aroused. I've seen this expressed through high temperament and aggression. One night, two sisters' dispute had gotten so out of hand that I had to physically hold them back to prevent them from kicking and slapping each other. Later that night, as we walked them home, they would come across other kids that they know, just walking the streets at night, and would start going at them with aggressive name calling, threats and everything. I was not completely certain of where the line of intervention was as an authoritative figure as we were no longer in JAM. Well we broke them up and finally got them home where cop cars were there waiting for them for questioning. These girls were only about 9-12 years old, too. I do not know what they were in questioning for, however that is not my affair. 

Mind you, JAM is not always like this. JAM is actually really fun, especially when harmony is maintained and kids are enthusiastic, and the kids do have fun doing activities and playing games. These are only some instances (few quite extreme) that just show what kinds of environments some kids live in, and the long-term consequences can be quite grave. In taking part in JAM, I'm just hoping to bring them some peace, harmony, inclusion, and friendship and my prayers continue to be with them.