What should I do if a Family Member and young person are not getting along?

Relationships are messy.  Working through the mess strengthens relationships. The suggestions below for these common scenarios come from young people and volunteers within Thread. 

Example:

One of the Family Members and the young person are experiencing a rocky time in their relationship. They may be drifting apart for various reasons and neither seem to know how to connect to the other. Their relationship may be leading to other issues in the Thread Family - what can you do next?

Potential Cause:

Young person's personality, actions, opinions, motivation, etc are not aligned with what the Family Member expected.

Try This:

• Organize a shared experience doing something that the young person loves (ask them to pick) with the Family Member, young person and yourself
• Encourage other Family Members with a strong relationship with the young person to connect with this Family Member and share some success stories. 
• Have a discussion with the Family Member asking them share their perspective. You may need to offer up your perspective in clear, concise ways.
• Address the situation directly in a meeting (maybe over food) with the young person, Family Member, and yourself.

Why?

We have all agreed to treat relationships as wealth when we join Thread. That means meeting all people where they are. Young people and volunteers should try to understand that compromise is a part of any relationship and that relationships grow stronger when everyone involved tries to meet each other where they are at every stage of the relationship.