I had the opportunity to volunteer at a local school on the South Side of Billings for Rachel’s Challenge. It was a day of fun activities and lessons in kindness to ward off bullying, meant to inspire these 11-13 year olds to recognize their peers are going through hard things and that the masks we wear are not the real presentation of our inner selves.
“Let the masks down,” the speaker repeated throughout the day.
At the end, they led an exercise called Walk the Line.
The Childhood Trauma was Staggering
A line was drawn across the room. Students were asked to step across it if a statement applied to them.
If you’ve ever been treated unkindly because of your race…
If you’ve ever been called fat… or too skinny…
If you have a parent in jail…
Twenty-five to thirty students crossed at times. The room grew heavier with each step forward. Some students began to cry. What struck me most was the boys…junior high boys openly showing emotion, something our culture rarely gives them permission to do.
Then the questions got harder.
If you have ever experienced unwanted touch or been pressured sexually…
I was not prepared for how many students crossed the line. I was even less prepared for how many of them were boys.
And finally:
If you have ever considered suicide, walk across the line. Look around and see who crossed with you.
There were about 80 students and 15 adults in the room.
All but about eight people crossed the line.
All but 8!!!! Let me put it another way… over 90% of the people in the room had crossed that line.
These are 11–13-year-olds.
The Reality We Don’t Fully See
It’s easy to assume kids are “doing fine.” That they’re resilient. That they’ll bounce back. But standing in that room, it was impossible to ignore the truth:
Our youth are carrying far more than we realize.
In communities like the South Side in Billings, many families are navigating deep, generational brokenness. Parents and caregivers are often doing their best just to get through the day. Addiction, instability, and trauma are not rare, they’re common. And without intervention, many of these children will follow the same paths simply because they’ve never been shown another way.
This isn’t about blaming families. It’s about recognizing reality. And responding to it.
Where CLDI Steps In
This is exactly where CLDI. and Youth Works step in. Not with quick fixes. Not with one-time events.
But with consistent presence.
With people who show up week after week.
Who learn names.
Who build trust.
Who model a different way of living.
Who remind these students again and again that they are seen, known, and valued.
Transformation doesn’t happen in a moment like Walk the Line. It happens in the weeks and months that follow when someone keeps showing up in the brokenness with them.
The Weight They Carry
One of the most sobering realizations is this:
Many of these students don’t even know what a carefree, well-loved childhood feels like. The weight they carry is so constant, it feels normal. They wear anguish like a t-shirt.
And yet, every single one of them is created intentionally, beautifully, in the image of God. Their lives hold purpose. Their stories are not finished.
But hope requires interruption. It requires someone stepping into the cycle and saying, “There is another way.”
What Do We Do With This?
I left feeling broken. Indignant. Even a little angry.
Not in a destructive way, but in a way that says, this is not how it’s supposed to be.
There’s a part of me that wants to fix everything for every one of these kids. But the reality is, we don’t change everything all at once. We show up. We love daily. And then we keep doing that over and over and over. The road of “Re-Story” and change is a slow, deliberate process over time.
A Simple Invitation
If you’re wondering what you can do, here are three places to start:
1. Give
Financial support allows programs like Youth Works to hire and equip more leaders to walk alongside these students consistently.
2. Show Up
Your presence matters more than you think. Being a steady, caring adult in a young person’s life can change their trajectory.
3. Pray
And pray for them. Not in a vague way, but specifically, personally, consistently.
Why This Matters
If you’ve ever wondered why CLDI moves with urgency…Why details matter…Why there’s a drive to do more, reach more, respond faster…
This is why. Because behind every program, every initiative, every ask there are real kids and real people.
Kids (and adults) who are quietly carrying pain we can’t see.
Kids who are asking, even if they don’t have the words:
Does anyone notice?
Does anyone care?
Is there another way to live?
We have the opportunity to answer those questions.
Not perfectly.
But faithfully.
And that matters more than we might ever fully realize.
