July 2022 Thank you

Daystar does many things well. One thing I have particularly admired is how gracefully Daystar navigates being a faith-based organization in a mental health field.  

As a staff member, I feel particularly grateful for my front-row view of the interworking parts in the Daystar house. It has been a delight to watch and join-in on. It may seem effortless how well Daystar does things, but there is prayer and intentionality behind most every move. Here’s how I know: the fresh batches of popcorn in the kitchen. 

There is a large popcorn machine in the kitchen of the Daystar house. When it is on, it fills the house with delicious smells. After I greet kids in the lobby, we most always stop in the kitchen to grab a snack before heading upstairs to my office. The smiles from the other staff members and the smell of popcorn make it very hard to feel uncomfortable in the Daystar kitchen. That buttery goodness is made with love and deliberately placed in the heart of our yellow house to help folks feel at ease. Intentional popcorn! 

Upstairs in my office I hear plenty of stories that make every bone in my body feel sad, but even when that happens, there is hope to share. This hope comes from above and keeps circulating within Daystar. The circulation of love and hope feels every bit as intentional as the popcorn. Daystar’s directors, board members, donors, staff and even the families that are served intentionally keep passing on hope.  

Thank you for being part of the Daystar community. Because of prayer, fresh popcorn, and gifts like yours, the Daystar community keeps passing hope around with every intention to continue serving the lives of kids and families that the Lord brings our way.  

With gratitude,  

Rachel Pritchett 

May 2022 Thank you

The first week of summer is always a slow week, at least in my office.  Everyone is relieved to be done with school, and excited for what the summer will hold.  Worry and sadness seem to have left the building.  It’s usually a few weeks into summer when my girls start coming back in and are feeling down.  Summer brings joy and anticipation for what’s to come after a busy year.  Summer also brings a lot of slowness to what were once jam-packed days.   

For some, summer brings stillness.  While most of us adults crave a slow down, our kids can sometimes struggle with the transition.  This week in my office, a few girls talked about their loneliness.  Some wondered what they’re going to do with themselves while all of their friends are at camp or on vacation.  Others talked about already feeling left out of get-togethers that they have seen happening without them on social media.   

One wise girl said to me, “If I am feeling alone this summer, my guess is that others are too.”  We talked about how the hustle and bustle of the busy school days can sometimes mask the loneliness we feel.  Then when summer hits, we are smacked in the face with a lot of time to ourselves.  Whether we realize it or not, just being around others can make us feel like we are not alone.  And the truth is, if we are feeling something, there’s a big chance someone else is also experiencing this. 

This wise and ever so spunky client of mine reminded me that sometimes the most comforting words we can hear are “me too.”  Both kids and adults crave these words.  Those words feel like a warm hug on days when we think everyone else is out having more fun, or hanging out without us.  So we did an experiment.  Together.  We both got out our phones and texted a few friends saying, “I need to hang out with some friends!”  Pretty immediately, we both received texts back saying, “Me too.”   

As with most days at Daystar, I left my office feeling like I learned something from these young but very courageous girls I get to see.   Your contribution is such a gift.  The conversations and the healing that is happening behind the white doors in this house are because of your generosity. 

Gratefully, 

Bailey Shoulders 

Girls’ Counselor 

April 2022 Thank you

I often encourage the boys I counsel to take a minute to stop and reflect…To build self-awareness, to be intentional and to slow down for a moment so they can notice even the smallest gifts throughout their day. I don’t do this nearly enough, but I am grateful I took a few minutes to reflect on my day here at Daystar as I sat down to write this letter to you. 

Today’s schedule was full of adolescent boys, as this is the population I work with the most these days. As I thought back on my interactions with boys from today, I saw that they are all asking similar questions. “Am I the only one who feels these things?” “Am I going to be okay?” “Do I have what it takes?” I imagine we can all relate to these questions from different phases of our lives, especially adolescence. I know I can. They yearn for these questions to be answered, yet so often they are trying to conceal those fearful and vulnerable parts of themselves. I do my best to provide a safe space for them to process and vocalize these things and it certainly helps a lot of them. Yet…sometimes they need more. They need to hear from other boys their age that they are not alone. 

After my individual appointments, I had my 9th and 10th grade group. We jumped in and picked back up on a conversation that started a few weeks ago at the boys’ request. They asked if we could talk about shame. How courageous was that?! A group of adolescent boys were longing to open up and reveal those parts of themselves that they spend so much time and energy trying to conceal. We began talking about what shame is and the messages it sends to us. We then moved towards talking about the gifts of shame…How if we choose to be courageous with others and reveal these parts of ourselves, we can experience an intimacy and connection with others that is so much deeper. Through this courage, we begin to see that we are not alone.  

I asked the boys if there was anyone who wanted to share about their own shame. It was very quiet at first. The boys looked around at each other, waiting for one boy to be brave enough to jump in first. After a minute or two, one boy spoke up and shared so honestly about his own experience with shame. The rest of the boys leaned forward as his words validated their own experience. After he finished, the rest of the boys began to share, relate and encourage each other. Their body language shifted from slouching, staring at the table or floor…to looking up, looking each other in the eyes, leaning forward, allowing themselves to finally be seen by one another.  

During this group they got to experience they are not alone and they are not so different from the boys sitting next to them. I could feel the relief they experienced during this time, being reminded they are not in this all by themselves anymore. We are in it together. By the end of group, there was a lightness in each boy that wasn’t there before. I could see it and feel it as they got up from the table, playfully joking and talking with each other as they walked out the door to go home. A little less alone. 

Your contribution helped provide this experience and so many others like it for countless children at Daystar. Please know how grateful we are for you and your generous support. 

Tommy Hart, LMSW 

Boys’ Counselor 

March 2022 Thank you

If you have been around the Daystar house lately, you would have seen, heard and witnessed several new sights, sounds, and encouraging moments. Our staff has sure witnessed these moments, thanks to the continued support from friends like you.  

For starters, we have seen lots of kids coming into the house for group. The joy of kids gathering together has been palpable! It’s been over 3 months since kids have had the chance to attend group, break bread together and remind one another that there is still a place for each of them.  

We have certainly heard memorable stories that kids are sharing with us and each other. We witnessed one group sharing how lonely life has become this past year, while another group of kids showed up with hopeful reminders and physical hugs. We heard the Daystar vans crank over for the first time in 2 years! Groups are going to dinner and soaking up the most simple, yet deeply impacting, tradition of sharing a meal together.  

Together sure feels like a word we all need as much as we ever have as we continue to come out of a season of separation and isolation.  

Together reminds our staff that we do not endeavor in this work, this mission, this purpose alone, but with one another.  

Together reminds us of how the Godhead relates and functions, Father, Son, and Holy Spirt, together as one.  

Thank you for being together with us as we all continue to bring light to dark places here at Daystar.  

Sincerely, 

The Daystar Staff  

February 2022 Thank You

While optimism makes us live as if someday soon things will soon go better for us, hope frees us from the need to predict the future and allows us to live in the present, with the deep trust that God will never leave us alone but will fulfill the deepest desires of our heart... Joy in this perspective is the fruit of hope.

      - Henri Nouwen

Before I had the privilege of working on staff at Daystar, I, like so many of you, was a parent in search of help for my child. Little did I know how much I would be helped, too, along the way. 

My daughter started seeing Sissy in 2002, before the little yellow house even came to be; back then, in an unassuming office building in Green Hills, I watched miracles happen. I watched as my daughter fell in love with Sissy’s first pet therapist, Noel; I watched as my daughter journeyed off to Hopetown for the first time, not knowing how many summers she would eventually spend there, the seeds of lifelong friendships that would be planted there. 

Thanks to many prayers and generous supporters over the years, we at Daystar were extremely blessed to move into our little yellow house that so many of you know and love. But, I can’t help but remember that the true magic of Daystar, of what happens in these walls, is possible with one not-so-small but simple thing: hope.

I’ve always told my children that I want nothing more than for them to be happy; as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that we as adults can’t always ensure that for the children in our lives. This does not negate our hope. In fact, it actually reveals our need for hope in a much deeper way.

Today, my daughter, years after college, always makes time on her trips home to see friends from Daystar groups or Hopetown. And I, in my role at Daystar, have the immense privilege of speaking with parents and telling them what I really, really know to be true: this place will spark hope in your child’s life and yours.

Years ago when I needed it most, Daystar provided hope for me and my family. Today, thanks to the generous support of our contributors, we at Daystar are able to provide hope for more families than ever.

Thank you for all you do to keep hope alive here at Daystar.

The Daystar staff