Summit asked youth leaders to consider their 'Why'

Dani Messick, Goshen News, Ind.
Updated ·2 min read

Aug. 25—GOSHEN — Comedian Michael Jr. met with educators and leaders in juvenile care to help them reflect on why they're in the field they're in during the Elkhart County Children's Summit.

It's the first year the summit has returned since 2019.

In 2010, the Elkhart County Children's Summit began as a collaborative effort between Oaklawn, The Source of Elkhart County, and the Elkhart County Magistrate's Office to address issues facing children and families. The event is co-sponsored by Oaklawn, The SOURCE, Elkhart County Juvenile Court, Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative, Department of Child Services, and Bashor Children's Home.

Every year the topic changes. This year, the topic was "Knowing Your Why."

"We felt like since we were coming back for the first time this year after the pandemic and there's been a lot going on, we wanted to refocus on why we do this work," Executive Director of the Oaklawn Foundation at Oaklawn Psychiatric Center Kari Tarman said.

The summit sold out, with 400 attendees.

"So many people do this work for their entire lifetimes, their entire careers are spent serving children and families," Tarman said.

Michael Jr.'s sketch, Tarman explained, is a combination of comedy and motivational speaking addressing why he does what he does, titled "Know Your Why."

"We're not here today to teach people to know their why because most people innately have these 'whys' already, but we're asking them to stop and think about it," she said. "So often we just move through life at such a quick pace that we forget why we do the things we do."

Tarman is an administrator in a juvenile program, often planning and coordinating events, and rarely working directly with youth, but she, too, has a reason for why she chooses to do that job at Oaklawn.

"Our community deserves really strong people to take care of everyone, and I get to be a part of that in some way, to help us be strong, and help us have all the organizations to be there when people need us," she said. "I've lived other places and they don't have what we have. My why is to say for me or any other family in the community deserves an organization that can serve their needs and it's an honor for the past 10 years to help Oaklawn and then other organizations be places that people can turn to when they need us."