Sanctuary from Harm - 12. Sanc Chapter 12

“That is fine with me” Nathan replied, “Great I will go and break the news to them and send them down to you, while I get Carter settled into his room for a rest,” I said, as I gathered my plate and cutlery, and headed upstairs to the staff lounge, where I found the boys at the table, playing card games.

I resumed my eating for a while, before I stopped and informed the boys of the plans for this afternoon, and without hesitation, Jonah agreed, but Giles was a little reluctant, but I assured him that I will keep Carter company, while he has a rest, and informed them to report to Nathan right away for their class.

Shortly before 2 pm, I headed downstairs and over to the other building, to commence my first class, with Indoor Soccer being the first for the boys to try. I recruited Brent, Scott and Kurt to participate, so we could have two even teams of four players, with me included, as a player and umpire/teacher, and I first went through the rules of the game of indoor soccer, before selecting the teams to they are fairly even.

Once the sports class was over, the lads set off to their next class, which is Horticulture with Brent, and I headed to my apartment for a much-needed shower, as I had been sweating heavily for the past 1 ½ hours of exertion, as I discovered that it can be quite a fast game, needing skill and energy.

After the shower, I checked up on Carter, who was in the apartment lounge reading a book, and I organised some snacks for him, until it is time for dinner, before I headed downstairs to my office on the ground floor, to attend to some paperwork, as the trustees required a daily report on how things are going with the project.

Just before dinner, I received a text message, and on seeing it, I headed over to the administration building, where Greg and Julian were waiting for me outside the back door, which has sensor lights above it, as well as along the side footpath. “Hey guys, perfect timing, we are about to have dinner shortly,” I said when I opened the back door to let them in.

“Just a reminder, that you cannot reveal it to anyone at all, not family friends or colleagues,” I said to the visitor and newest staff member. “where is the entry point, it must be fairly hidden, as I see no sign of a hidden door anywhere here?” Julian asked as he looked around the room, “That is because it is located in the pantry, follow me please,” I replied, and I led the way, opening the secret latch to open the hidden door behind the shelving unit.

“Very clever, I would not have found that in a normal police search, I will have to remember that one for other searches that I am involved in,” Julian said, “Close the door behind you please Greg, and watch the stairs as we go down about 6 metres,” I called out, as I led the way down. “Now without blindfolds, I can see you have the entry well hidden,” Greg said, as we entered the cellar, and rounded the corner to the first electronic locked door into the passageway, which requires the key card and a 6-digit code.

At the end of the passageway, I used my key card and code again, and we stepped into the foyer area on the lower level of the main building. “Now I recognise where we are, do all staff have access to the electronically locked doors?” Julian asked, “No, only four of them exist, and only the four senior staff have one each,” I replied, as we headed up the stairs to the atrium and through to the dining room.

“Lads, if I may have a moment of your time,” I announced, interrupting the boy and staff from getting their dinner. “I would like to introduce you to Greg who is a new staff member to the Project, who will be teaching gym fitness, self-defence and tennis, and this is his partner, Julian who works in the public service, this is their second visit here and they will be joining us for dinner,” I said, before leading Julian and Greg to the servery where dinner is being handed out.

While the staff sat in two separate tables, away from the lads, Julian and Greg sat at a table close to the clients, so they could listen in to their conversation. “Hey Mr, what do you do for a crust?” Marcus asked as he half-turned in his seat to face them. “Like Julian, I am in the public service, I am a Station Captain of a Fire Station,” Greg responded.

“Wow, cool, did you attend that warehouse fire that Hunter said was very close to here?” Liam the youngest of the clients responded, “Yes I was at that fire, and yes Hunter is correct it was close to here, do you guys know anything about what caused it?” Greg asked.

“Only what we heard around the streets, that a youth gang was trying to set up a base there, and they were stupid enough to start a fire inside which got out of control,” Ezekias said. “I see, thanks for that information, that will help me a lot, as I am part of the team investigating the fire,” Greg replied.

Being one more table over from Julian and Greg, I heard Julian comments softly, “That older kid is smart, I think he will go places if he is given half the chance,” and I smiled at this statement, knowing that I too thought the same of Ezekias, and I planned to guide him during his stay here, in hope that he will stay on as a youth leader, and eventually a staff member. Although most days went smoothly, there were a few days when the clients were struggling with their new environment and the routine that we had set, and we did our best to get them through it.

Charles suggested that we try doing group therapy sessions, with Nathan and Scott leading the groups, which we started off as every third day, but after the second session, they felt the need for more regular sessions, so they were made daily, in the late afternoon.

In the evening, once the clients, Jonah, Giles and Carter were all in bed and asleep, the staff would gather in the staff lounge on the ground floor, to discuss the day’s events, and to plan for the following day. We had also decided to allow two weeks for the first group of clients to settle in before having the next group of clients enter the project, which would allow us the time to make any adjustments to our programmes that may be needed.

During these first two weeks, Ezekias, who didn’t need to attend all education classes, and only participated in the activity classes, and sports, was been guided by myself on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and by Nathan on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, to take on a more youth leadership role, which in the second week of their stay, included in participating in leading activities like Rock Wall Climbing and Archery as well as Sports activities.

At the start of the second week, Sam and Kirsty joined the staff team, taking on the roles of the medical team, and house mothers, to assist the lads with any emotional issues that may arise, including, just being there, when the lads needed someone to talk to, and assisting them with learning skills like laundry, and folding clothes, after they are washed, and the proper way to make beds in the morning.

During these first two weeks, during their limited spare time, the staff also began work on the new changes in the second building, with the first project is the building of the new executive apartment and the new staff quarters, as the other two projects are only slight changes, once Jonah and I move into our new residence. In the meantime, the five newest staff members remained to live offsite, and travel to and from work each day.

When not working with the project or helping with the construction work, Scott and Nathan were out doing the preliminary work for arrival of the next 6 clients to enter the project, with all of them being 14 to 16 years old, and most of them have been street kids for a number of years already, so we could foresee that there may be a few issues that will arise with these new clients.

Although not quite as mature and level headed at Ezekias, I had also started to include Toby in a more leadership role, after receiving the reports on the six new clients that would soon be arriving, and just two days before that day, which was a Saturday, while the other two clients, plus Jonah, Giles and Carter, are doing Music, Science and Info & Technology classes, I was preparing Ezekias and Toby for the new arrivals, taking them down to the end of the passageway to the locked door.

“Right, I am guessing you are wondering what is happening today?” I said to the lads, “That would be an understatement sir,” Toby replied smiling, and we laughed at this response, “Ok, now do you remember when you went through your inductions nearly two weeks ago, well that is about to happen for six more new clients, and now that you two being the oldest here, are taking on a more leadership role, you will be assisting with this process, since you are a lot closer to age to the new clients,” I explained.

“So, this door is the way that we entered the project is it sir?” Ezekias asked, “That would be correct, and there are only a limited number of these key cards, that only the four senior staff have, to gain access in and out through this door. Being night time, you will remember that we entered through a garage to the administration centre, and it is this passageway that links the two main buildings with the admin building.

I want you two lads to run through the procedure of the induction with the new clients, as you two will be taking the lead through that process while I will just supervise and step in when needed, if you are having any difficulties,” I announced. “So, you are training us to become staff members like you and the others?” Toby asked.

“That is correct, we are hoping that after a while as Youth Leaders, that you will like to remain as staff members, where you will be given a reasonable wage for your work. In the meantime, as youth leaders, you will receive a small traineeship wage, to assist with any future expenses that you may have and this means you will have a lot more responsibilities, which includes keeping this project as low key as possible, meaning that you will not tell anyone outside this project, the location or the existence of this project, for the sake of the welfare and safety of the current and future clients” I responded.

“I understand, and I thank you for this opportunity to be involved in the project, if it wasn’t for you guys, I would still be out on the streets, scavenging for food, looking for places to camp, and generally just surviving,” Ezekias replied, and Toby nodded his head in agreement to what Exekias had just said.

“Good, now before I begin to show you the procedures of induction, let’s go and do some shopping, to get you some suitable clothing, to fit with your new roles and youth leaders, as I think that the belongings you have are a little too worn out to be suitable, and don’t worry about the cost of the purchases, as the project’s Board of Trustees has agreed to cover that,” I said to Toby and Ezekias, as I placed the key card on the pad, and entered the six-digit code, using my body to block the lads from seeing me enter the code.

Once we had arrived in the small entry lounge, of the admin building, we headed into the garage to climbed into my vehicle and headed out to do some shopping. Two hours later, we returned to the admin centre, and with all of the new clothes and shoes, and after running through the induction procedures a few times, we headed back to the main building, where Sam helped them to sort and wash their new clothes.

After lunch was over, I asked Ezekias and Toby to follow me, and we headed over to the second building, where Scott, Charles and Brent were hard at work with the renovations to the two new areas, that is my new apartment, and the new staff quarters on the mezzanine and first levels of the building.

“For now, you will both have a room each, while new clients will begin sharing rooms, once it gets busy. This level has not been shown to you or the others, as it is to be my new accommodation for my son and the other area above the former loading bay, is to be additional staff accommodation.

The other end of the mezzanine level will be a 40+ seat movie cinema, and lecture hall. What is currently my apartment, will become staff accommodation, and what is currently rooms for the staff, will be available for young people like you lads, who remain with us as youth leaders and eventually staff members, if that is what you wish to do,” I explained to Ezekias and Toby.

“That sounds awesome, especially the cinema, so how come you are showing us this area, which is restricted to staff?” Toby asked, “Because, I would like you two lads to assist the staff with the construction work, as we intend to keep the work internal, so no one outside the organisation knows exactly what is going on here” I answered.

“Is there any real reason for that, I mean it seems a bit over the top with security and everything?” Ezekias asked me, “Yes, I guess it could be viewed as that, I guess, I just don’t want to have to deal with government red tape, and also be able to provide an essential service to the community, without all of the publicity, and a safe place for my son to grow up without having to worry about any dangers that we have these days,” I replied.

“Ok, so how do you get around all the red tape and all of that?” Toby asked, “Simple, we have a Board of Trustees, who not only oversee what we do but also assist with the financing of the project, and they are people that can be trusted, as are the staff, who apart from the two new female staff, I have known for many years, and their training and skills are all useful for the operations of this project,” I replied smiling.

“So how did Sam and Kirsty get to be involved in the project?” I was asked by Ezekias, “Simple really, they are close and long-time friends of Brent and Kurt, and I saw the need for some female staff, and they agreed to become staff,” I replied. “Ok, now I am beginning to understand, you are all just a group of like-minded people wanting to help underprivileged homeless young people, to get them back on their feet so they can have a better future,” Ezekias stated.

“Yes, that sums it up perfectly, and the Board of Trustees are all well known to each of the four-senior staff, so they are just as like-minded as the staff,” I said. “Come on you lot, less standing around to chat and more of putting your back into some work,” Scott called out, which made me chuckle, and so we began an afternoon of hard work putting up the last of the internal walls for the executive apartment and the staff accommodation.

We discovered that both Ezekias and Toby were very handy with the work, which they appeared to enjoy, and if they had any problems, they were prepared to give it a good try, which I thought was great. Just two days before the arrival of the next group of clients, I asked the staff to gather in the open lounge once all of the clients, Jonah, Carter and Giles were settled into bed for the night.

Doing a final check on the clients before heading to the meeting, I walked into the lounge to see my son rolling on the floor laughing. “Why on earth is my son on the floor laughing his arse off?” I asked loud enough to be heard, as all the adults looked confused.

We have no idea, he came in to say goodnight to you and I showed him the list of the new clients to come in on Monday night, and he just dropped the clipboard and started laughing in hysterics,” Nathan replied to me, looking utter confused at my son’s behaviour. “I picked up the clipboard from the floor, and glanced at the list, and soon I was chuckling quietly.

“Have you all looked at the list?” I asked, and everyone in the room nodded their heads yes, “Ok, let me put the list in order so you can understand better why my son is laughing… Matthew, Mark, Luke, John… Does that make sense now?” I said to the staff in the room, and everyone nodded their heads yes, and some even blushed for not realising the connection before, “Do you mean the names of the seven dwarfs?” Ezekias asked having been included in the meeting.

That question had everyone laughing, including Ezekias, who I suspected just said that as a joke. By now Nathan had the clipboard in his hand and he was looking at the list again, and after everyone had settled down, and Jonah had said goodnight, and thanking Nathan for the humour and headed to bed, that Nathan spoke up.

“Actually, it isn’t just the four main apostles, all the names here were also apostles, so we have eight of the twelve in total, not just the four main ones,” Nathan stated, “Yes, I noticed that too, right let’s get on with this meeting, before we wake up the whole building and maybe the whole neighbourhood,” I said to get the meeting started.

During the meeting, we discussed the amount of food that is being consumed, and we realised that we didn’t have enough raised garden beds to provide enough fresh vegetables to feed the clients, so it was decided to relocate some of the fruit trees to the balcony on the 1^st floor and also to the ground floor of the atrium, to make way for a further twenty-four raised garden beds.

With a larger intake of clients this time, we spent all of our spare time completing the work on the new executive apartment and four staff quarters, which will be home for Charles, Scott and Nathan, plus Giles and Carter. This would make the old apartment free to accommodate, Kirsty and Sam plus Brent and Kurt, who have wanted to live onsite for some time, plus there will be room for Greg and Julian if they chose to move onsite also.

On the day the new clients arrive in the evening, those staff who are not teaching were helping Ezekias, Toby and me, with moving all the new furniture into the apartment and the new staff quarters, and we managed to get it all done, shortly after lunchtime, giving some of us a few hours to relocate to our new lodgings.

Although not staying in the same apartment as Jonah and myself, Giles and Carter would be in the same area as Charles, Nathan and Scott, and just down the passageway from us, at first, they were not sure about the new arrangement, but once they had settled into their new shared quarters, they were happy.

With eight new clients arriving shortly after 9 pm, we all made sure that everything was ready for them, including stocking the supply cupboard with new clothes and shoes for each of them, with part of the forward planning before their arrival, where some of the staff spend a week visiting the new clients, before they move into the project, is to get their clothes and shoe sizes.

At lunchtime, while the current clients were having lunch, I let them know that a new intake of clients would be arriving in the evening, and we answered all of their questions, including if any of the new arrivals would be sharing rooms with them. This was something that the staff had been discussing for a few days now, with a number of issues that may arise if we do get the new arrivals to share with current clients, and it was decided to have the new arrivals, share rooms, only with other new arrivals.