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We could write a million things about Ethan – his passion for the outdoors and photography, his kind heart and amazing talents…Like all of the kids we serve at Northwest Passage, Ethan became our kid for the short time he was in our program. His successes became our successes, and reinforced that hopeful feeling that the children and teens we serve are worth so much investment.

A letter from his parents:

“Dear Northwest Passage Staff,

We are writing this note to convey our deepest gratitude for all each of you have done to help our son in his long road to recovery. I know Mark was able to express himself better than I, but you truly cannot know how extremely indebted to you we all are. Each and every one of you played an extremely important role in Ethan’s progress. We trusted that Ethan always had someone to confide in, challenge him, mold him and make him the person he was always meant to be. We know what a gift our son is, but he could not recognize his own goodness without all of you and your guidance.

 

Mark and I are also so thankful for always listening to our concerns and the countless hours of feedback given to us. Tracy, without all of your efforts, it would have been extremely challenging to maintain our functioning lives back home. Thank you for responding to our every concern so quickly and arranging appointments and transportation to make our lives easier. You have been a great source of comfort to all of us. Courtney, you truly are gifted in working with children and adults alike. Thank you for your compassion, skill and ever present reality checks when so vitally needed. Even if it wasn’t always pleasant, you succeeded in making Ethan understand the errors of his thinking as well as ours. You went out of your way to help our family beyond the expectations of the job. It is a little frightening to go it alone without being able to fall back on your wisdom. Trust that we will continue to hold our relationships with one another in the highest regard, even though I’m certain we are not done making mistakes yet.  Dr. Agrawal, I have never had a psychiatrist listen to me so patiently. Your clinical judgement and kindness were critical in Ethan’s recovery. To all the ancillary staff, program directors, counselors and teaching staff, thank you for recognizing and refining Ethan’s mental health, talents and abilities. You were able to relate to him in a way he could connect with while using his interests to help him truly see his world InaNewLight. You weren’t just staff; you were his surrogate parents and friends. Even though he’s happy to be home, I know he’ll miss his special connection with so many of you.

 

Thank you also for the camera and extensive collection of crafts and photos. If he hadn’t been able to express himself in these ways, he would not have had the results he did. Thank you for the wonderful send-off with the graduation party. It was inspiring to see all of you who took time away from your busy lives to encourage and honor our son’s accomplishments.

 

Words alone cannot convey our gratitude, despite my best efforts. Know that you are respected, cherished and always in our thoughts. Ethan is a much happier and healthier young man who now has a chance at a successful future because of all of your collective efforts. Please accept our deepest thanks.

 

Sincerely,

Mark and Maureen”

 

We are humbled and inspired by Ethan’s parents, who took the time and energy to write us. But mostly, we’re excited to share the following video he made while with us, and some of the photographs he has sent us from his travels after Passage.

Ethan’s Turkey “Shooting” Adventure

 

Photos from Ethan

 

Ethan was the recipient of a Passage Foundation Award for a Canon Rebel t3 camera. 
 

 

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