Life Advice

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Teacher considers housing former student

By Amy Dickinson, Tribune Content Agency on

Dear Amy: I'm a high school teacher. I'm still in email contact with a transgender student (female to male), who graduated a couple of years ago.

This former student has cycled in and out of treatment centers (for eating disorders, suicidality, etc.)

I'm one of the few adults that this young man still keeps in contact with. The family is unsupportive.

If this young adult ends up homeless, which I fear might happen, what are my responsibilities and obligations?

I have a small house, where I live with my husband and 17-year-old son.

We could turn a storage room into a bedroom, if we had to.

 

Should my attempts to help this young adult be limited to giving the best advice I can, or should I "put my money where my mouth is," so to speak, and offer up a room, even if I'm not really excited about the prospect?

My husband is easy-going, and my son is a wellspring of empathy, so I think they both would be OK with it.

I'd like to know what you think about this. I went into teaching to change lives. Does that end with graduation?

-- Always a Teacher

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