Jun 12, 2024
Bryan Saint-Louis is a man who turned personal pain into a powerful mission of empathy and youth empowerment. He shares his very personal story of losing a child and how one student changed and saved his life in a time of deep depression and despair. His experiences have shaped his approach to fostering understanding and empathy in children and communities. Bryan shares his early calling towards becoming a pastor and how working in a youth juvenile detention centre taught him the importance of meeting children where they are to truly help them. Why did he drop out after two years into his Master’s Program for Theology and how did this decision lift his relationship with his father? How do we practice and teach empathy with our own young children? Bryan shares concrete examples. He discusses what he believes are the major issues in schools, including teacher support, rising student behavior problems, and the need for earlier intervention. By introducing empathy-building activities, like the 'breathing ball' exercise with grade 3 students, he demonstrates practical ways that we can begin to change school culture. Through his Radical Empathy Programs, his goal is to build stronger, more empathetic communities by starting conversations and encouraging collaborative learning.