Sage Walker
About Sage
Sage has lived in Lethbridge with his mother and younger sister for most of his life. He has only lived in the city and has limited connection to his Blackfoot Nation. Sage enjoys drawing, video games, listening to music, playing basketball, and spending time with friends. He is generally close with his younger sister, although he has become more private with his family recently.
Sage recently turned 18 and has one semester of high school left to complete. He has generally enjoyed spending time with his friends after school and on the weekends. Recently, however, he has been spending much more time online and has started missing classes. At first, Sage seemed excited about his new online girlfriend, Jade, whom he met through social media. He talked about how Jade understood him and made him feel accepted. Their relationship became serious very quickly, and Sage began spending much of his free time communicating with her.
As their relationship became closer, Jade began asking Sage to send her private photos and videos of himself. At first, Sage was comfortable because he believed this was part of their relationship. Over time, however, Jade began asking for more and became upset when Sage said no or did not respond quickly. She told him that if he really cared about her, he would do what she asked. She also began telling Sage that some of the things he shared with her could be shown to other people if he stopped cooperating.
Sage became increasingly worried about upsetting Jade but did not want to tell anyone what was happening. He continued to describe Jade as his girlfriend and someone who cared about him. He was afraid that talking about their relationship would cause other people to interfere or would make Jade angry.
Sage's mother has noticed that he is becoming more secretive about his phone and has started staying out later than usual. Sage has also become more defensive when his family asks who he is talking to. He tells them that Jade is his girlfriend and that they would not understand their relationship.
A youth worker who knows Sage has also noticed changes. Sage has seemed more withdrawn and has missed several school days. He has mentioned that Jade sometimes gets upset when he does not respond quickly and that she does not like him talking about their relationship with other people.
During a recent conversation, the youth worker asked Sage whether he feels safe with Jade. Sage became quiet and said:
“Jade really cares about me. She understands me better than anyone else. I don't want people getting involved because they don't understand us.”
The youth worker noticed that Sage seemed worried about what might happen if Jade became upset with him. Sage did not want to provide more information and asked if they could talk about something else.
Needs assessment
Using the information given so far, please fill out a needs assessment. (Credit given to National Standardized Assessment Template for NAARS, off of which this form was adapted)