Dear Finland Community

Dear Finland Community,

We recognize that our community is reeling from recent accusations surrounding one of our former youth night employees, Andrew Deyette. The concerns that you have shared are being taken very seriously. We are taking action to better understand what happened and how we can prevent this type of situation from happening in the future. The first step in this process is to engage in a third-party investigation to examine how past concerns with Mr. Deyette were handled. We have been guided by our legal team on how to best undertake this type of investigation, and have decided that our Director, Honor Schauland, should be put on administrative leave in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation and its outcome.

Friends of Finland is an organization that was created by the Finland community, it was created to serve the Finland community, and as an organization, our top priority is to help make Finland and its surrounding area an inviting and vibrant place. We believe that the bonds between individuals are what make up the strength of our community, and we recognize that this unfortunate situation has put a strain on those bonds. We are committed to doing everything we can to ease that tension and restore the trust that has been tested. The Clair Nelson Center and all of the programming that Friends of Finland facilitates is intended to facilitate a supportive environment, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that all aspects of our programming are delivered in a safe space.

We thank everyone who has come to us with thoughts and concerns. We know this is hard. But we also know that we can make it through this if we stick together. Our community’s strength lies in its cohesion, and people who visit are often struck by how strong our community is. We know that we collectively have the strength to overcome this issue, and we look forward to working with all of you to forge ahead to a brighter future.