Children's Voices

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"I learned teamwork--how to work together and how to listen more."

"What I like about tutoring is that they help you with your
homework and to pass a class that you may be failing."

"I now see how different people can be on the outside but
are the same on the inside."

"I like myself more."

"Group gives me a chance to tell my true feelings about things."

Kristen and Marlain's inspirational speeches given at the Century Bank benefit for Housing Families on April 6, 2005.

Hello my name is Kristen and this is my 5th year being in Housing Families. Housing Families helped me and my family in many ways. They helped us find a home to live in. They helped us when we didn't have food and other things we needed for our household, when we didn't have the money to go and buy them. We also learned to think differently about things that we didn't have, and about things that we thought we needed but really didn't.

Housing Families made holidays better. On Christmas they made sure we had presents under the tree and birthday cakes on our birthdays. Housing Families also had tutoring sessions every week that helped me bring my grades up. They helped me get used to doing homework and passing it in. But what helped me most was girls group. In girls group I learned how to deal with bad times, how to talk to people instead of fighting with them. I also learned how to make friends when I was too shy to talk to others. Housing Families has been a great part of my life. I want to thank everyone at Housing Familiesfor helping me. To this day I still go to Housing Families every week and there are many kids still trying to learn what I learned and they are doing great. Housing Families has helped many children and is going to help many more.

My name's Marlain and I am 18 years old. Housing Families has helped me overcome many obstacles in the past years. I lived in the shelter six years ago and yet I see myself coming back every week. I have been a member of the Children's Program since it began. My family has had many difficulties and Housing Families has always been there to give us a hand. They helped me move into my grandmother's, when I just couldn't tolerate things at home. They helped me pull up my grades when my depression prevented me from fulfilling my duties as a student. But they've helped me the most throughout the years by guiding me through life so far, and building my self-esteem. This spring I will become the first in my family to graduate from high school, and have the determination to pursue a career. I thank everyone who took a part of that; Judy Perlman, Felisha Benett, Mark Redmond, and especially Barbara Schwartz who has become an important, special person and has helped me the most.

The first time I came to Housing Families, I was very nervous but when I walked through the door I got used to it because here I met Marcy and Barbara (two really nice people). When I start to talk to them I feel comfortable and this is what I love about Housing Families, because they make you feel safe and comfortable.

It was one of the best experiences I ever had because it was very fun and you get to meet new people. It also makes me realize that I can do the things I thought were impossible but if you work hard you can do it.

Now that I'm leaving, I'm going to miss every thing about this place: the people, the things we used to talk about, and everything. But the biggest thing I'm going to miss about this place are my friends and the tutors.

By Carina Lopez

Diana came to our tutoring program afraid to make any mistakes. She strived to be the perfect child. We view this behavior as equally unhealthy to kids who lash out with behavior problems. When Diana was encouraged to leave her mistakes on her paper or not given the correct spelling of a word, she would cry. After much encouragement from our staff and volunteer tutors, Diana has been able to make mistakes with pride. We have shown her that you cannot be perfect all the time and mistakes are how we learn and grow.

Maria is a young girl with serve learning disabilities and social awkwardness. Last year she was in a school district that forced her to be mainstreamed with kids who do not have disabilities. Maria could not keep up with her class work. She became discouraged and lost self-confidence. We were in close contact with her teacher through out the year, who would tell us how to adapt her homework during tutoring. She also took the opportunity to make new friends in our therapeutic arts groups. This year Maria has moved to a new school district. We supported her transition to a new school. This was hard for her but with our support the transition went better than expected and she is now happy in her new school receiving appropriate services to support her learning disabilities. Maria's confidence is increasing as well as her academic skills.

Derek came to Children's Program four years ago. He was hyper, had a hard time listening, and staying focused and was doing poorly in school. He stayed in the program while he was homeless and continued after he and his mom moved to their own home. He received counseling and learned to express his feelings. Derek worked in his therapeutic art group on social skills including listening, self esteem and staying focused. He has increased is academic skills in part because of his emotional and behavior gains. Derek also has worked hard on math and writing when he is at tutoring. He has become thoughtful and engages in difficult discussion about choices he is faced with around violence and drugs in his neighborhood. Derek also talks about what will help him with achieving academic success and how to find internal motivation.

Trying to help people find new homes
Resourcing different shelters
Important place for people to go

Carrying kids to their after school
Improving each day
Trying to help kids
Yapping about work

Free things and field trips
Asking people their feelings
Many exciting people
It's an exciting place to be
Liking this place is easy!
You will love it!

Helping others
Officially the best place ever
Understanding people
Sharing a computer with us
I learned to respect myself
No other place is like this
Group is fun

by S.

(note - Housing Families was formerly known as Tri-City Family Housing)

Here's what kids have been saying about
Housing Families!

"I feel good about coming here because it makes my homework easier."

"I feel awesome because I learn."

"I learned that if I have a problem there's always someone here that can help me out."

"I learned how to deal w/ anger."

"I like myself more."

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