Crossroads

I not only learned so much during my experience with Crossroads, but I also had so much fun with the kids! Marie and I met with Chontell the beginning of the first week and she gave us the freedom to plan all the activities for the families in the shelter for the next two weeks. She explained to us that half the battle of putting on a great activity is getting the family’s attention and making it fun. The kids that we worked with at the shelter ranged from 2 weeks old to about 15 years old. At first, I was very nervous it was not going to be the experience I thought it was going to be because these families are in one of the worst situations they can be in. The stress that comes with being homeless and unable to provide a home for your kids is so great.
Marie and I offered 4 activities over the course of the two weeks for the families. We had a Treasure Hunt, Olympics Day, Reading and Puppet making day, and a Scrapbooking day. Everyday that we did not have an activity planned we were busy planning for the others or at the shelter helping with whatever we could. Each activity got better and better as the weeks went on. We became so much more comfortable at the shelter and with the families. We created bonds with each family and especially the kids. We got to know their names and they got to know us. The kids were so full of life and excited to see us everyday. The most rewarding thing for me about my experience was to see the huge smiles on the kids’ faces as they were having fun with us. I would always look at their mother’s and I could see that for that one hour that we were having fun with their kids all the stresses of living in a shelter would go away and they couldn’t help but smile when their kids were smiling.
Dr. Kozel came to visit us on scrapbooking day, which was our last day. One mother was very excited about making the book because she and her two kids are victims of domestic abuse and the children’s father had their baby books so she had no pictures. Another family that was there loved doing crafts together and they made beautiful memory books. That mother told us that we really were able to bring fun into living in a shelter and really make some special days for them and her kids have been saving all the prizes we had given them. To hear that made the whole two weeks so meaningful to me because I was able to step out of my comfort zone and provide families who are in an overwhelming situation an escape from it all. Marie and I made them smile and made them forget about all the stresses in their lives for a little while. Chontell will also be able to use our activities again. I am so happy to know that during these past two weeks I helped people who live in the same state as me and that the activities I created will be used to excite families for years to come.
All the women who worked at the shelter really impressed me. They truly love what they do and believe in the cause. I really enjoyed working with them and it made me feel like I really accomplished something when they wanted to keep us for the rest of the summer as our project was coming to a close. It was a very rewarding experience especially because Marie and I planned it ourselves; we made the connections and we worked everyday to make our activities so great! All the work we did was greatly appreciated, but I believe that I took away more from the experience than they will ever know.

Sarah