struggles with school, who was homeless living in a car, whose
house burned down but who loves engineering—I can see that
boy, Robert, sitting in the technology center, drawing inventions
and dreaming of what he will do when he grows up.
Our new center will be like none other in the state or maybe in
the country. As the only provider of after-school and summer
programs specifically for homeless children and the only licensed
child care center on the campus of a homeless shelter in Arkansas,
our center will include some special features. A wellness room is
not only a place for sick children to rest, see a nurse, or
wait for their parents to pick
them up. It is also a private
place for kids who have
nowhere to shower to come
and bathe, to change into fresh
donated clothes that they will
take with them, and to emerge
feeling better, more confident,
and ready to go upstairs to the
youth activity space, their
difficult situation not exposed
to their peers.
“
The expanded space will also
allow us to realize a dream we
have had for many years. Our
child care will be economically
integrated. Homeless children
will learn alongside the
preschoolers of successful
parents who work downtown.
This will provide a steady
stream of income to help
support scholarships for the homeless children. It will also create
a sense of stability in the classrooms, where homeless children
cycle in and out but kids from economically-stable families come
year after year, modeling the classroom norms and setting the
expectations for behavior and learning.
”