For the Homeless, a Childhood Finally in Reach

The day ended around 3 p.m., when everyone cleaned up and the children ate a snack of nuts, pretzels and baby carrots.

The D.C. budget has $25.1 million set aside for homeless services, with about $11 million for single adults and $12 million for families. In addition, the city is working under a "Homeless No More" plan, which aims to end homelessness in the District by 2014 by building more affordable housing and bringing more mental health and employment services to shelters to help men, women and families find permanent places to live.

Although homeless children are not specifically addressed in the "Homeless No More" plan and are not a specific spending category in the city budget, officials say they have spent money on recreational and other services for homeless children. According to the Department of Human Services, the city spent $16,000 for the playground at D.C. Village and has donated books to parents and children at the shelter.

And through a surplus, the city's Early Care and Education Administration has been able to open up child-care slots to families at D.C. Village, said the agency's director, Barbara Ferguson Kamara.

D.C. Village has an activities director, Pat Brown, whose sole job is to plan fun for children and parents. Brown, who has worked in the position for two years, has brought Girl Scout and Boy Scout programs to the shelter. She keeps a list of children's birthdays, and a real estate office sends a cake for each child. Another group holds a monthly party for the children, and some of the children have been on day trips to summer and tennis camps and participate in martial arts activities.

Brown said she has a list of 120 sponsors who donate money or items to the shelter, but what the children at the shelter really need is people to volunteer their time. For example, she would like to start weekly book clubs where volunteers could read with children and parents.

"We need more people who want to come in and do things," she said.

So when Larson contacted Brown last spring, seeking to bring in a weekly play activity, Brown was interested.

"I wanted something on a Sunday because Sunday usually is downtime, but yet the children still need to do things. I think the more time families have on their hands, the more it brings to mind the conditions and where they are," Brown said.

In the waning hours of a Sunday afternoon, the most difficult aspects of homelessness are put aside, if only for a few hours.

Vince Daniels, 14, likes to play checkers, basketball and Frisbee with the volunteers. "They bring fun opportunities," the eighth-grader said.

Sherrice Evans, 13, appreciated how positive the volunteers were. "If you don't have any fun, they come over and cheer you up," she said, taking a break from making two bracelets and drawing pictures.