Program News 2010
Poetry House Scrap Book Making Group
Any child needs a sense of safety and security growing up, and none more so than those children who have been exposed to domestic violence. Good Shepherd's domestic violence shelter, Poetry House, is a safe haven not only for survivors, but for their children as well.
Staff members help women begin the daunting task of rebuilding their lives with counseling, safety planning, and assistance with housing and employment while helping their children cope with their own experiences. Social and recreational activities, homework help, and counseling are provided to the youth of Poetry House to support them as they transition into their new lives. But we have also begun to offer something new-a scrap book making group-that has been a wonderful way for the children to process their feelings.
The group, for youth ages five and up, has helped participants to adjust to life at Poetry House by providing them with a forum to talk about people and places they miss, how to be safe, their feelings, and hopes for the future. "We have run the group with a broad range of ages, often with siblings, and find that children enjoy it and use it to ask questions about being in shelter and to talk about everything from bullying to being hip-hop stars," said program director, Catherine Hodes.
The group meets for between four and five weeks, and each youth makes a personal scrap book usually consisting of a letter to someone they miss, a collage of their feelings, and drawing or writing about their future. The scrap-book is also a way for children to talk about safety issues and safe people, and to express themselves creatively.
While the scrap book group has certainly benefitted the young people who participate, it has also given their mothers a sense of relief that their children have a safe environment in which to discuss these very difficult experiences. One young mother put it best when she said, "Thank goodness there's a group for my kids. I've been worried about them, but it's hard for me to talk to them about all that's happened."
April 20, 2010
