Mother and Son Make A Difference To Homeless Families

The excitement is palpable in the Horizons for Homeless Children’s Playspace at Framingham’s Clinton Street shelter, as the shelter’s youngest residents line up at the door, squirming with anticipation of the shining toys and un-tattered books inside. The prospect of a room brimful of brand-new toys is a thrilling thought for any child, and children living in homeless shelters are no exception.

Six children, ranging in age from 11 months to five years, burst through the door and are immediately enveloped in the beaming smiles of Horizons for Homeless Children volunteer Playspace Activity Leaders, who dedicate two hours every week to playing with, reading to, encouraging and mentoring young homeless children who live in family shelters across the state of Massachusetts through the shelter-based Playspace Programs.

Heather Capes, a Northborough resident, has volunteered as a Playspace Activity Leader at the Clinton Street shelter for two years. Her involvement in this Playspace began with a simple flyer at her local gym. A long-felt desire to give back to her community thus became her Thursday-night passion.

“I really love children, and I wanted to learn more about homelessness and how to help that community,” she said. “It’s now a part of my life that has been extremely rewarding, and it has become a part of my family’s life as well.”

Each Thursday night Capes and her Playspace Activity Leader partner, Lorelei Hayward, offer a simple but crucial gift to the children living in the homeless shelter: the chance to just be kids. For children living in shelter, normal childhood play is often elusive. A homeless shelter, after all, is not designed to accommodate special painting nooks for budding young artists or cushion the tumbles of an infant learning to walk.

One such infant reaches for Capes' hands as she proudly takes a few assisted steps. Reaching the edge of a padded play-box, she laughs as she rolls among the pillows and plush, brightly colored geometric shapes. In a place where life can be hard for children, this program has helped soften the edges of childhood homelessness.

According to Capes, however, it is her own life that has been enriched through her Playspace experiences.

“At first, I thought that I would transform the lives of the families who lived in the shelters, and I found that really they transformed my life. It made me appreciate their needs and circumstances, as well as mine.”

Capes' experiences as a Playspace Activity Leader has also touched the lives of her own children. Her oldest, 7-year-old Jace, has dedicated his own birthday presents to the children in the Playspace Program for the past two years.

“I talk to my kids every week about where I go on Thursday nights,” said Capes. “They know Mom goes to help other kids, and I think they’re starting to get it, to have an awareness of homelessness and children who need things.”

Capes suggested to Jace for his birthday last year that he donate all gifts received to the children in the Playspace Programs. He agreed, and “was really proud of himself when he saw the big pile of gifts,” she said.

It was Jace, however, who approached his mother to make a similar donation for this year’s birthday.

“My Mom was on the way to the shelter that night, and it made me think of it,” he said. “I said, ‘Mom, I want to donate my toys to Playspace again.’ It made me feel happy, ‘cause I got toys for the kids. I even told my little sister she should do it.”

His toys have been played with, hugged and shared among the program’s young children dozens of times over. Because they have been offered opportunities for play, like their housed peers, these children are more likely to enter the public school system prepared to socialize and learn.

Already, the effects are marked. Young boys who were rowdy in line now sit still, mesmerized by the prospect of blowing bubbles and waiting patiently for their turn. A Spanish-speaking girl, shy at first, joins the group, encouraged by her peers, as another girl welcomes her by saying, “honey, you should try!”

It’s these little miracles that bring Capes back each Thursday.

“It has changed my own understanding of homelessness,” said Capes. “My goals each week aren’t helping families out of homelessness, but giving the children something to look forward to, a reason to smile.”

Individuals interested in become a Playspace Activity Leader should visit  www.horizonsforhomelesschildren.org or call 617-445-1480. Horizons for Homeless Children founded the Playspace Programs in 1990. The program recruits, trains and places volunteers in the Playspaces to supervise and engage the children in fun, educational play so that they can grow and develop, as all children should. Horizons for Homeless Children’s Playspace Programs collaborate with residents and staff of family shelters to design and build age-appropriate, “kid-friendly” spaces that come equipped with libraries, building blocks, art supplies and more – the all-important tools to challenge children physically and creatively and allow them to have a place to play, use their imaginations and be just who they are kids. More than 1,400 trained volunteers known as Playspace Activity Leaders participate in educational play activities with over 2,200 children weekly in more than 140 family shelters in Massachusetts, including the one in Framingham.