A new family arrived on Tuesday, K and Little K. Little K is having the best time playing with the yellow and red Little Tykes car (Remember those?) in the downstairs of the day center. His dad is working on the computer, figuring out life things, and K is having a fun time playing with matchbox cars, the two carboard boxes we had laying around, and, of course, riding around being a police officer in his yellow and red car! Whenever I venture down there to get something, he gives me a big wave and a huge smile. It’s wonderful to see kids just being kids and parents being able to feel safe and sound. If you walked in on this scene, you would never suspect that it was happening in a homeless shelter…and that’s just the way we like it.

Kids often don’t realize that they are in a shelter. They think that they are having fun at lots of different places, meeting lots of nice people. A few months ago, our mental health consultant, Chou Hallegra, provided training for our volunteers and staff on how children perceive homelessness. It was a valuable, informative session.

While they are here, we like kids to feel comfortable, with toys to play with, books to read, and the confidence that they know where they will sleep that night. Our hope is that someday Family Promise of Harrisburg Capital Region will be a happy memory for them.