Summer Archives

Maysa Kaskas Shreveport, LA - Providence House

 

The Providence House, located in the small city of Shreveport, LA, is a transitional living center for homeless families with children. The Providence House provides more than just housing to the 85 families it serves daily. It seeks to liberate families from the cycles of poverty and homelessness through a comprehensive program that guides its residents toward sustainable, independent living. The program is tailored to individual families' needs and includes: a Child Development Center to help children reach social, emotional, physical, and intellectual developmental milestones; occupational skills and training courses; adult education and GED courses; rehabilitation programs to rid residents of addictions; life skills, money management, parenting, and other self-sufficiency courses. The stories of the families who enter the Providence House are ones of courage and resilience in the face of increasingly hard times; the dedicated staff and volunteer force at the shelter help turn them into stories of humanity and hope. I was fortunate to work with the Providence House on community impact (chiefly fundraising and volunteer recruitment) and to create a summer evening enrichment program (to aid the CDC in its goals of helping the children reach those social, emotional, physical, and intellectual milestones, I developed a program that included arts and crafts, games and physical exercises, creative writing and storytelling, and group activities) for the children living at the Providence House.

 

For more stories and pictures, please visit: http://signsofhopeforthehomeless.wordpress.com/.