It is common in life to place our families first. We make choices with our children’s best interest in mind… their schools, their friends, sports, and so on. But what if you are unemployed and out of work, or worse you are without a home? How do you take care of your child when you are homeless?
Recently one of our Agape House mothers was able to secure stable work. This was a vital step in the process of achieving independence, and a vital step in allowing her to put her children first. This gave them a chance to have a home, have a stable life, and have a chance at succeeding in school.
School lays the foundation for life. Learning to read well, understanding simple math, being exposed to historical figures in history and science, and learning to be disciplined are all monumental in the life of a child.
Most people understand the difficulties that come from being the new kid in school. When a family is homeless, new schools are common. They live with one family for a couple of months only to move to another a few months later in a different school district. This transition is incredibly difficult, and most teachers say it takes some time to get “acclimated” and use to a new school.
Sad testimonials we have heard:
- A family of six had been to eight schools before junior high. Each one of those children is going to grow up without a steady foundation. Praise the Lord they were able to reach some stability for the younger children.
- Five schools between 2nd and 6th With an unstable environment and turmoil, this lead to a student transferring multiple times through the Prescott & Prescott Valley Schools. When you are homeless, learning to read unfortunately becomes a less important goal than finding a place to sleep.
- Most recently we listened to the story of a young girl who had been transferred seven times before the age of 13. This is a disruption to childhood as well as a disruption to the foundation of life.
The problem is that though these children may be “attending” school they are not capable of “engaging.” The purpose of schools is to learn. In this target population, consistent attendance at school is nearly impossible when a child’s home or lack-there-of hits turmoil.
These are just some of the stories and hurdles that very young children are faced with. Sadly, these situations are of absolutely no fault of their own. This is not a future for children. However, when we place a family into their own home, and a little bit of stability is created, we often see children begin to thrive! Our director often says we work with the mother, but in essence we are saving multiple families through the children. If the children have a steady home life, in turn they can have a steady school life. One previous volunteer use to always say; “We’re doing it for the kids!” The parents may have made poor choices in the past, and there may be some life consequences, hurdles, and barriers that need to be overcome. However, with a little bit of hard work and some sincere complete honesty, a whole generation of children will learn the skills of life. Having a simple foundation of proper schooling will enable employment and independency as adults.
At Agape House of Prescott, we work hard to love on families, giving them hope in the future.
We would love to partner with you to give hope and love to families.