Street Spirit February 2006

Art, Music, Studies and Fun for Homeless Kids in Berkeley

By Janny Castillo - BOSS Community Organizer

As you walk through the grounds of Ursula Sherman Village, a project of Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) you might see Rafael playing a game of “duck, duck, goose” with a group of children. Another day you will see him playing music and teaching yoga, or he might be showing kids how to grow plants. Walking into an old double trailer, named the Children’s Learning Center (CLC) you see young boys and girls engaged in painting or sculpting or drawing with Jill and others doing their academic work.

Nancy, a credentialed teacher who has worked at the Center for over 15 years is pleased by the enhanced program. For many years, she held up all the corners of the program but the expansion by 10 families made it impossible for this super hero to manage sometimes over 25 children at a time. With all the activities the focus continues to be on “Homework Comes First.” Nancy, a long time teacher in the Oakland Unified School District is now working in the Berkeley School System as a consultant to the complex realities of the current state of education. The CLC provides opportunities for children to explore their potential to create community while growing in areas that they don’t have a chance to during episodes of homelessness.

“There are many kinds of activities in our local schools that are neglected,” Nancy says. “We emphasize academics; homeless children as a whole have a tendency to fall behind academically.” Rafael adds to this comment by talking about the lack of resources that poor families are faced with. “Children who are homeless tend to move around a lot creating instability.” Poor single parents have a difficult time when they are housed; not having a place to stay compounds the situation exponentially. Faced with daily worries about where to go and how do to feed their kids, the parent and the children walk into the shelter often in a state of despair and frustration. BOSS is one of the few organizations that places the needs of the children at the same level as the needs of the parents.

When asked about their roles in the CLC, the collective response sums it up. ”We very strongly believe that the educational system as it is currently designed focuses on intellect, rote memorization and not developing critical thinking. The ability to make distinctions and make good decisions comes from the awareness of what a child is feeling and managing the energies happening inside so that the world that comes at them is more manageable, they begin to learn not to react, but to respond impacting upon their ability to excel academically”.

Rafael teaches some of the older children the game of chess. “It emphasizes thinking ahead, thinking in steps, cause and effect relationships and having a plan. The same set of skills is required to attend school, get a job and is critical to a person’s long term survival.” Because it has the ability to affect the emotional state, he also uses music a lot. “It engages a different part of the brain, and the children react to it in different ways. Some kids feel awkward while others are comfortable moving and dancing. There was one child who in the beginning sat on the side but eventually got drawn in because the kids were enjoying themselves, after awhile, he felt more confident and now has fun.”

Jill, the CLC’s art teacher speaks to her role: “The art program for homeless children combines therapeutic and artistic approaches. The therapeutic approach includes the encouragement of a harmonious, relaxed, positive, and non-critical attitude among the children, and the artistic approach contains the principles of the creative art method.” The children experience creating art through clay, painting and watercolor. Rafael describes how the CLC’s activities help the family return to wholeness: “We create a safe space for the children to open up and discuss problems they may be having at school or at home.” The CLC staff works closely with case managers to ensure that the family is receiving the core of services they need.

Jill described the change that occurred in one of her students: “This seven-year old girl in the beginning was withdrawn, shy, unable to verbalize, and her artwork was at a two-year old level.” Jill noticed that she had a high level of concentration in her art activities. After four months of working with the CLC she improved so much that she began painting flowers, people, landscapes and making clay objects by herself. “She is still shy, but her level of self-confidence has risen, and now she speaks, laughs and behaves like a typical 7-year old.”

Deni, a Sankofa House Mom shared that her son’s school work improved with Nancy’s help. Her 7 year old son Johnathon said, “When I do art with Jill or work with Rafael, it puts me in a whole new world.”

Every day after school, Daizahnique, age 10, asks her mother excitedly if she can go to the trailer. As she held her baby sister in her arms she took the time to share her feelings about the CLC, “I like the art and drawing and making stuff.  My mom always keeps the good stuff. When we had our own home, I made a turkey and my mom would put it up with her good stuff.”

Lavonya, Diazahnique’s mom, likes the extra time that the center gives her to take care of household needs and really appreciates having a teacher on site, “Nancy helps me a lot because I graduated from high school in ’95 and my daughter is getting algebra in the 4^th grade. I didn’t get algebra until the 9^th grade. So I go to Nancy and she teaches me and refreshes my memory and it’s all good again.” Nancy has a thorough knowledge of the special needs of homeless children and acts as a liaison between the school districts to ensure that all school age children, including pre-school, are placed accordingly and treated fairly. She has helped many families with transportation, after-school care and arranging for special education when needed. Nancy has made serving homeless children her life’s purpose. She ensures that besides academics the children have access to every resource through the school districts and through her efforts many of the children go to summer camp every year.

Rafael said, “The focus of his work is for the children to see themselves and their lives in a different light. “Through our study of music, we learn patterns. Without a sense of pattern, what we have is randomness. The situation of homelessness teaches that life is random, life is chaotic. What the children begin to understand that life does have a unified pattern that makes sense and can to apply that pattern to themselves. The likelihood of avoiding negative behavior patterns that lead to trouble later in life is significantly reduced.”

On March 30^th, Artists with Heart is holding an event that will raise much needed funds to support the Children’s Learning Center. The funds will help sustain services so the CLC’s children can prosper and avoid inter-generational homelessness and poverty. They are asking local artists to donate art work, local restaurants to donate food, and for the community to attend and buy a piece of art on behalf of a homeless child. Children’s art pieces made through the CLC will be on display.

The event will be held at the First Congregational Church at 2345 Channing Way, Berkeley from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm with special Guest KQED’s  Josh Kornbluth. To contribute to the event or for more information please call Janny at (510) 649-1930 or email jannyselfsufficiency@yahoo.com. To support the Children’s Learning Center’s program call boona at 510 649-1930.

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