A personal narrative by Kashvi Jain
11/29/2021
Volunteering at the Supportive Family Housing Center made me truly realize the value of a home. Homes are not just a shelter, a shed to cover the rain, a place to spread and watch tv, its a place where you grow up and spend your life's memories with your family and friends.
At the Supportive Family Housing Center I saw kids who weren’t able to call a place home. These kids moved from shelter to shelter, struggling to find a home. Many of them whom have broken families never get to experience the love of two parents. Many of them have to work on their own merits to stay strong and grow up and become the person who they want. They don't have the privileges set out that we all do.
Voiceopedia hosted a mental health workshop at this center to help the many kids learn to take care of their body, health, food, and fun. We started off by drawing and painting images that came to our mind. I remember one girl painting a bookshelf to portray her love for designer books and one girl painted a Christmas tree because she was excited for the festival. Later on they wrote themselves some positive notes so whenever they are not feeling their best they can just take a look and know they’ll be okay, like a positivity wall. I remember one girl had written “Stay Strong” and that really appeased my heart, since it was so positive and encouraging.
Later on we had done some yoga and dancing to stretch our muscles and get moving. I remember all of us dancing to the song “Happy” and just moving our bodies around. I felt happy to see the kids jumping up and down and smiles overcoming their faces. My most favorite part was the singing. We sang “Let it go” and even “How Far I’ll go”. At the dark night, the beautiful voices of the kids overcame the silence of the shelter.
Me and them truly did have a great time. And for one day as so it is, I was happy they got to experience something thrilling and a little different. Something positive, something happy, something that excites them. We should never undermine the true value of a home and never forget how privileged many of us are. To have a place we call our “Home Sweet Home”.