Project Connect

Sophie Dream, Summer 2010

Project Connect is a program that strives to make a difference in the lives of the homeless children of Cincinnati. Most of these children will change the school they attend about seven times during the year, resulting in instability that affects their progress throughout their education and social development. Project Connect attempts to provide stability to these kids during the school year to minimize these effects and extends their services through the summer. At the Project Connect Summer Camp, children have a chance to fill in the gaps in their education that was caused by their constant moving. They also develop socially by building friendships with other children that are confronted with the same issues that they are dealing with. Additionally, the summer camp allows their parents to go to work daily without having to worrying about where their children are and if they are being taken care of properly.

A typical day at Project Connect begins when the staff arrives at the camp, in the Old Douglas School Building, at 8am. The staff arrives at the camp before the campers so that each group can meet, go over the daily lesson plans, and prepare for the days classes. The children arrive to the camp at 9am and start their day with morning exercises and breakfast. They then spend the morning rotating through math, reading, and culture classes that each last an hour. After their classes, the students have lunch and then go to afternoon enrichment activities with their homeroom classes. Afternoon programs include Girl/Boy Scouts, Nature/Nutrition Next Door, going to the pool, movies, and health lessons from the UHP interns. One day a week is dedicated to a fieldtrip that is meant to give the campers an opportunity to experience things that most other children may often take for granted. Trips this year included visits to the Butterfly Show at the Krohn Conservatory, Kings Island, The Beach Waterpark, Coney Island, a Reds Game, Montgomery Inn, and Duck Tours. Each day the children board the same bus that they took to camp and return home at 3:30pm, while the staff leaves at 4pm after taking care of classroom tasks or attending groups meetings.

When I found out that I would be working at this site with homeless children I was unsure if I was up for the task, at the time I knew very little about homelessness, let alone children who where experiencing homelessness. During the first day of camp, I met the 5-7 year olds in my group and felt more confident that I would have a great summer. The children came to camp everyday, eager to find out what was planned for them that day. They were very enthusiastic about the health lessons that I taught them and displayed a healthy curiosity for learning how their bodies worked and why they got sick. I remember thinking how wonderful it was that the children at Project Connect had this opportunity to have fun over the summer, while their parents were free to go to work during the day. I was very grateful that I could be a part of providing that experience.

Working at Project Connect, I learned a lot about the issues homeless children face and how they view their homelessness. They are at a large disadvantage and experience a great lack of opportunity not only because they attend overcrowded inner city schools, but also because they switch schools so often. Also, because their parents have little time to take their children to the doctor or dentist, despite the fact that they may have visible cavities or may be sick. The instability and living condition that these children face takes a great toll on their health, as well as, how and when they receive healthcare. I learned that the most important thing for these children is having some consistency in their lives and that giving them attention, listening and caring will make the biggest difference in their lives. Being a positive role model for the kids I worked with was the most rewarding part of my job, because I listened to them and gave them the attention they wanted, they would chose to come to me when they would fall on the playground and scrape their knee. I feel that by caring about the children that I worked with, I earned their trust and they allowed me to take care of their “boo-boos,” I learned a lot from the kids Project Connect this summer and will carry those lessons with my throughout my career.