|
About
the Lake County Haven
A
Day In the Life of The Haven
7:03am: The
residents of the Lake County Haven wake up. Children rush to the bathroom.
Women start preparing breakfast.
7:45am: Everyone is getting organized for school or work. Book
bags are packed. Bag lunches are put together. Schedules for the day's
activities are discussed.
8:09am: The house is quiet. Children are off to school or day
care. Adults are off to work, classes or job training.
9:15am: The crisis-line rings. The caller is a woman who is about
to be evicted because she lost her job and can no longer pay her rent.
9:57am: A donation of furniture arrives from a local women's
organization; it will be routed to a shelter graduate who is now living
on her own.
10:30am: A client is connected to an outside agency that will
help her manage the debt she's accumulated since her divorce.
10:46am: A group of local executives take a tour of LCH and learn
about its programs. They are considering making a donation to the agency.
11:25am: A member of the Women's Auxiliary offers to provide
a ride for a shelter resident who needs to get to a doctor's appointment.
12:36pm: A woman and her four children return to the shelter.
The kids had a half-day at school and the woman's morning GED class
is over.
12:49pm: A resident tries to work through the red-tape of acquiring
subsidized housing.
2:15pm: The children of the shelter gather together for a kids'
group. They do an exercise designed to increase children's self-esteem.
3:00pm: A client and her case manager review the progress on
the client's goals--how is the GED coming along? has she re-written
her resume yet? when is the court going to make a decision on child
support? how is her part-time job going? is she still interested in
computer classes?
3:16pm: Another resident mother arrives from one of her two part-time
jobs...ready to watch her children when they return from school.
3:44pm: The school bus drops off three resident children from
school. After-school snacks are indulged in.
4:15pm: A Stage II resident arrives, looking for help preparing
forms to enter the College of Lake County. 5:00pm: One of the shelter
residents, a six-year old girl, has drawn a picture and wants to show
it off. It is hung on the refrigerator.
6:02pm: One of the residents has prepared dinner. All of the
shelter residents gather together to eat as a community.
6:35pm: Two volunteers arrive--one to run the parenting group
and one to baby-sit the children during the group.
7:36pm: Group is over. The volunteers leave. The women discuss
their days.
7:50pm: The children bathe and prepare for bed. Moms tell kids
a bedtime story.
8:15pm: The women prepare for the next day...lunches are made,
clothes are cleaned.
9:45pm: The women go to sleep. The Lake County Haven shuts down
for the night.
To learn more
about the Haven, click one of the links, below:
|
