SANDWICH – Horizons for Homeless Children currently has a critical need for volunteers willing to play with homeless children at their Playspace in Bourne and Falmouth.
A commitment of just two hours a week for six months is required. According to Horizons, Playspace visits with volunteers may be the only opportunity for children living in a shelter to listen to stories being read, create an artistic masterpiece, dress up as a superhero, play a musical instrument, and just have fun.
“Our Playspace Program helps make sure that children can experience the joys of childhood, no matter where they live,” said Kate Barrand, President and CEO of Horizons for Homeless Children.
A training session will take place Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Sandwich Public Library.
“Critical developmental milestones happen at such a young age, and volunteers like those on Cape Cod help ensure children living in shelters are given the opportunity to learn, play, and thrive. They are an incredible corps of people that help make this program possible for us and our shelter partners,” said Barrand.
Horizons for Homeless Children created the Playspace Program with the belief that play is essential to healthy childhood development, and every child has the right to play.
To make healthy play possible for children living in shelters in Massachusetts, regional staff build and maintain developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed, “kid-friendly” spaces and stock them with books, toys, games, and arts materials.
Horizons’ Playspaces serve infants and young children who are living in homeless shelters. PALs lead play activities in the Playspaces to help each child heal from the trauma of homelessness and gain the cognitive, physical, and social/emotional skills essential to future social and academic success.
This past year we served more than 3,750 homeless children in Southeastern MA and Cape Cod. To find out more or view other training dates, visit horizonschildren.org/playspace.
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