The children of the Helpmate Shelter
It is a tiny toddler, sitting at the kitchen counter giggling with joy because all is right with her world - her mother is smiling and she has a grilled cheese sandwich to eat. It is the sounds of a baby shrieking in one of the downstairs' residences. The security alarm has gone off three times during staff's search for a low battery, and the loud blasts have him terrified.
It is a kindergarten age boy, who pushes our Executive Director and calls her a bitch, because that's what he has learned from his father. It is the same boy shyly trying to make up for what he has realized is bad behavior.
It is children torn out of their violent homes, maybe in the middle of a hectic night, to seek safety in a strange place. They have arrived, most times, without their school books, without extra clothing or their good shoes, without their favorite comforting toy.
It is children who do not have to be afraid again of being beaten, or seeing their mother cowering in fear, nose bloodied, eyes blackened. They will no longer have to lie to friends and schoolmates, as their lives are, finally, heading in a better direction.
It is children, safe, for perhaps the first time in their lives.
For more information, see: www.helpmateonline.org. For emergencies phone the 24-hour Hot Line - 828-254-0516.
