All photos courtesy of David Perram.
Oftentimes, we choose not to recognize something not out of ignorance, but the simple fact that it is almost impossible to believe it exists. Child homelessness is one such thing and though we would never like to think that children roam alleys and streets at night, one in 45 American children do.
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 was the United States’ first significant response to homelessness—and it was the legislation that provided some 26-acres of what used to a U.S. Naval housing site to the Century Villages at Cabrillo (CVC) in 1997. The space, huddling near the corner of PCH and the Terminal Island Freeway, provides both permanent and transitional housing for those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
And not all uncommon, children are attached.
Over the past several months, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students from Long Beach’s independent school, Westerly School, have been visiting the children of CVC through its Oasis Community Center in order to not just get to know them, but express their hopes and dreams—as well as tell their stories, both good and bad—through artistic expression.
“A huge part of Westerly’s Leadership class is encouraging students to think beyond themselves and work to better the community as a whole. Projects such as this show an immense amount of growth in our students,” said David Perram, Westerly’s Director of Student Affairs.
The markers and pastels that eventually made it to paper were ultimately gathered up into a collection of over 20 pieces from both Westerly and CVC children. Last Friday—with the accompaniment of pizza and music—those 20 pieces were projected onto six large, 4X4 foot panels. The children were then able to trace their original work that will eventually became the decorating mural for CVC’s playground.
The Director of Community Development at CVC, Kimberly Crawford remarked, “So often the children we work with at the Oasis Center feel burdened and stressed about their life and situation—it’s nice to give them an opportunity to step out of that and just be kids with hopes and dreams.”
The murals are to remain up for as long as possible—hopefully by the time one of those dreams has been achieved.
In the words of 7-year-old Suzie: “A dream is something you don’t have now but, if you work hard, you can have someday.”
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