Nurturing Healthy Relationships in a Hectic Shelter Environment

The experience of living in a homeless shelter can be devastating for parents and children alike. Often, living quarters are cramped, there is little privacy, and hardly any room for kids to play. Stress levels are high and tempers flare almost daily.

Raising children is tough enough. But raising children in a shelter is, for many parents, unbearable. Add very young children to the mix - especially fussy babies - and it's no wonder that heightened levels of stress and even resentment are likely.

This is why the Homelessness Resource Center (HRC) is highlighting an innovative program out of Baltimore, Maryland that offers an attachment-based therapeutic childcare program for very young homeless children and their families. The program, called "Wee Cuddle and Grow," teaches parents how to interact with their babies, identify their cues, and provide positive interactions that promote social, emotional, and cognitive growth. The intervention program is short - about eight weeks long - since homeless families are often in transition.

I like this program because it focuses on seemingly subtle details of the interactions between parents and children that actually have huge implications in the child's healthy development. According to the HRC, parents "may have a difficult time reading cues from their children and responding in a warm and nurturing manner. Often, this is a result of trauma from domestic violence, homelessness, or mental health issues."

Sure, the big things are important. Every family needs food on the table, a bed to sleep in, a roof over their head. But the little moments between parent and child - smiling at each other, making eye contact, and a warm tone of voice - cannot be forgotten while a family is experiencing homelessness. Even in the midst of a family's crisis, they must tend to these human needs.

Image: Kristen C