Special Summer Reading for FamilyAid’s Youngest Guests

Thanks to generous FamilyAid donors, hundreds of children living in our shelter can choose from a variety of books to read this summer.

The children arriving in our emergency shelters this summer will be mostly disconnected from their home neighborhoods, libraries, schools, and after-school activities.

We ensure that young students have all the support, opportunities, and tools they need to thrive all year long, especially during the summer months.

Several generous donors – including St. Anne’s-in-the Fields youth group and author Deborah Farmer Kris – are supplying hundreds of books for FamilyAid, with volunteers and staff re-shelving the “mini-libraries” at our shelters.

Trauma-reducing activities like reading are the foundation of FamilyAid’s Children’s First initiative, which provides children with critical connections, enrichment activities, and some hope and joy as their parents work with FamilyAid staff to address the root causes of their homelessness, find stable housing, job training, and employment.

The initiative also includes parent education programs co-sponsored with our partner Horizons for Homeless Children, referrals to behavioral health specialists, early reader programs, and other technologies to support students’ learning.

By prioritizing the needs of both children and parents, we can break the generational cycle of homelessness that many families face.  Please stay tuned for more summer enrichment updates for children in our care.