Last year, I volunteered at a local women’s shelter tutoring
elementary school children. Prior to beginning my work, I attended a domestic
violence workshop to learn about the warning signs of unhealthy relationships
and abusive behaviors. It was shocking to learn that over 36% of women and 17%
of men have experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetimes1,
and that domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness in major US
cities2. The homelessness can bring families to shelters, like the
center where I would be volunteering. The shelter provided a temporary home for
two months as families transitioned into more permanent housing solutions.
I had been reflecting
on this experience recently after reading an article on education of migrant
children in shelters in the United States. The article was published in the New York Times and entitled, “In a
Migrant Shelter Classroom, ‘It’s Always like the First Day of School.’”3
While the students that I was working with were United States citizens, the
challenges related to transiency and a background of childhood trauma were
similar. Despite all of the challenges, the children I worked with were always
happy to see me and eager to work together. I am no longer volunteering at the
shelter, but am grateful for the opportunity to work with this population of
resilient children and their mothers as they navigated challenging life
experiences. It highlights the importance of the family unit and social
support, which is so critical to healing and improved heath4.
Maureen Farrell DUCOM 2021
1. National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey,
2011-2012 State Report, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
2. United States Conference of Mayors, 2007
3. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/06/us/immigrants-shelters-schools-border.html
4. Health indicators, social
support, and intimate partner violence among women utilizing services at a
community organization (2013). PMID: 23660431
