Support survivors escaping domestic violence

Dear Friends,

It can be easy to forget how many moms live at Raphael House. If you aren’t here in person at our shelter, you might not realize that we spend many of our days in a riot of children - playing basketball, doing craft projects, reading, helping with homework, and eating cookies.

In fact, over 60% of the people who live at Raphael House are children. In the past year we’ve rushed a new mom to the delivery room, taken kids to the emergency room, applied more Band-Aids than we can count, and watched as a whole group of families took on a rock climbing adventure for the first time.

We work hard to make our shelter feel like a home, to celebrate kids and their moms and that incredible, life-sustaining bond they share. We see moms searching for the answers to questions like “What is this place?” “Why are we here?” and “Who are all these other people?” And we know that if anyone can offer comfort to a child confused by the transition to shelter and missing his own home, it’s Mom.

Earlier this month we celebrated Mother's Day in the shelter with gifts donated by local businesses and service groups. But mothering is something we celebrate (and practice!) all year long. We offer childcare so that moms can take some self-care time or attend support groups. We also offer a weekly parenting support group to help moms address the many issues around children living in an emergency domestic violence shelter.

It's really our privilege to get to spend so much time with those kids though. I'll leave you with something a seven year old said to me recently:

"My mom looks happy now, and they have these really good cookies here."

High praise!

Links:

• http://www.raphaelhouse.com