Children’s Programs
Twenty years ago, when Connie Mercer took meals to families living in grimy motel rooms, she looked into depressed and resigned faces of the children and made a silent promise that they would not grow up homeless and helpless. Two decades later, many of those same children are educated, productive adults. HomeFront knows that breaking the cycle of poverty for a family takes as many years as it takes to raise a child.
Poverty has many debilitating effects, but the worst is its effect on children.
HomeFront’s Children’s Programs nurture our area’s poorest children individually from birth to teenager so that they will grow up believing they can accomplish anything.
We empower children to develop the tools and skills to understand the possibilities of their futures while we work to make parents resilient so their child can depend on them. We provide emergency funds and support services to keep children in their beds, food on the table and lights on so they can do their homework.
Our Educational Success Program at the FPC was designed and is managed by Melva Moore, a retired teacher. The program provides quality after-school tutoring and homework help, educational projects and trains parents in advocating for their children in the school system. Ms. Moore accompanies moms to school parent teacher meetings and assists in requesting testing and in interpreting test findings.
The Cherry Tree Club, an award-winning pre-school, operates in collaboration with the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in West Windsor. It targets children 2-5 years old of homeless and formerly homeless families in Mercer County. A unique aspect of the program is a staffing ratio of 1:3, and it is the only facility in the area, which accepts children immediately and without funding. The Cherry Tree Club provides a stable, nurturing environment where the children develop physically, emotionally and academically.
Our Joy, Hopes and Dreams Program keeps homeless and disadvantaged children safe and positively engaged after school and on weekends. We provide a supportive and positive environment that is often missing in the lives of children from homeless families.
Academic success is key to the families' futures. Tutoring is available three nights a week. Volunteers who frequently become friends and mentors staff it. Dinner is served, and after the study sessions the children have an opportunity to interact with each other. We emphasize reading skills and provide a reading specialist and specially designed computer software.
After-school programs are held almost every day of the week. On Wednesdays, children go to The Lawrenceville School, where students arrange for a variety of activities. Children attend art classes on Thursdays and a theater presentation once each quarter in conjunction with the Arts Council of Princeton and Young Audiences.
Educational and recreational activities are held almost every weekend. These events, such as field trips to the zoo, the State Aquarium, or the theater would otherwise be unavailable to them. We provide transportation, and meals when necessary.
Triumphant Teens is a special program for older teens to explore and prepare for careers after high school. The program includes tutoring, community service activities, and classes on literacy, computer use, resume writing and interview skills.
Our four Summer Camps which serve children from 2.5 - 16 keep our area’s poorest kids safe and engaged while giving them a summer of social, intellectual and personal enrichment. Summer Camp is critical for homeless children. Many homeless families have a working parent, which means that children may be left unattended during the day. Our summer camp, with an average daily attendance of over 165, is specifically targeted to these kids. In addition to recreational activities, camp focuses on reading skills and other academic support so that once these children begin school in the fall, they have not slipped behind where they should be as the news school year begins. We provide transportation, along with breakfast and lunch.
No matter the age or the circumstance of the child who comes to HomeFront, each is nurtured, loved and above all, given hope for a bright future—a vision that is often difficult for children to see as their family goes through the horror of homelessness.
