MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) - Ball State University students are helping children of homeless women get out of their rooms at the YWCA.
“Growing up in a homeless shelter and living in a tiny area with their parents, kids need a place to get away while they’re still in the building,” said Kalyn Krupke, director of the women’s organization housed in a 1920s building downtown.
The building had a toy room that had fallen into disrepair and disuse.
“It needed to be cleaned, painted and organized,” Krupke told The Star Press (https://tspne.ws/1qFQZqe ). “And some of the toys were broken and had missing pieces.”
While the students from assistant professor Robin Box’s family and consumer sciences class were renovating the toy room, they asked Krupke, “What are you going to do about the older kids? What are they going to do?”
“That was a really good question,” the director said. “So the class came up with the idea of creating a teen room for older kids to hang out in, escape from their rooms, read books, watch movies and make friendship bracelets.”
Kids up to age 17 can live in the shelter with their mothers, though boys over age 5 are not permitted.
The shelter operates at capacity, with 65 current residents, 13 of whom are children.
Women wind up there for a variety of reasons, such as alcohol dependency, domestic violence, poor health, inability to find a job, and no longer being able to afford a motel.
Some arrive with nothing but the clothes on their back.
With the help of college students and other volunteers, Krupke re-opened for adult residents a library that also had fallen into disuse.
“It was a mess,” she said. “You couldn’t even open the door. The room was jammed full of books, trash and tables. It was basically just being used for storage. It took a year to complete the library. Now it’s great. The residents love it.”
The YWCA also updated a clothing closet where women can use vouchers to acquire clothing, purses, scarves, hats, gloves and other accessories.
All of the merchandise, books and toys are obtained through donations.
After improving the library and clothes closet for the adults, “it was time to work on things for the kids,” Krupke said.
Ball State assigned students of interior design, residential property management and childhood development for the room renovations.
“To be honest, this would not be happening without the students,” Krupke said. “We have only five full-time staff, and we’re so busy all the time.”
A BSU sorority conducted a canned food drive that fully stocked the YWCA’s food pantry. “We’re hoping to do a toy drive next semester through a sorority that one of the students belongs to,” Krupke said.
The students learned the importance of serving on boards of nonprofit social service agencies; of writing grants to fund nonprofits; and of becoming advocates for organizations like the YWCA, according to Box.
“If we write a grant, the students made a list of things we need and supplies,” Krupke said.
The students didn’t just spend class time at the YWCA. They also came in after hours on their own time.
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Information from: The Star Press, https://www.thestarpress.com
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