Anyone who has visited Granny’s House for more than five minutes, knows that finding space for 40-60 kids to play is a bit of a challenge. Between our “302” side being used for only dinner, and our “304” unit typically being used for various groups and activities every evening, we are limited in space for our active children. Oftentimes, when you walk into our 304 side, you bump into kids playing Candy Land on the ground in front of the door because there is no other place to play, and as you walk further into the apartment, you notice kids coloring in the hallway, and volunteers reading with kids next to a boom box blasting Lecrae's Christian Rap Cd!Since the start of the school year, a new challenge has arrived. Homework has always been something we stress to the kids, and we even have a “Show Us What You Got” bulletin board where kids can post their good grades. In the past, however, most of the kids would do their homework at home and come to Granny’s House afterward to play with friends. This year...is different. On any given day, 10 or more kids are running to Granny’s House (homework in hand) right off the school bus begging “Will you help me with my homework!”
When this “crisis” first started, we would grab a volunteer, and head straight to the Craft Room to quietly work on their homework (and when we say “quietly” we mean radio blasting, kids laughing and doors slamming). Soon we realized: something needs to change.
Although we typically do not allow children upstairs in our office and storage room which is on our “eating” side, we realized we had no other choice! Because of this, when you visit Granny’s House at 4:00 pm and head upstairs, you have to climb over children, books, and an occasional stack of flashcards in order to find a seat in the office.
We knew God was trying to tell us something when I walked upstairs and took the pictures of a volunteer working on homework with one of our elementary kids (at that time we did not have calculators so the volunteer's cell phone calculator was being used). When I viewed the picture, I noticed Serenity and Starr in the back corner of our storage room piled up against birthday presents and random donations as they worked on their homework. On that day that the staff looked at each other and said “Something has to change!”
We immediately began praying for guidance, and all of us started brainstorming about how great it would be to have the adjoining upstairs apartment that would be dedicated to just homework and tutoring. It was then that we came up with what we believed was the perfect name for a area for tutoring: “The Learning Loft.” We would have a “homework room” a “quiet room” and maybe even a “computer room” where kids could work on schoolwork without interruption. And, with more and more older kids (13-18 year olds) still hanging around Granny's House, we thought it would be a perfect place to teach them life skills; filling out job applications, practicing answering interview questions, etc.As we proceeded to inquire about acquiring that “perfect” apartment, we discovered one huge obstacle. The apartment that we believe would be absolutely perfect for our “Learning Loft” is currently occupied by a public housing resident. After talking to the housing authority on several occasions, it seems as though our dreams of the “Learning Loft” are more distant than we thought. Our rent would significantly increase, and the current resident would have to agree to be “transfered” to another unit, incurring all the expenses associated with moving (paying deposits for transferring utilities, telephones etc.) Not to mention the actual drudge of moving all of your belongings… down the street.
Regardless, we know God put this need into our laps for a reason, and we are confident that a solution is right around the corner. Please join us in prayer as we ask God to provide space for the kids to learn. It’s been incredibly exciting watching the kids grades increase and to watch them get motivated in school! What a blessing.
