Presenting at the 2016 NAEHCY Conference

By: Emily Levine, Director of Policy & Advocacy & Meghan Schafer, Playspace Program Director for the Southeast Region

Recently, we represented Horizons for Homeless Children at the 2016 National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) Conference in Orlando, FL. This annual conference represents a unique opportunity for practitioners from around the country to come together and increase awareness and capacities to support homeless children and families.

By attending this conference, we were able to demonstrate our cross-generational approach to helping families who face housing and economic instability to achieve long-term success. Young children are at the focus of our program model, which we were able to highlight in a well-received breakout session titled, Policy and Play: Infusing a Trauma-Informed Approach for Young Children in Family Shelter Settings, and Leveraging for Systems Change.

Join us for a unique opportunity to learn about the impact of play on young children experiencing homelessness. In our hands-on workshop, participants learned about our statewide program that establishes partnerships with homeless shelters, designs and operates trauma informed spaces for children, trains and convenes shelter professionals, and leverages volunteers to improve the shelter system and political landscape. Participants will also get a chance to learn games and activities that help children regulate emotions, connect with others and heal.