DrawBridge reaches hundreds of children through its staff and its volunteers who lead art groups in shelters, typically attended by 5 to 20 children between the ages of 4-16.Simoneaux speaks of staff member Michelle Latessa's experience with one of her students. Over the course of 3 months, Michelle has entered the girl s world of silence. As a result of Michelle's sensitivity and intuition, the girl's paintings have evolved from drawings of rigid grass standing alone, to swaying grass with flowers, and then to a little girl watering them with a watering can. DrawBridge provides a tremendously valuable outlet for children who are experiencing enormous anxiety, disruption. and loss. Simoneaux stresses why DrawBridge is so important for homeless kids.
Homeless children have nowhere to express the barrage of emotions they experience.
Their feelings are kept in side for fear of further burdening parents who already face overwhelming stress. The shame of being homeless silences the children in school and distances them from friends. There are rarely programs in the shelters addressing the emotional needs of these children. An eleven year old homeless girl says, 'You don' t have your own privacy and whenever you felt like you wanted to cry, you couldn't do it. DrawBridge also produces a newsletter that updates members and supporters on DrawBridge activity as well as showcasing individual artwork and stories.