“I’ve seen kids come in who will just be hitting and screaming and crying.
By the end of the term, they’re able to use their words and relate their feelings.
Leanne Kiel | Relief Nursery volunteer
ves ti.
season
PART TWO
Nicole Barker | Photographer
Analarua, top, drinks milk during lunch time at the Relief Nursery. Kelli Wiley, a teacher at
the Relief Nursery, bottom, helps Dylan clean up after lunch.
A refuge
g% from the,
family
storm
A classroom at the Relief Nurs
ery is a preschooler’s paradise.
Miniature multi-colored plas
tic chairs line small tables, and a tot
sized couch sits next to a bean bag.
The carpet is scattered with a bevy of
bright-colored toys, and laughing
children scamper about.
But these children’s stories are of
ten not so happy. The children at
the Relief Nursery come from high
risk homes, which means that many
deal with domestic violence, a par
ent with a substance abuse problem
or other challenges.
“These are strong, courageous lit
tle kids,” University senior and Relief
Nursery volunteer Leanne Kiel said.
“They’re definitely exposed to a lot
more than the average kid.”
Programs Coordinator Joanna By
ford said problems also arise because
parents in high-risk homes often
have difficulty communicating with
their children.
“(The parents) don’t bond with
their children as easily,” Byford said.
“They’re not able to show the child
that they’re loved and secured.”
As a result, the children frequently
have social and emotional difficulties.
The preschool helps the children cope
by taking a therapeutic approach.
“What is important is (the nurs
ery’s) focus on mental and emotional
health,” Chrystal Kellerman, a senior
in the University’s Family and Hu
man Services program and nursery
volunteer said. “That’s really essen
tial for any child, but especially for
these children. ”
The nursery works to foster the
children’s emotional health by teach
ing them how to identify and appro
priately express their emotions.
“We teach them that it’s okay to feel
all of their emotions and that it’s not
necessarily wrong or bad if they feel
scared or mad,” Early Interventionist
preschool teacher Kelli Wiley said.
In addition, many of the children
come from Spanish-speaking-only
households and will enter public
schools that won’t fully accommo
date them, Byford said. The pre
school is bilingual, so in addition to
teaching English to Spanish-speak
ers, English-speakers also learn
Spanish. In one classroom for exam
ple, teachers played music in both
English and Spanish.
Teachers also work to improve
children’s communication skills,
Wiley said.
“We teach them to use their
words,” she said. “We model con
flict resolution on their age-appro
priate level.”
Kiel said she has seen drastic
The Relief Nursery uses
i therapeutic approach to help
hildren from high-risk homes
develop mental health
BY MORIAH BALINGIT | NEWS REPORTER
improvements in children she’s
worked with for a while.
“I’ve seen kids come in who will
just be hitting and screaming and cry
ing,” she said. “By the end of the
term, they’re able to use their words
and relate their feelings. ”
The preschool is only a part of the
services the Relief Nursery provides.
Byford said the nursery also has a
parent support program in which em
ployees make home visits to “help
families respond to the challenges
that they’re facing.” They also pro
vide parenting classes, mental health
services for children and parents and
an addiction recovery program.
Byford said the Relief Nursery
takes a more “holistic” approach in
helping families.
“A family will come and they’ll
have a variety of challenges,” she
said. “We try to help them meet those
challenges and empower them to do
what they need to do.”
Wiley said she likes the Relief
Nursery’s comprehensive approach.
“I like ... that they focus on the
whole family, not just the student,”
she said.
During the 2002-03 fiscal year, the
Relief Nursery helped 855 families
and nearly 1,000 children ages one to
five. Nearly all of the families served
were low income, and the most com
mon risk factors included poverty,
unemployment, high stress and sub
stance abuse.
To ensure that children receive the
attention they need, the Relief Nursery
maintains a one-to-three child-to-adult
ratio. While the Nursery maintains a
paid staff, they also rely on a core of
volunteers. Volunteers are most often
students from Lane Community Col
lege and from the University. Kiel, for
example, is receiving field study credit
for her special education minor.
Wiley said though she loves being
with the children, working at the
nursery can be challenging.
“It’s difficult if you’re dealing
with a family where there’s suspect
ed abuse,” she said. “It’s difficult
to see. ”
Wiley added that many of the staff
members have had to submit reports
for suspected child abuse or neglect.
But Kellerman said one of the
greatest benefits of working at the
center is learning from the children
themselves.
“They show me the importance
of slowing down, and I think that’s
the most important lesson for us
all,” she said.
moriahbalingit@ daily emerald, com
HOWTO HELP
To donate or volunteer call 343-9706.
For a list of volunteer opportunities, visit:
www.reliefnursery.org/volunteering.as
---,-1
For more information about the Domestic
Violence Clinic at Lane County Legal
Aid Service, call 232-1246 or visit
lanecountylegalservices.org/dv.html
For more information about the
Springfield/Eugene Habitat for Humanity
call 741-1707 or visit SEhabitat.org.
The University still has to raise more than
$240,000 to meet its goal for the Charitable
Fund Drive this year.