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Testimonials
"Through the shocking power of their own drawings and words, you are about to look into the inner lives of America's homeless children."
~ Marian Wright Edelman, Executive Director, Children's Defense Fund
"Appreciate what you've got. Your friendship, your house, mother nature, your food, shelter, caring and loving, your family, the world, your mom and dad, and the trees."
"The kids have an outlet for their feelings, but they also feel valued because the program's volunteers want to hear their stories."
~ Beth Goldberg, Falkirk curator
"If you (DrawBridge) never came here, I'd be miserable and grumpy 'cause I never had this kind of help. I'd be sad. I'd probably leave the shelter a lot and go out to the park."
~ Rodney, age 26. Father and shelter resident
"Home is much more than a shelter. Home is a family. Home is love and friendship and being hugged and a lot of other things that have nothing to do with shelter. I wish that all the homeless would have that; not only the food, but the other things also --- the love."
~ Isabel Allende, On the Meaning of Home
"The art groups help the children so much. When the parents are sad and have problems, we always transmit this to our children. They see it in us and then they also feel sad. To give them paints and a totally safe place to be - it helps them so much. It distracts them and lets them see life from another perspective. My daughter has suffered. Her drawings reflect what she feels - when she feels frustrated, when she feels joy. I can see that. I can see her suffering in her paintings.""
~ Reina Diaz, mother of two DrawBridge children
"In my house I want a refrigerator. No monster can come into my house and killing me. No two bad guys in my house. No one hundred and no million either (people). I live in #6. No bugs crawling in my house killing me."
"Through DrawBridge the children can have just a totally pure experience. They won't be judged and there are no secrets. To express themselves through painting is freeing and safe. The part about not having to claen up allows them to be kids, to just play. Oftentimes when people are in crisis, if mom is having a hard time --- the kids whill try to distract the parents from stress, or they are overly responsible --- 'parentified'. With DrawBridge, kids are free to be children and are treated with respect.
"When I lived in the shelter, I also painted. I painted out my stress."
~ Wynne, age 26. Formerly homeless mother of two children in DrawBridge
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"I used to live at Hamilton (Family Center). Then they helped us to find a house and my life's been great. My mother is still on drugs. She's on, she's off, she's on, she's off. I wish they never made drugs in this city. I stay with my sister and my auntie. My dad's with my mother on drugs. They hang out on Haight Street and they sleep in a car. I wish that my mother and daddy would get off drugs."
"I wish you a house full of love."
"I wait to come here all week!"
"It takes my mind off things, off my stress."
"It's for me? All of it?!"
(referring to a 'magic goody bag' filled with art supplies)
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"I like DrawBridge because, I don't know, they don't judge you here. I made this thing that was really weird. Someplace else they would say, 'Hey! That's not right.' Here they never say that. They really like you."
"When you draw your feelings, people can't misunderstand you. Like if you're really mad and you may not be able to tell the exact words, you can draw lighning flying down or something like that."
"Once upon a time there was this house. It was from the rainbow and the house was made out of all different kinds of colors.
"There was this kid who saw the house and he was shocked because it was the most beautiful house that he had ever seen in his whole entire life. He went inside and it looked like a candy house. The TV was pure chocolate, the chairs were pure vanilla, the water was chocolate and vanilla. There was another living room but it was not sweets. It was a big humungous chicken and the furniture was mashed potatoes. There were lima beans for the channel turners and there were vegetables all over.
"He got a bunch of food and went out of the house and told his friends. One night when they were going to go back, the house was gone because it had been eaten by a whole bunch of other people. The day after yesterday they went to the house and the house was back. It had candy and good food. They said, 'How did this happen?' Then they wanted to show the house to their parents. The parents were very angry and they said this house belongs to the state. The parents said, 'Look at that sign!' and they had to pay $5,000 because they had eaten all the house. The kids got grounded for a month."
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