Activities for children at the shelter

All the children we accommodate at Athena's House participate in activities and services whose goals are to help them express their emotions, both verbally and non-verbally, provide them with safety plans and allow for better interaction with each other and with their mothers.

Examples of activities and services include the following:

Family Sessions

These aid the mother and her child or children gain more insight into what they have both experienced at home.

Drama Play

Drama play is a powerful tool for helping children cope with different issues and to teach and explore and express certain emotions.

Art Therapy

This helps children explore and express their emotions and feelings on paper by creating, colouring and/or drawing.

 
This drawing was created by an 11 year old child. She explained that, when her father became angry at her and her mother, he became a monster and that he was no longer her father. He would become this large, evil, snake-like monster she had once seen in a scary movie and she dreamt that this monster would chase her in order to try to eat her. This became so fearful to this child that she would often refuse to go to sleep even while residing at the shelter. She also talked about how she felt like she was a prisoner in her home. While if she looked outside her window she could see the other children playing and having fun and she wondered why she could not be one of those children.