| Abstract: | Through collaboration with the Toy Industry Foundation, Homes for the Homeless launched the Healthy Living Center project in May 2003. The Healthy Living Center attempts to promote positive youth development in a recreational setting that incorporates informal education. Three primary goals guide the creation and implementation of Healthy Living Center components; first, to expose children to creative, social play, giving them a framework for positive socialization that can often be elusive for homeless children as a result of frequent transitions and instability; next, to give children the opportunity to develop their own talents, skills, and creativity, thus enhancing the child's cognitive skills, as well as his or her self‐concept and sense of self‐worth; and finally, to provide a positive, youth‐centered framework for a child's self‐development. This framework gives children vital tools for long‐term success, giving them practice in forming and maintaining positive social relationships and helping them to fully discover and take advantage of their own personal strengths and potential. |
