This book is dedicated to children and families suffering from homelessness ..

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I remember the day everything changed. My mommy woke me up really late one night, packed two bags full of clothes and said "get up honey, we gotta go- quickly!", we were in a rush, and left the house so fast that I forgot my favourite toy- but I knew now was not the time to throw a tantrum. She looked scared, sad, and a little crazy.

We hopped on a Bus, and I felt really sleepy so I layed my head on my mommy’s lap. I looked up at my mommy and her face looked like she was in shock. I was thinking about how angry and confused daddy would be when he would come home and not see us there. He usually comes home smelling all funky- like alcohol my mom says, talking really loud to mom and banging the walls. I don’t like him when he comes home really late at night, he makes mommy cry.

One time, I was still in the living room when my daddy came home. He walked in and didn’t notice me watching T.V. on the couch. I heard him yelling at my mommy, and my mom yelled at me to get in my room. Before I could reach my bedroom, my mommy was on the floor with her hand covering her face, and my dad yelling above her. I don’t like when he hits mommy, it hurts her.

I dozed off on my mommy’s lap and when I woke up, it was bright and sunny outside. I looked up at my mommy and she was still awake. I don’t think she slept that night; she had heavy eye bags. “Where are we?” I asked my mom. “We’re safe now, don’t worry”, she said. Afraid to ask more questions, I sat up and looked outside the window from the bus. I noticed a long line that wrapped around this large brown building. My mom was looking in that direction too.

We got off the bus, just near the building with the huge line of people. There were a lot of children and women in the line up, and my mom and I walked to the very back of the line. I saw a child in front of me wearing baggy dirty clothes, and the women he was with was pushing a small cart full of stuff. She looked scary to me. We were in the line for what felt like all day! “I’m hungry”, I said to my mom. “Just wait, we’re almost inside then we can get food”, she said. So, we waited.

When we finally got inside the brown building, the tall man at the front handed my mom a piece of paper with a number on it. “Two”, it said. My mommy let me hold on to the paper, while she carried our bags inside. The place smelled weird, like something was rotting. I followed my mom to this small room that was half the size of my bedroom. There was only enough room for one small bed, and a little desk. My mom placed our bags on the little desk, and put a bed sheet she had brought from home on the bed. “Okay, should we go get some food?”, my mom said. We walked around the building, first looking for the nearest washroom to our tiny room, and then found the cafeteria.

The food was okay. I missed my favourite food from home. “When are we going back home?” I asked my mom. She told me we couldn’t go back there anymore, because daddy isn’t a good man. “Is it because he hurts you?”, I asked. My mom looked hurt with my response and just replied “don’t worry, we wont be here for too long”. We finished eating and headed back to our tiny room. The bed was so small that my mommy and I had to sleep so close to each other that night.

We stayed at this brown building for a long time- a few months I think. I began making friends with some of the other people in the building. Ms. Camelia was my favourite person to talk to- her room was right beside ours. She was the lady I saw pushing a cart full of stuff on our first day here. She was a nice old lady with white short hair. Ms. Camelia would watch me when my mommy had to go to work, or when she was looking for a new job.

Ms. Camelia has a grandson who’s the same age as I am. His name is Joshua, and we’ve become good friends. Once in a while, we would go outside the brown building, and walk around the block; or even a few blocks down. We like to go to the busier street areas, where a lot of people are walking. We’ll sit outside coffee shops with our hats in our hand and ask people for change to buy some food. Sometimes we even make up stories like “ I need change to call my mom”, or “I lost the money my parents gave me for food”. Joshua and I like coming up with these stories, and people seem very interested and give us $20 bills- if were lucky.

Ms. Camelia usually sits by the sidewalks, not far from Joshua and I, with a little bucket in front of her. She has an amazing voice, and will usually sing a lot of songs for people. People like her voice. Some folks will stand and watch, and some will drop some change in her bucket. When I make enough money throughout the day for a little snack and some extra change, I like to drop some change in Ms.Camelia’s bucket too- but she usually gives me the money back later that day. “Save your money, son”, She says to me.

When my mommy gets back from work, she’ll sometimes have a little treat for Joshua and I. One time she got us both a kinder surprise, and we ended up playing with our toys from it all night! Ms. Camelia never likes to accept gifts from my mom, she always says “save your money”.

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"The Brown Building"

Name: The Brown Building
Author: amberatienza

amberatienza

A young child narrates their experience of fleeing an abusive home with their mother and living in a shelter. They form friendships, help their mother save money, and dream of a better future.

(20 pages)

Privacy level: PUBLIC

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