Reaching Out to the Other Side of Richmond

By Amy Mathis

Many children eat crayons, but not at this rate. The boy compulsively eats them in the corner. He and his sibling's stark black hair and emaciated faces add to their peculiarities. They are the only white children in the program.

The reality is that their hair is dyed and is a disguise against their abusive father. The two children, brother and sister, ran away from home to avoid the fate of their older, 11-year-old brother. He was sent to a mental institution after taking the abuse.

"The children are clearly so damaged, and beyond that, they're really shabbily dressed and unhealthy. They get picked on all the time for being white children and it's just€¦ it's just a horrific situation," Kate Shinnick, a University of Richmond volunteer, said.

Children like these come to the Peter Paul Development Center in Richmond to get help with school and other needs. Many live in poverty and are burdened by a wide range of home-life problems.

The center, which is in Church Hill, has been serving at-risk and economically disadvantaged youth since 1979. It is associated with the Micah Organization, which has helped engage volunteers among UR students and the academic community. The center, which helps children ages 10 to 18, has doubled its enrollment this year to 110. Center officials believe that number will rise by next year.

Essentially, the center acts as a second school for the children. The children come to the afterschool program everyday, as well as the weekends, to work on homework and see their friends. The center provides a comfortable environment conducive to completing schoolwork, one that they might not find at home.

"They'll help us, they'll play activities, just like the times tables, they'll call out the answer and you say what number times what number equals that number," said Miayalioni Person, one of the older students. She said coming to the center has helped her start to get A's on her report card.

The center's tutoring and after-school program has been so successful that organizers expanded the facility and have started the process to become an accredited school.

The center previously operated out of the parish halls of St. Peter's Episcopal Church on 22nd Street. The new center, which opened in the last year, is across the street.

"I think it gives a great deal of hope to this community that's often hopeless," said the Rev. Lynne E. Washington, the center's director. "It's a symbol of a new beginning, commitment and care."

Volunteer Colleen Farrell, a University of Richmond junior, believes that the new facility will establish the center's name in Richmond and allow for more resources and funding.

"There will be more community interest as it succeeds and grows and I think having a nicer center will make the kids want to come and find hope in themselves," Farrell said.

Farrell, along with faculty advisor and political science professor Rick Mayes, heads UR Buddies, which Micah set up at UR to connect students with the center. Farrell has been volunteering with Buddies since she was a freshman. She now helps to coordinate a minimum of five activities a semester with the center, as well as find volunteers.

Assistant Director Anthony Christian believes that having the older students, as well as African-American volunteers in general, acting as tutors fosters a leadership culture.

"Kids need to see themselves [as African-Americans] helping so that way they'll be able to mirror what they see. If they see themselves selling drugs on the corner, they don't see themselves doing community work," Christian said. "Encouraging each other, that's what we need."

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