Blog 4

The main purpose for Loyola's Year of the City program is to get student's to become involved in what is happening in Baltimore; to experience the ups and downs of the city. Personally, I feel that to get the most out of what this program has to offer, a student must immerse his or herself in the actual city, instead of learning about it second hand. This is why i have decided to volunteer at Chara House.
Chara House is an organization, located in Baltimore that caters to infants and toddlers from birth to four years old with medical problems, such as prenatal drug exposure and HIV/AIDS. There are a maximum of eight children living at Chara House, with their own bedrooms, and staff members that give them the love and attention that any parent would. The staff members also take care of the medical problems for these very fragile children to ensure their safety. Each child has their own individual health plan and schedule that caters to their every need. The way Chara House is run very strongly resembles a typical family set up, and Mary Fiore, Child Care Specialist at Chara House has said that after getting into the routines, you develop bonds with the children and staff, and begin to think of them as family.
Because a large number of the children placed in Chara House were exposed to prenatal illegal drugs, their family members are distant, or nonexistent. Volunteers, such as myself, help fill this gap by being there for the child, whether they need to be fed, played with, or just held. However, another goal of Chara House is to help mend the relationship of the parent and child, by allowing weekly visiting hours. This is difficult for the staff and volunteers sometimes, because you are forced to face the person who so selfishly inflicted these injuries on a defenseless human. But because this is a Chara House policy to let the parent spend time with the child, it is helpful in teaching a person to become less judgemental.
Volunteering at Chara House is what Year of the City is all about. It has allowed me to see the imperfections in society, such as parents that inflict these damages upon their children, or infants suffering from AIDS or HIV. However, I have become determined to use my personal resources in helping these children in any way possible. Since the staff are so incredible at their job, sometimes the only thing left for a volunteer to do is push a toddler on a swing. This might seem insignificant compared to the extensive medical help they receive, yet I am perfectly happy adding some joy and normalcy to the lives of these children.
By agreeing to volunteer at Chara House, I have learned that Baltimore is not the only city experiencing the problems that put infants in Chara House. In the late 1980's, similar organizations were started in Newark, New York and Miami, where drug use was high, and more and more people were being infected with AIDS. The Baltimore City Department of Social Services saw an increase in "border babies" and children entering the Child Welfare System already with AIDS and decided that the time had come to help these children.
I'm really looking forward to my time spent at Chara House, because I believe I can give back to the community of Baltimore in a positive way.