Volunteering at the Road Home

Volunteering at the Road Home on Friday was truly an eye opener. We all may complain (myself included!) about our jobs, homes, car, finances, family, etc, but I don't think anyone really realizes how blessed they actually are (myself included!). The people at this shelter literally have no where else to go. Over 200 people are sleeping on closely grouped together cots in a large room. The stuff in/on/around their cots is all they have right now. They share space, public bathrooms, and even eat at these cots. It's better than being out in the cold, but it is still a difficult living situation, even though the Road Home does their best to make the place as comfortable and home-like as they can. I was so sad to see all these children, running around barefoot on the cold concrete. What almost brought me to tears was to see the desperation in the eyes of some of the children there.

So many wonderful volunteers came and made this event possible. They also donated their time and money to provide candies and gifts for the kids. I would like to give a special shout out to Calvin who not only donated his time, but he also created beautiful boxes of handmade chocolates and other assorted candies to give out to the kids, along with seashells that were provided by him and Thalassa. We were able to talk to the kids and let them see our tails and hang out with the pirates. Along with Mermaid Janelle and myself, we also had Mermaid Koral, Thalassa, Mermaid Dottie, and Mermaid Jessica visit us along with Captain Jack Sparrow, Calvin (who dressed as a pirate/mercenary), and a couple of extra pirates that came along for the ride. We also had my fabulous little brother who helped me with my mobility (more on that later) and with pictures.

 Although I have my mermaid mobile *ahem wheelchair* to help me move (and apparently I'm fairly decent at it, according to everyone there) we found out the hard way that the shelter is not very wheelchair friendly. And we had again...the same problem at pirate fest. We wheeled up to the shelter and realized there were at least 6 steps to actually get into the building. Uh oh. My new tail is very difficult to put on dry and takes me approximately 10-15 minutes to do so, so changing was out of the question. I offered to scoot up the stairs, but the lovely helpers at the shelter, and my little brother insisted they could do it. Meanwhile, my stomach is turning knots, and my face has gone white. They intend on taking me up the stairs in my heavy tail AND WHEELCHAIR. I bet that the entire package (and this might tell you how much I weigh! Eeep!) was close to 300 pounds. We've established in previous posts that I AM NOT a skinny mer. That's kind of my trademark. At any rate, I was terrified. But up the steps I went with these guys, and they didn't drop me. That being said, I nearly peed my tail in fright.


It was a truly magical experience to watch the children's eyes light up after they saw us. Dozens of kids lined up to meet us and talk to us. They swarmed us as we made our way through the shelter to the playroom. They were so excited. At the event we let the kids come in and collect little presents from us. I brought little cellophane bags filled with pet fish, pirate gold, mermaid tears, and stickers. Janelle had candy. And Calvin had brought the above mentioned boxes of chocolates and candies. What was wonderful was to see the children's faces light up at having these treats brought to them. You could tell that even though they were small trinkets, they meant a lot to the kids. The kids squealed at my new tail. Because it feels so realistic, some of them were even a little grossed out. They loved spraying me with the spray bottle. Some of them were terrified that I would die if they didn't keep my tail wet. It was terribly cute. One little girl wouldn't leave the play room, and was so sweet. She kept asking questions and giving us hugs. The kids were delightful. Almost all of them were very well behaved, and so polite. I was very impressed. They asked when we would come back to see them. They didn't want us to leave. And to be absolutely honest, I didn't want to leave them either.

The other people at the Road Home, especially Alicia, helped immensely with the entire thing. They were wonderful to work with and so helpful. We had rooms to change in, strong men to help lift us (especially me up the stairs! Eep!), and people to help us manage all the kids. I was very luck to have this amazing group of people to help with the event, and I sincerely hope to work with them again.

Even a little over a week after the event, I still feel sparkly. It was such a blessing to meet those kids and to be able to share this experience. We were asked to do another event in the future, and I hope that we can visit them again very soon. It's an experience I will never forget!