Providing advocacy services to victims of crime in Converse County led CHC to notice a gap in our communities. When a Protection Order is in place there is to be no interaction between the parties, but when the parties have a child together, this can reduce a child’s healthy access to both parents. While there are some parents whose families/friends can be of assistance, there are many who do not have this option. CHC began the Supervised Visitation and Exchange Program to help fill this gap. The goal of this program is to provide children with a safe, positive, conflict free experience with the important adults in their life.
Space in this program is limited. If you are interested in receiving services from this program please read, fill out and return the application below to 126 N 5th St. Douglas, WY or by email to sveprogram@conversehope.org
Girl Scout Gold Award: Outdoor Play Area
Samantha at work, painting the four-square court.
Recently, the Converse Hope Center has been able to expand our supervised visitation area to include an outdoor area. However, it needs a lot of love to make it a nice place for families to play. Lucky for us, local Girl Scout Samantha Kyle is ready and willing to help! She is currently working on revitalizing the area with some special projects.
“Having an outside area for children and parents to play in, helps build those healthy relationships and hopefully creating one here at the Hope Center will encourage other places to do the same thing” - Samantha Kyle
Samantha’s Goals
Sandbox
I decided building a sandbox would bring huge benefits to the families participating in the program. Do you know how many benefits there are for children who play in sandboxes?
Playing in a sandbox provides unstructured playtime, helping the kids play to their imaginations.
With all of the toys that can be used, it helps develop their fine motor skills.
Playing in the sand can help increase their perceptive senses, and give them a better idea of their body relative to space.
Writing words in the sand can help develop their language skills.
Sandbox play helps develop social skills such as problem solving, sharing and communicating. It helps kids learn how to share toys with other children.
Goals, like building a sandcastle, can teach children how to create and work towards other goals.
It is easy for caregivers to supervise while also giving their child an independent play experience. When parents can provide this, it helps build trust and confidence.
Some researchers believe that children who play outside are far healthier than those who only play in indoor spaces.
The plans I have chosen for this sandbox includes a foldable cover, which will help keep the sand clean. The cover also doubles as a seat for the parents and children.
Outdoor Games
The yard at the Hope Center has a large concrete pad. This blank slate is the perfect place for me to create more outdoor games for families. I will be painting a four-square court as well as a hopscotch grid.
Four-square is a ballgame that is played on a square court divided by four smaller squares. It teaches kids teamwork and good sportsmanship. It is an easy to learn game and adaptable to many ages. It is inexpensive to play and can be played anywhere. This means parents will be learning games that they can play with their children when they have them unsupervised.
Everyone remembers playing hopscotch. I will be painting a hopscotch grid because this classic game is not only fun, but incredibly beneficial to children. This game hones skills such as balance and coordination, social development, counting skills, and body control. Hopscotch can be played in numerous ways. You can follow the rules or play by your imagination. When children play by their imagination they learn leadership and teamwork.