children Archives - Our Front Porch

Sympathy is a Garbage Emotion

May 23, 2018/3 Comments/in children, colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster relief, disaster stress, fire, hardship, healing, homeless, house fire, job, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, rebuilding, social enterprise, startup, support system, therapy, trauma, volunteering /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Taylar McCoy, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

While working at Our Front Porch I have been able to hone some really useful skills, but one thing seems to stick out the most. Our Front Porch has given me an outlet to truly understand the difference between sympathy and empathy. Some people see these words as synonyms, but they are quite different. There are four words that I would consider to be related, but distinguishable: pity, sympathy, empathy, and compassion. Sympathy and empathy tend to be the two ideas that are intertwined the most. I would argue that empathy includes a component of connection and emotional intelligence that only comes from practice.

10 Things No One Tells You About Being Homeless

February 9, 2018/3 Comments/in childcare, children, colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster stress, eating healthy, hardship, homeless, homelessness, job, mental health, support system, temporary housing, trauma, Uncategorized /by Heather Korth

Part 2

Guest Blogger: Taylar McCoy, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

In my most-recent blog post, I wrote about the fact that until I began working with Our Front Porch, I had no idea just how difficult it is to become totally stable after living in that type of unstable environment. The difficulties of trying to save money and start fresh, all while searching for house and looking for a job, are magnified with you’re also trying to support children or a family. And unfortunately, there are other factors that make the recovery process so difficult to navigate.

Photo Credit: Matt Longmire

10 Things No One Tells You About Being Homeless

February 7, 2018/1 Comment/in childcare, children, disaster, disaster housing, disaster stress, hardship, high rent, homeless, homelessness, job, support system, temporary housing, trauma, Uncategorized /by Heather Korth

Part 1

Guest Blogger: Taylar McCoy, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

As a child, I remember riding in the back of a friend’s parent’s car on a brisk day where our breath fogged up the windows. We were driving through the heart of the city in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As we were covered in goosebumps, we pulled up to a red light where we saw a woman with a cardboard sign. After reading the sign describing her situation, and her two kids, my friend’s dad proceeded to say “why can’t she just go get a job like the rest of us? There’s no excuse to be homeless.” We drove past the woman and didn’t give her a second glance. As I grew up in the more rural outskirts of the city, I tended to start to share a similar mentality. I would often think about how if I see “now hiring” signs in windows everywhere, why are there so many homeless people?

Photo Credit: Daniel Nelson

How Our Front Porch Helps

January 22, 2018/in children, colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster relief, disaster stress, fire, hardship, healing, high rent, homeless, homelessness, house fire, hurricane, hurricane harvey, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, post-disaster housing, social enterprise, support system, temporary housing, trauma, Uncategorized, volunteering /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Paxton Leibold, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

Every person in the United States faces struggles on a daily basis. From running out gas, to losing a credit card; the human race struggles in every aspect of life. But what happens when a natural disaster hits and you lose everything you own and love? Would you be able to pick up and move on, know what to do, or be able to function soundly? I know in my personal life, I would not be able handle the most basic of everyday tasks. People are resilient and can handle so much, but sometimes they need help in this crisis period. I say this, because this is what I do in my internship: I help individuals who have lost everything due to a natural disaster.

Residents wade through floodwaters in Beaumont Place, Texas during Hurricane Harvey. Photo Credit: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters/Newscom

The Realities of Evacuating

October 16, 2017/in children, disaster, disaster relief, disaster stress, hardship, hurricane, hurricane harvey, support system, trauma /by Heather Korth

Our Front Porch interviewed one of our supporters, Kat Kilpatrick, who had to evacuate for Hurricane Irma. For those of us who live in landlocked states, here is what the realities of evacuating look like.

Kat Kilpatrick and her family.

Were you prepared to evacuate and what things were most important for you to bring with you?

We heard about Hurricane Irma arriving in a few days which gave us some time to decide our plan, pack and come to terms with the fact that there was a natural disaster on the way. I packed the essentials for my husband, myself and two small children. I packed clothing, diapers, snacks and our most important documents. I thought about our items at home and hoped they would be ok but most utmost concern was for our family, things can be replaced.

The Stressors of Crisis on a Marriage

May 28, 2016/in children, disaster, disaster stress, hardship, healing, mental health, support system, therapy, trauma /by Our Front Porch

Guest Blogger: Brittany Siegel, MA MFT

Image credit: Creative Commons

Natural disasters have a profound effect on marriage. A marriage can be tightened or eroded by a disaster. When the unexpected happens, couples can undergo severe strain if they are unable to comfort each other. Of course people make adjustments, but for some their life will never be the same. They will never again have what they had.

Catch Them Being Good: How to Help Kids During Stressful Times

April 11, 2016/2 Comments/in children, colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster relief, disaster stress, hardship, healing, job, mental health, support system, therapy, trauma /by Our Front Porch

As a follow up to our last blog, Guest Blogger and Behavior Analyst Kristen Stine, M.ED provides some helpful strategies and tactics for parents to use with kids dealing with trauma and stress after a disaster.

Image Courtesy of Creative Commons

Stress After a Disaster: Not Just for “Grown Ups”

March 3, 2016/1 Comment/in childcare, children, disaster, disaster stress, hardship, healing, house fire, mental health, our front porch, support system, therapy, trauma /by Our Front Porch

Guest Blogger: Lisa A. Mazzeo, LCSW, BCD

When adults feel stressed, they can usually pinpoint the related feeling as well as the cause. They typically take appropriate action and hopefully begin to feel better shortly after implementing a strategy like listening to music, walking the beach or going for a drive. They choose anything that might bring a peaceful feeling back to their overall being.

When children feel stress, the cause, identification and intervention is not always that simple. This is due, mostly, to the fact that children have limited vocabulary to express what is going on, underdeveloped coping mechanisms to deal with it and an inability to make sense of what is happening in their environment.

Image Courtesy of Flickr