Poetry Flows Freely at LEAP

Did you know at Calvary Women’s Services’ clients  have access to educational and skills-building programs that support them in achieving their goals? Calvary’s Life Skills, Education, and Arts Program (LEAP) engages women through volunteer-led, structured classes that enable them to strengthen a variety of important skills they need to make lasting changes in their lives.

This spring, participants in LEAP have been writing poetry and short stories in a creative writing class. “We have had a couple of clients that really shined during the poetry unit,” shared Katie Gregson, Manager of Education and Programs at Calvary. One client in particular has since filled up her whole notebook with original poems. Katie was excited to share how women in the poetry class felt inspired by each other’s writing. The women  enjoyed thinking creatively and sharing their poems with each other at the end of each class.

In the creative writing unit, another woman finished her own original short story the same week she started so she could share it with her class the following week. Creative writing has been shown to build confidence while also allowing participants to express their thoughts in a relaxed and safe environment with opportunities for positive feedback and growth. Women in the creative writing class at LEAP are continuing to build confidence in themselves and their abilities.

Take a look at two original poems written by women in Calvary’s LEAP creative writing class.

 

In My Future

In my future

there will be no sorrow,

Only hopes and dreams

For a better tomorrow.

In my future

there will be no more crime,

only people having a good time

In my future

there will be no more homelessness,

only people enjoying their happiness.

In my future

the skies will always be sunny and bright,

and only the stars will be visible at night.

That’s what I see for my future.

 

Hope

Hope is the thing that dreams are made of,

Made from the night sky,

Like the stars twinkling in the presence of the moon.

Or flowers growing up by the side of a stream.

Hope is an eternal emotion that no one can take away.

Like a rainbow after a rainy day.

Hope is always there like a shadow by your side.

Without hope there can be no dreams.

 

Every day, women are strengthening their skills and working towards their goals through Calvary’s housing, health, education, and employment programs. Will you make a donation today to support our work and rally around women who are making lasting changes in their lives?