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WILKES-BARRE — In the back room of a store across from Sherman Hills, an apartment complex notorious for violence and crime, a little girl, 6 or 7 years of age with dark skin, braided hair and a purple shirt sat in a small circle of chairs with a group of other children. Her peers listened with respect as she folded her hands in her lap, bowed her head, closed her eyes and talked to her God in a soft but confident voice.
“Thank you for this wonderful day,” she prayed. “Thank you for yesterday. I hope we have a wonderful time tomorrow. Thank you for Lighthouse and everything you do for us.”
This was the scene around 4:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at the Lighthouse Resource Center where volunteers from area churches hold an after-school program Mondays through Thursdays year round.
Carrie Haverlock, the center’s coordinator, said when she started volunteering her time there in January 2015, between four and seven kids attended on a regular basis. Now, the program attracts between 30 and 40 children each day from the Sherman Hills community.
As they return home from school, the kids pass by the front of the store where a sign indicates the Lighthouse is open. They can come in and, for the first hour, hang out, play games or get help with their homework. At 4 p.m., they participate in a program with singing and dancing, a Bible lesson, prayer and a snack before going home. Each month, the lessons focus on a different theme with a Bible verse for the children to memorize.
Haverlock said the theme for November was “thankfulness.”
“The prayers that I have seen come out of that have been amazing,” she said. “I asked one day…if the verse they were learning was helpful, and one boy said, ‘Well, I really had to clean my room one day and I didn’t want to, and then I remembered my verse that said to be thankful in all circumstances and so I cleaned my room and I didn’t need any help.’”
Samara Holland, 7, said some of the things she remembers learning at the Lighthouse include “friendship, kindness, self-control and what we’re thankful for.”
Bianca Taylor, 12, said she loves everything about the Lighthouse.
“I like that we get to learn about God, we get to be with our friends and play games and sing songs,” she said.
Kimora Thompson, 10, said the lessons about Jesus are her favorite part of the program.
This, according to Haverlock, is the most important, and if she could instill just one truth in the hearts of the children for them to always remember, it would be “that having a relationship with Jesus is what’s going to change their lives.”
She said this goes for the children’s families as well, as some of the mothers often bring their kids and stay to observe the program.
One of these mothers, Jaleesa Mcgriff, said it means everything to her for her son to have this place to go where she doesn’t have to worry about his safety or what he is doing.
“Miss Carrie was very welcoming from the beginning,” she said. “He’s in good hands. I’m very happy he can have a positive place to come and learn, besides school. I am very grateful for Lighthouse.”
And so is her son.
“He looks forward to coming every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,” she said. “He knows the days.”
Trini Akin, mother of three girls, echoed these sentiments.
“The people here are very kind, friendly,” she said, adding it is a place where her children feel safe.
She said in a community where a lot of negativity exists, the positive atmosphere at the Lighthouse is important for kids to experience.
Haverlock said when she first moved to Wilkes-Barre a couple years ago to join in the mission of the newly formed Restored Church, she was afraid of Sherman Hills because of its bad reputation. Now, she no longer focuses on the area and its stigmas, instead building relationships with the people she meets there. In addition to running the Lighthouse program for the children, she studies the Bible regularly with some of the mothers and other women who live there.
“Everybody thinks that this place is bad – a really bad and awful place,” she said. “However, the ladies that I hang out with on Monday mornings are your everyday average women. They have heartaches, they have struggles, they put their pants on the same way I do. They’re not scary, they’re amazing women … As a whole, there are a lot of amazing people in this area and I’m just here to give them a light and an opportunity to help them all see their real potential. They are loved by God, they’re humans, and He loves them right where they’re at – they don’t have to move away from this ‘awful’ area just to be considered a human. They’re human right where they are.”
