“When I first arrived at Children of the Night I didn’t think that I had the right place. First of all, it was clean. Sunlight beamed off the light peach walls which were highlighted by a darker peach trim. The bars on the windows couldn’t even dampen the cheerful spirit that illuminated through the sunlight. I expected to see a rundown shelter similar to a Los Angeles homeless shelter I visited. The shelter resembled an old, dilapidated, Mexican-style shanty. Their walls were decayed and the place looked like it would have poor plumbing.
Children of the Night could be mistaken for a large day care center. I also didn’t think that I had the right place because when I rang the doorbell, the woman who opened the door wouldn’t let me in. She just stood there and looked at me. Then she asked me who I was, so I told her that I was from LA Youth and had spoken to Vikki. The woman was then like, “Vikki who?” I went through this tight scrutiny for maybe five minutes before the woman let me in. It turned out the woman was Vikki. She was making sure that I was the person she was expecting. They had tight security.
Once I passed the test, Vikki led me down a hallway to view one of the bedrooms that two teenage girls were currently sharing. It was huge! The room was decorated entirely with furniture that was a beige wood. There were two twin beds, a dresser, a closet and a bathroom with more than enough space for two. It was nicer than any college dorm room I’ve seen. We then went into a recreation type room with wooden cafeteria tables in it. Arts and crafts were lying on the tables for anyone who wanted to express their more creative side.
Children of the Night has a registered private school included in its facility and owns a second-hand store where the teens can get paid work experience for their resumes. Children of the Night also followed an impressive daily schedule, including school, jazz class and other activities. (I’ve visited other shelters that allowed teens to come and go at their own discretion and offer no type of structure.) “
