Weekly Dance Party Gives Homeless A Break From The Streets
DENVER (CBS4)- Men and women experiencing homelessness have found a way to forget their troubles at least temporarily, thanks to a weekly dance party at Saint Francis Center hosted by the Wonderbound Dance Company.
"Every day is a growing experience and you have to take it with a grain of salt," said Charlee Marcella Dawson. "I cry a lot, I'm emotional, I'm a wreck without my music, and I love to dance."
Two years ago, the dance company approached the day shelter with the idea of providing a weekly time and place for the homeless to gather, listening to their favorite songs and dancing. Staff at the Center say the impact it has on their visitors can be instant or eventually lead to a major change in their mood over the course of the hour.
"It's wonderful. We laugh in here. Everyone feels safe in here. There's no drama in here," said Susan Vaho, the urban education center for Saint Francis Center. "Nobody makes fun of anybody. Nobody is bullying anybody."
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It is a needed distraction for these men and women that say when they are out on the streets, they have so much to worry about each day. Those that have attended for about a year also enjoy the consistency that is hard to maintain in their lives when they are moving so often from one place to another.
"We're not in the element of being out the door with all sorts of bad things that could happen," said Patricia Powell, another dance party participant. "Bad things can happen to you out on the street, you have to be careful."
Saint Francis Center located at 2323 Curtis St. in Denver hosts between 700 and 1,000 people each day. As a day shelter, it is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. It offers a place for the homeless to stay when overnight shelters close for the day.
Wonderbound Dance Company started in the suburbs of the city in 2007 but later moved to Denver. One of the initiatives of the company is community involvement like the program now at Saint Francis Center.
"We think of folks experiencing homelessness as having to work hard, it has to be very serious, you have to struggle," said Heather Sutton, the adult outreach programs coordinator. "Providing moments of reprieve or those reminders of what it is you're fighting for, trying to get back, or get back into your life."
Wonderbound also tries to introduce the men and women they meet at this weekly gathering to the professional work they put on each year by transporting them to some of their productions. It adds to the connection staff from the company and the people visiting the shelter make from dancing together.
"Not only are we going to come into your house to provide this program, but we're inviting you into our home as well," added Sutton.
The group meets in a clothing room at the back of the Center every Thursday at 10 a.m. Staff try to provide food for the guests as well.
"They don't get anything like this the rest of the week," said Vaho. "What happens in the dance room stays in the dance room."
"Music brings people together, and it makes people find happiness," said Dawson. "I would love to come back, yes ever Thursday."
LINKS: Saint Francis Center
Shawn Chitnis reports for CBS4 News at 10 on weekends and CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. throughout the week. Email him story ideas at smchitnis@cbs.com and connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.
