By 
0 
0 Joe Plummer
NDBridge
11 August 2024
“You’ll have to be his buddy” and “he likes to run.” These were the first words I heard about Tre. Within the close-knit community of Lydia’s House, Tre’s reputation preceded him. Though he has been a handful for the staff, Tre is a boy of few words but brimming with thoughts, often punctuated by latent anger. His presence is felt by everyone, and his story is one that begs to be told.
Part of the Catholic Worker Movement, Lydia’s House is a shelter that aims to serve women in crisis and their families, helping these families get back on their feet. While sheltering its guests, Lydia’s House assists with applying for government aid, medical appointments, jobs, low-income/Section 8 housing, etc. The organization also offers this support to former guests, along with other programs for their children, like Atrium and Baby Spa.
Tre has participated in many, if not all these programs. Throughout the summer, I was able to connect with him through Baby Spa, a summer camp that tends to the needs of the children while attempting to develop key life skills, such as swimming and reading. Each day, Baby Spa was held at the Green Building, an apartment complex owned by Lydia’s House that assists past guests through affordable housing. 
The children would arrive between 8:15 and 10:00 AM, depending on their mother’s work schedule. The first half of the day was composed of morning circle, stations, and buddy reading time. This time was beneficial, as the kids got to meet one another on a deeper level and had the opportunity to improve their reading skills. The children looked forward to the different activities, such as cooking, building legos, and crafting clay.
Also, Lydia’s House worked with the Norwood Public Library’s summer reading program to reward the children for their efforts and to encourage them. The children enjoyed library trips and their love for reading grew. In buddy reading, the kids would partner up with a high school intern or an ND intern depending on who they were assigned. If there weren’t enough counselors then some kids had to share their counselor with one other kid. This 20-30 minute period provided the greatest amount of improvement. The children were able to show off their reading skills, but also had the opportunity to ask questions if they were stuck or struggling. With the beginning readers, counselors would trade off every other page with the kid, which made it a better experience. These positive book completions made reading time something the children looked forward to, which was a key objective for Lydia’s House.
During buddy reading, I was always with Tre. A loud “YES!!” usually followed the announcement of our partnership, even though it was a daily occurrence. This was a time where Tre and I had the chance to spend one-on-one time with each other. However, this was not the most enjoyable part of camp for Tre. Even though Tre is eight years old and heading into the fourth grade, he is lacking behind his peers significantly when it comes to reading. For example, his little brother is six years old and can easily read high level books on his own; whereas, Tre can barely get through the first page in the same amount of time it took his little brother to read the whole book. Tre did not have the same schooling experience his little brother had, but it was still Lydia’s House’s goal to bridge the gap between the two. We started out with beginner BOB books and worked through each level until I was confident that Tre could move onto the next level. Tre would become easily frustrated with himself when he struggled, but the successes of completing easier books led to greater improvement. Though he still lacks behind his peers, we had a successful summer when it came to reading and he is in a much better position heading into the school year.
Summer is often a time when children engage in various activities, but reading is usually not one of them. However, summer is actually the perfect time for kids to dive into books, offering numerous benefits that are overlooked. Because the children at Lydia’s House carry stress and trauma with them, they need activities and experiences that work to minimize these weights. Reading works to enrich childrens’ vocabularies, makes children empathetic and is an early indicator of school success (Ashton). Heading into the summer, Lydia’s House was aware of these benefits and made it clear to the interns that school success is important to the organization. The higher reading level a child is at, the better they perform in school. When children perform well in school, they are more likely to stay in school and graduate high school. 
The children at Lydia’s House are not positioned well to succeed in life, whether it be financially, in relationships or in education. They need to put in the extra effort to make up for it. Reading is a skill that comes at a low cost and can be done anywhere at any time. In becoming proficient readers, the children will realize schoolwork comes easier to them. They will be in positions to attend higher education and school will be more important to them. Encouragement surrounding reading must be done early and continue throughout childhood.
For the second half of the day at Baby Spa, camp was centered around swimming. Changing into bathing suits was not always the easiest task because of the transition that came with it, but the kids looked forward to swimming. They wanted to get to the pool as soon as possible and jump in, with an instructor in the water of course! Swimming lessons were held at the Xavier University pool for about an hour. Similar to buddy reading, each intern/instructor would have one or two kids to work with. Once again, Tre was with me. We had the most fun in the water and created memories that will last a lifetime. The goal of the swimming lessons was to provide the children with the basic skills, so that they are equipped in case of an emergency. Many of the children were afraid of the water, so it was crucial to make them feel comfortable around the pool. Swimming is an area that Lydia’s House children do not have much experience with and is a skill that can position them alongside peers who have had more privileges.
Swimming is an important skill for children to learn at an early age. Teaching this skill not only makes children safer around water, but provides immense benefits. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children less than five years old (Stutz). The YMCA of Greater Cincinnati set out to offer lessons to over 5000 children; however, these lessons prove to be ineffective when trying to reach as many kids as possible. Children learning to swim, especially those who are afraid of the water, need one-on-one lessons to become comfortable and start the learning process. Because the guests at Lydia’s House are primarily Black and low-income, the directors realized that swimming is something that they must teach their children. Research shows 64% of African American and 79% of children in households with incomes less than $50,000 have little to no swimming ability (Foundation). There is a commitment and duty to help Lydia’s House kids walk alongside their peers and mitigate the gap that stems from their predicaments.
The first time we went to the pool, I found out that I would be working with Tre. All the children were circled around the rules board near the pool; however, Tre was sitting by himself as far away from the pool as possible. Standing next to my fellow interns, we exchanged a look that said, “What am I getting myself into?”. When the other kids sat on the pool edge with their instructors, Tre and I remained on the wall. I tried to encourage him to sit with the other kids but he would not budge. Eventually, he took off his shoes and shirt and stood with me next to the pool. We slowly worked our way into the water, but Tre was still full of fear and thoughts of what could go wrong. I never realized how much Tre thinks and how little he speaks until this first day at the Xavier pool. We took baby steps and got used to the water. However, for the first two weeks, Tre would not take off his lifejacket. I could not figure out how to make him feel safe enough to take it off until I had a conversation with my dad late one night. 
I asked him how he taught me to swim and he let me in on a trick he used with my brothers and I. He found out what our favorite candy/treat was and used it as motivation for us to try new skills or feats. The next day, I asked Tre what his favorite candy was and after much thought he came up with gummy worms. I told him that he would earn gummy worms if he pushed off the wall to me, standing a few feet away from the wall. He gave me a nod, but continued to stare at me, thinking hard about what could go wrong. I reminded him that I was there for him and that he could trust me. Finally, he did it and reached me with a cheer of victory. We continued to take baby steps and found the right combination of arm movement and leg kicks to stay above the water on his own. Many of my fellow instructors would have called it a day and job well done, but Tre and I were not satisfied. We knew we were capable of more, a lot more.
Besides being a life-saving skill, what are the added benefits swimming provides to children? Swimming teaches goal-orientation and is a confidence-building sport (Mullen). Kids have something to strive for and achieve the goals that they set for themselves. This goal achieving mindset continues outside of the water. In school, in relationships and in everyday life, the children realize that if they put their mind to something then it can be accomplished. Also, these achievements build confidence at the same time. They are confident in their abilities and more importantly in themselves. The children have doubted themselves for quite some time because they lack behind their peers. However, when they accomplish feats that seem impossible, then they are more likely to take more risks later on in life. They will not hold back themselves after seeing their courage pay off in the pool.
Tre’s confidence was restored and he continued to try new things once he found his swimming stroke. He tried these tasks on his own with minimal encouragement. He swam to me and then to the backstroke flags and even further. We made it to the six feet deep end and eventually to the 11 feet deep area. We went down big water slides and jumped off the diving board at the Norwood pool. We swam across the 11 feet deep end on our own and retrieved goggles from the bottom of the pool. Outside of the water, we picked out harder books and attempted to construct larger lego buildings. 
We taught our siblings how to ride a bike by leading by example. The progress Tre and I made this summer is a byproduct of the confidence we built together. Tre was capable of all these feats before I came around, he just needed a little encouragement and a buddy he trusted.
I set out this summer to be more than a buddy, but someone that Tre can look up to. Being someone that he trusts and can turn to for advice or support is something I am committed to. Forget about the Norwood Runner. He’s the Norwood swimmer now.
