During any given session at Playtime Project's Harbor Light Center program, you might see a few different sights: longtime volunteer, Naoko, leading an origami-making activity; a little girl squealing with joy playing house under an umbrella tent; a group of teens chatting with each other during free play. All around the room at Harbor Light, children are engaged in play—with Playtime staff, volunteers, and each other.
In May 2025, Playtime accepted the D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS) Volunteer of the Year Award. The award recognizes our partnership with the DHS Office of Migrant Services to bring the power of play to migrant children and families. Playtime is proud to have served this community, who are seeking safety and opportunity for their families in the DC region. In such a short time, the Harbor Light program has grown, improved, and created joy for families and Playtime staff alike. We have since learned that this program will likely end in October 2025, as the Office of Migrant Services has had to shut down three other shelter sites for migrants since March 2024.
“Playtime Project has been a key partner in our program, and your team’s contribution has had a lasting impact on our families. I’ve been privileged to witness how our teams grew stronger together—so much so that our collaboration became seamless, like being on autopilot. We were able to achieve so much together.” -Tatiana Laborde, Program Manager at the Office of Migrant Services
Where did it all start?
In 2022, Texas and Arizona governors decided to bus newly arrived migrants to sanctuary states and cities as a political statement. Washington, DC was one of those cities. Playtime reached out to volunteer mutual aid groups who were there when the buses arrived to help shelter families, collect donations, and coordinate services. They asked for Playtime’s help and expertise serving the children while parents met with legal service providers to pursue asylum claims.
Playtime ended up partnering with DHS at the Days Inn, where migrant families were being housed temporarily. Coincidentally, the Days Inn is also where Playtime operated when the hotel was used as an emergency homeless shelter years ago. (See Playtime’s timeline of growth since its founding.) Playtime’s Executive Director and Co-Founder, Jamila Larson, recalls, “It was deja vu for us because our same Playtime furniture we salvaged from D.C. General was in that space from when we had to leave Days Inn during the pandemic.” While parents attended legal clinics in the adjacent ballroom, Playtime created a fun, colorful space for children to play and forget about their circumstances—even if just for a moment.
Playtime’s Program at Harbor Light Today
When the city created the Office of Migrant Services in 2022, Playtime was invited to formally apply as a partner. At Harbor Light—the primary intake center and shelter for migrant families—children benefitted from the dedication and hard work of Playtime staff members, Jordan Clayton and Deanna Leersnyder. They nurtured partnerships and led a high-quality play program for children who desperately needed it. Many children had never experienced a playroom or play program before, and their parents delighted in watching them explore our toys and supplies, like serving Play-Doh food in the play kitchen. Even the preteens and teens joined the toddlers in wanting to play, some making origami soccer jerseys of their favorite players.
At a recent Mother’s Day event, children decorated cookies, made origami Mother’s Day cards, and enjoyed crafts led by the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW). At the same time, mothers and their kids posed in front of a floral backdrop for family photos. A mother wrapped her arm around her daughter as they smiled for the camera, both beaming while holding prop flower bouquets. Another mom tried to catch her baby’s attention so he would look into the camera for the perfect shot. Deanna reflected, "The moms were a bit shy to take photos at first but were so happy with the final products! I imagine they have had to leave many things behind, so I am glad we could celebrate them and help them create a new memory to cherish."
“Playtime Project’s trauma-informed programs aim to restore normalcy and provide opportunities for children to learn and heal through playing. These programs empower the children that are within our services to make choices, express themselves, and relate to each other in order to find support that only children have the ability to provide to each other. So the Playtime Project has become a key partner of the mission of the Department of Human Services and assisting our families as they as they continue to achieve a sense of stability.” -Scott Sibley, D.C. Department of Human Services
Playtime’s decision to serve migrant families was easy once we focused on the needs of this community, and the understanding that no one else would be able to provide what Playtime can. As Jordan shared onstage when accepting the Volunteer of the Year award, “There’s always so much grace for someone like myself who cannot speak the language, but we can speak the language of play and love and community, and that supersedes those language barriers.”
Although the future of our Harbor Light program is all but certain, Playtime Project remains committed to serving anyone experiencing housing insecurity, regardless of their country of origin. We are honored to receive this award from the Mayor “in recognition of dedicated service to the District Department of Human Services and the residents of Washington, DC.”
