When I arrived at Stillwaters, there was a sign on the street welcoming me. When I went inside, Stephen was on the floor with two young kids trying to figure out why the vacuum cleaner wasn’t working. He was patient, if a bit harried, while the two boys (one of them being Jonathan, who I got to spend some time with) seemed fascinated and excited about solving the problem.

Kids slowly filtered in and there was an air of calm and safety with each new arrival to the room with the long table loaded with books and paper and pencils and strange little artifacts.

Stephen led that day’s proceeding with a firm and gentle hand, letting the children run around outside, while at other times encouraging them to write write write. I sat on the couch, a little nervous myself, with my new found friend, Kimberly, who revealed to me in her thank you note, that she felt a connection with me from the moment we started talking.

I wrote something I shared with the kids that had some swear words in it, but no one seemed to mind. As each of us read our writing, Stephen was most insistent on the importance of really listening to each other. He would stop the reading if he felt that the audience was not completely concentrated on hearing what the reader was sharing. That struck me deeply, as I felt that respecting each other was something upon which Stephen absolutely insisted.

I have been looking for meaning and connection in my life, the ability to give and to receive. I consider my introduction to Still Waters to have been a real gift and I look forward to continuing my relationship with Stephen, Jonathan, Kimberly and with the other lucky kids who are part of that oasis of creativity and humanity.

Stephen is a hero to me.

Florencia Lozano