Sunnylands offers special day for local shelter

Safehouse of the Desert, the only shelter in the Coachella Valley for youth in crisis, teaches teens how to build a solid foundation.

“The basics like learning how to balance a checkbook, my account. And living on my own,” Coleman Bailey said.

A special outing to a special place taught them even more.

“It’s not everyday our young people get to see something like this so it’s very special to us,” Shawn Johnson of Safehouse of the Desert said.

During a private day at Sunnylands Estate, the youth had a run of the gorgeous land.

“Monarch tagging tours, garden walks, all kinds of games and activities, painting, a huge variety of activities,” Michaeleen Gallagher of Sunnylands said.

Coleman Bailey is 19, and ever since President Barack Obama’s first visit, he wanted to see Sunnylands.

“It’s nice, real nice. It’s a great opportunity to have the chance to be here,” he said. “I love ping pong. Badminton a little but mostly ping pong. I got to do the maze.”

“To be able to see the botanical gardens and know the President was on these grounds – eye opening. It was so close to them, they are seeing things they never saw and its so different than their everyday lives,” Johnson said.

“Just be kids. To go play, roll on the grass, use a hoola-hoop, things they should be doing as children,” Gallagher said.