BROCKTON – Hundreds of homeless children live in motels throughout the Brockton area. They go to school and return to a place without privacy.

At school, these children hear their friends talk about hanging out in their room or playing in their backyard, said Jason Wheeler, who works for a Brockton-based nonprofit that assists homeless families. The conditions can manifest themselves in serious developmental and social problems.

“The child living in a hotel room doesn't feel comfortable talking about his home life,” Wheeler said. “He doesn’t have his own room, he doesn’t have a backyard. It makes studying very hard. It makes social interaction very hard. The negative results are far-reaching.”

To combat those problems, the nonprofit Restore Living Hope is inviting homeless children and their families to its first “Holiday Youth Celebration” on Saturday at the group’s headquarters on Legion Parkway.

The event is all about the kids having fun and getting away from the often-dreary conditions that come with living in a motel.

Brockton Public Schools this year have 365 homeless students enrolled. They live with their families in 13 motels and hotels spread out in 10 communities from Brighton and Braintree to Brockton and Wareham. According to the Massachusetts Coalition for Homelessness, the average age of a homeless person in the state is 8 years old.

Children living in these hotels live in one room with their parents and other siblings, according to Restore Living Hope. They have nowhere to play except in the corridors or the parking lot and guidelines for the program prohibit guests and impose curfews. The lifestyle isolates children from their peers, creates self-esteem issues, stress and reduced academic performance.

“To help the kids with their social interactions we want to have places where they can get together and play,” Wheeler, the group’s outreach director, said. “We wanted to create an environment where children could plug into wholesome activities.”

The festivities at Saturday’s event will include music, games, face-painting, a visit from Santa, cookie baking, as well as a “sing along” and a luncheon. There will be gift bags for the children and free shopping for the parents to get new, donated clothes and gently worn coats that have been collected.

Anyone looking to make a donation of a gently worn coat, gift or toys can call Wheeler at 508-989-3905 to arrange pickup or drop-off. For more information go to www.restorelivinghope.org.

Joseph Markman may be reached at jmarkman@enterprisenews.com.