Is hope the answer?

I was preparing to exit a local freeway when I noticed a young man holding a sign, “even $.25 will help.”  I generally do not give money; but I had a gift card for food in my car.  As I gave him the gift card, the light was red, there was no one behind me; so I started a conversation.  He was 22.  There were two notable parts of our conversation for me.   The first was the fact that he was so very young.  The second was the utter lack of hope he had for his life.  He could not articulate a vision for how he was going to change his circumstance, although he stated he wanted his circumstance to change.  Our conversation made me wonder, what is hope?  How does hope influence the lives of people who experience homelessness?    Is hope what separates those who “make it” and those that don’t?

Webster’s defines hope as:  a feeling that what is wanted will happen.  Hope is not only having a desire, it is the belief that the desired something will happen.  Every child is asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?”  Most children can answer that question, even if sometimes we, as adults, believe it is unrealistic.  These children have a vision, a hope, for their future.    At some point, for some, the light begins to dim, the dream fades, and the hope is lost.

Are chronically homeless adults those individuals who lost hope as children?   When the parent has lost her hope, how does she foster hope in her child?   

These are the hands of children.  Which one will lose hope?  Which one has experienced homelessness?  Does it matter?  As educators, as people living together in society, do we have a responsibility to nurture hope in our children?  Do schools have a responsibility to foster hope in their students?  Is the key to self-sufficiency the rekindling of hope?

What are your thoughts?  

Unheard and Unseen...in my family?

This week was going to begin a discussion on possible strategies for working with children experiencing homelessness.  Unfortunately a close family member passed away and I was unable to meet the goals I had for the blog this week.  However, the topic of people experiencing homelessness is always near.  After the funeral I had two separate conversations with two of my cousins.  Here is a synopsis of those conversations.

Conversation #1

Cousin:  Addie do you go to Loaves and Fishes (Loaves and Fishes provides services for homeless people)
Me:  Yes, I volunteer at Mustard Seed a couple of times a week.
Cousin:  I thought I saw you
Me:  (puzzled) what were you doing at Loaves and Fishes?
Cousin:  They have a place where I can get my mail.  And that's where we can get TB tests.  I've been homeless for about 5 years.  I didn’t want the family to know…

Conversation #2

Cousin:  Hi Cousin Addie I really need some words of encouragement
Me:  What's going on?
Cousin:  Well, you know my girlfriend is pregnant.  The baby is due in September.  Well, I lost my job and my girlfriend’s sister burned the kitchen down at our apartment so we were evicted.  We moved in with my girlfriend’s mother; but, she put us out.  We went to the welfare office and received a voucher to stay at a motel; but, it is only good for two weeks.  I don't know what I'm going to do because I don't want my baby to be born homeless.  I've been looking for a job; but, well, I can't find anything.  Man, Addie, I don't know what I'm going to do.  How am I going to take care of my baby if I don't have a job and I don't have anywhere to stay?

The Housing and Urban Development 2010 report on homelessness shows a 20% increase in the number of homeless families from 2007 to 2010.  The majority of these families consist of a "single mother with young children."

Children who experience homelessness do not ask to be homeless, sometimes, they are simply born.  What are your thoughts?



Source
Housing and Urban Development 2010 report on homelessness. (n.d.). Retrieved from