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

Education is the key?

“Education is the key to a brighter future.”  When you hear this saying, do you believe it to be true?   If education is truly THE key; what are we saying about those the education system leaves behind?  Are they undeserving of the key?  Is the key meant for only the privileged few?

 

Instead of a key, education has become the lock on the door that holds people in their socio-economic status.  People living in poverty have lower literacy and numeracy rates[1].  There is also a large gap in their knowledge and use of technology[2].   The lower literacy and numeracy rates are reflected in high school and college graduation statistics. 69% of children living in poverty graduate from high school.  Of this 69%, 40% enroll in college.  Although 40% enroll in college, only 12%, actually complete their degree program[3][4]. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics college graduates earn nearly twice as much as high school graduates.   In addition, 90% of the fastest growing jobs require post-secondary education or training.  If young people in poverty do not successfully navigate the education system, then their potential for a brighter future dims.

The statistics for children living in poverty are dire.  The statistics for their peers who are homeless are worse.  To be unsheltered, is to live in a constant state of stress[5][6].  Instead of academics these children are faced with “Where will I sleep tonight?”  Instead of focusing on their lessons, they ponder, “Will school breakfast and lunch be all I eat today?”   As long as the condition of this vulnerable population remains unheard and unseen; their ability to attain “the key to a brighter future” becomes an elusive goal. 

What are we willing to do to assist these young people in attaining the key?  Over the next few weeks strategies will be explored that can assist children experiencing homelessness in their pursuit of the “key to a brighter future”. 

---

[1] National Results: The Nation's Report Card. (2009). Retrieved September 27, 2010, from The Nation's Report Card: http://www.nationsreportcard.gov

[2] MacKinnon, S., & Wolff, L. (2002). What is The Digital Divide? TechKnowLogia, 7-9.

[3] (2010). U.S. Census Report. Washington D.C.

[4] Engle, J., & O’Brien, C. (2007). Demography is Not Destiny: Increasing the graduation rates of low-income college students at large public universities. Washington D.C.: Pell Institute

[5]American Psychological Association. (2011). Retrieved May 25, 2011, from Public Interest Directoratate: http://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/economy.aspx

[6] Effects of Poverty, Hunger, and Homelessness on Children and Youth. (2011, April 24). Retrieved from American Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/pi/families/poverty.aspx#

Unheard and Unseen

My entire life I wanted to be the power behind the power - the anonymous influencer. Being in front was a place of fear.  I saw strength in working behind the scenes to impact the words said.  I had my ideas voiced even whilst my voice was unheard.  I also viewed it as powerful to have my concepts brought to visible reality while I remained in the background.  To be unseen guaranteed anonymity.  Being unheard and unseen as my agenda was carried out was my comfort zone. 

I lived this fiction-filled, power behind the power fantasy for 40 years until June 3, 2010.  The curtain of being unheard and unseen that I stood behind was torn away when I found myself jobless after eleven years of giving my voice and vision to others.  I felt exposed.  I developed a new appreciation and desire for having the plethora of my talents seen and the power of my voice heard.

As I searched for answers, I stumbled into a community that embodies unheard and unseen.  Their silence was not self-inflicted.  The cloak of invisibility cast upon them was imposed by others.  I discovered a portion of this community at Mustard Seed School, an emergency school serving children experiencing homelessness in the Sacramento region. 

How could I continue in my silence knowing there are approximately 1.5 million homeless children in the United States¹?  How could I consciously operate in the shadows when there are over 950,000 homeless school-age children¹? How could I be satisfied with being a so-called power behind the power when 41% of these children are behind grade level in math and 33% lag in English Language Arts skills²?

I have come to the realization that I can no longer operate in the role of silent influencer.  The community of homeless children is truly the unheard and unseen. They need a voice of someone that is willing to be the power on their behalf.  I am committed now to being that voice!

Humanity cannot continue to walk by children, our country's future, with ears muted to their cries, eyes clouded to their pain. The time is now!  It is time that we recognize the plight of the Unheard and Unseen.

¹America's Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness. (2009). Retrieved January 11, 2011, from The National Center on Family Homelessness: http://www.homelesschildrenamerica.org/findings.php

² Barton, P. E. (2004, November). Why Does the Gap Persist? Educational Leadership, 62(3), 8-13.