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Homelessness is something that can’t be considered lightly. The numbers shocked me when I was I started to research this topic. They say about 40% of the 3.5 million homeless Americans-between 1.4 and 1.5 million are children (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2009). That means families and abandoned children are on those streets. But homelessness isn’t just in children everyone can be homeless.
In Minnesota 26% of homeless adults have less than a high school diploma, 47% have completed high school and even 27% have some type of post-secondary education. There are more that have completed high school and even have some type of post-secondary education then the amount who haven’t finished high school. Most of these numbers have increased due to the number of lay off in the last couple of years. These numbers are probably different then what everyone thinks majority of people believe that homeless are the ones that run away and never finish high school but that isn’t the case. The ones who are more likely to be homeless are the racial/ethnic minorities. Minnesota ranks 25th on the list of the number of homeless children out of the 50 states. That number surprised me; I would have thought that Minnesota would have been lower, not half. 14% of homeless children are diagnosed with a learning disability and other health issues.
These numbers are the scary part of homelessness. Not only does it happen but people are ignorant towards it or don’t know how they can help. That is how I am going to plan a lesson plan for the classroom.
Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan Title: Something to help the homeless
Grade Level: 10th grade
Objectives:
· The students will be able to learn about some homeless statistics in their area
· The students will have to be able to work together to create a project
Worksheet
Procedure:
· The students will watch the video that I posted above
· We will have a group discussion about the statistics in their area
· Then I will hand out the worksheet
o This sheet explains the project that they will be doing
· The project is they are going to be working in groups to help the homeless
o They can design their own project or they can volunteer at a homeless shelter.
o They receive more points if they can design their own project
o They receive full points if they decide to help out at homeless shelter and then a soup kitchen
· They have to write a paper at the end of what they learned and how well their project went
· They also receive extra credit if they don’t use electronics for a full school week no cell phones, tv, computer (they can use public computers), video games etc. Their parent/guardian has to sign off after a week.
Homework/Assessment:
30 pts Project
15 pts paper
45 pts total
+ 10 pts Extra credit total
Resources:
Dill, V. (2010). Students Without Homes. Educational Leadership, 68(3), 43-47. Retrieved March 27, 2011, from www.ascd.org
Fitzgerald, J. (n.d.). Homeless Students in the Twin Cities Suburbs. Minnesota 2010. Retrieved March 27,2011,
Fournier, M., Austin, S. B., Samples, C., Goodenow, C., Wylie, S., & Coruss, H. (2009). Health. A Comparison of Weight-Related, 79. Retrieved March 27, 2011,
Furst, R. (2010, December 28). Homeless - and going to college | StarTribune.com. StarTribune.com: News, weather, sports from Minneapolis, St. Paul and Minnesota. Retrieved March 30, 2011,from http://www.startribune.com/local
Minnesota. (n.d.). The National Center on Family Homelessness. Retrieved March 27, 2011,
Minnesota ranked 25th in the nation for homeless CHILDREN???? How can that possibly be - it is freakin' cold here 9 months out of the year! That number ASTOUNDS ME!
I love your extra credit for not using electronics for a week. To boost points, students should turn in the electronic to you (cell phone, ipod, etc....obviously not their family TV or computer. : )
ALSO......you should totally put a disclaimer at the top of your page -- THIS VIDEO WILL MAKE YOU FERKLEMPT (don't know how to spell).....i.e., choked up!
I would also love a week w/o electronics! How fortunate we truly are and yet grip when the phone rings or someone texts at an inopportune moment - or the kids are WHINING about being kicked off the wii.....or the discussion board messages are piling up........
No kids at the soup kitchen -- where were they eating them I wonder? Our youth group once a year goes door to door at Halloween collecting donations for our local food shelf.....obviously, it needs to be coordinated more often!
Excellent! I would looooovvvveee for rules and regs to change in our school cafeteria that would allow unused food to be given away like this - obviously, not what is on the kids tray he ignored, even if it could start with the multitude of unopened milk and juice that goes in the trash. Check out the cafeteria garbage - it'll infuriate you.
Shoot, I should read down a little further -- I just mentioned the same thing above. The waste in school cafeteria's is a SIN! And you can consider that SHOUTING. I don't care what the rules and regs are for government subsidized food......if it is edible, it is a SIIIINNNN to throw it away.
Excellent idea. Teens especially get wrapped up in the "haves" and "have nots".....most teens feel deprived somehow ---- showing them is the best idea!
SIGH -- will we miss the millions of DB posts to wade through??? : ) I am sick of teens that walk around with cell phones in hand everywhere they go -- checking them every few seconds and responding. Very obsessive-compulsive. It cannot be healthy at all -- where is it going to lead them???
Mental illness could definitely be a cause of homlessness. Not being able to hold down a job and make ends meet is common for many with mental illness I bet -- but why wouldn't those people be institutionalized? Are they possibly folks that were maybe on meds at some point and have gone off them w/no one to get them back on track?
I think the medical community is moving away from the classic institution we all know. In Elgin, IL, there was a huge state mental hospital. It is all gone now.
Fortunately, for them yes. He is well adjusted and gets fantastic grades. He was never a dumb kid, just never given a chance during the school year. He became homeless at the age of 13 when his mother got addicted to drugs. He was afraid to go home but he didn't want to go into foster care, so he ultimately became a homeless runaway. He was fortunate to have a family friend that was able to help him out until he was 16. But then this family friend moved out of state, which left him homeless again. He was afraid of the shelters...don't know the full story of why and my thoughts don't want to go there since it probably isn't good.
HE WAS SMART! In the summers (16 & 17 years old), he saw an ad for a camp counselor. He decided to apply and he got the job. He was a camp counselor from June - August where he got a place to sleep, eat and bathe. During the school year (same ages) he worked at McDonald's (3-8 shift) and then bused tables/dish-washed at a local restaurant on weekends - both places gave him a free meal. The money that he earned during this time, he saved for the winter months to stay in cheap hotels in the area so he wouldn't have to be out in the cold. At least 3 times per week, he was able to crash at people's houses.
He just needed a safe place to trust and know he could come home to. He gave his new family a graduation gift - a letter that stated how thankful he was to be part of a family again and for taking a leap of faith on him...brings tears to my eyes just hearing him read it to them while we were at the party.
Elizabeth,
My children stay with there friends and there family. I think it is important they have some stability in there life. As much as I miss them, I know it is important for them
I totally agree. There is a hog farm about a mile from the school I grew up at, and they take all of the waste from the two schools (elementary and HS) and they feed 100 hogs everyday with it....just think how many people that could eat from the thrown away food....Exactly...what a waste....
I work at a restaurant and when I first started I was appalled at how much food was thrown away each night because of "health reasons", such as dented cans, one day past the expiration date kind of thing. But in the time that I have worked there much change has been done to donate unused food to local food shelves. The food is perfectly fine, the standards that are set by the company are simply ridiculous and the place I work for now found a way around to donating their unused food. It saddens me when I think about all the food that is wasted on a daily basis.
Whoops! this is from laura, I am showing my authentic voice how wikis work, posted under his email. He wants to contribute to the discussion, he said he remembers times when he was using (addictionrehabiliation is my topic) and would use facilities that provided a hot meal. He is grateful for the people that run those facilities and take the time to help those who can't help themselves.
Your post makes me think of a lot of things. First off, I am not seeing homeless people in my day to day activity, or maybe they are there and I am not noticing them. I used to when I was in the city. It makes me think of that white privilege discussion thread. Second, I recall that outside influences such as drug abuse do come into play with homelessness from our class research. To me, it seems like when the issues multiply in amount and complexity then it's maybe harder to come up with political social solutions to help out. There are not only NIMBY perceptions but perceptions of drugs, welfare, crime, etc,... Personally, I think we really need some kind of Department of the Poor in government. Otherwise, some people start talking about the bad choices others make... and getting stuck in their own political ideologue. And for me, once it starts going unnoticed then my involvement disappears, especially since there are so many organizations asking for help and money these days.
In Chicago, which is almost as cold as here, the homeless people were very resourceful. I imagine there was a pecking order that established who got to sleep over the grates where warm air came out. Lower Wacker Dr. used to be a haven for shelter, but I think the city cracked down on that. In Grant Park there are a bunch of statues on rather large pedestals. Someone had pried open an access door on the base and was living in the space in the pedestal. He had the whole thing lined with newspapers and foam. It looked rather cozy although the reality is, it was probably a miserable place to live.
I wonder if there isn't something the schools could do. Wasn't there a student down in Apple Valley that was homeless and trying to go to school? I do not remember the details. I just remembered it now so maybe I'll look and see if I can find the details. If anyone can fill in the details it might be intersting.
Hello everyone,
I have been reading your posts and I hope you all can do some good! besides getting food and shelter, one of the hardest and most frustrating things is technology. Communicating with Darla has been difficult since I don't have a phone or computer available. I try to get to the library on the campus to use the public computers there. When we set up a gmail, darla had to be there for authentication. this would have been difficult otherwise. I am thankful for this too since looking for jobs is more of an online thiong then newspapers.
Good point about technology. How does this affect communication with your children's teachers? Are you able to go to the school to visit with the teachers? What are other ways we can keep the lines of communication open?
I am not a mother, so I cannot relate to your feelings about the safety of your children if a homeless shelter was built next door to me, but I am sure I would have similar fears. But I have to ask, if we don't do something, such as building a homeless shelter for those who are down on their luck, what do we do then? I think it creates the perpetual cycle of drugs and alcohol abuse because think about where current locations of homeless shelters and food shelf locations are; in the rough parts of the city, in tough neighborhoods. People that frequent these locations are surrounded by their problems each day and the prospect of them getting out of their situation is goes down. I think we need to think outside the box and come up with ideas on how to be proactive about the problem instead of reactive. And perhaps that means building safe homes for homeless families with children place to seek refuge outside of the tough areas of the city. But, then to contradict myself, the question would need to be asked, would bringing in homeless shelters into cleaner, safe neighborhoods in turn change those neighborhoods into unsafe areas too?
Three after I wrote this my power was out for 1+ hour, then the next day for another 8 hours. I nearly freaked (mainly b/c I couldn't do homework online) w/o packing up everything to go somewhere with power. So I could not go without electronics for a week while being at home, but I could do it camping in the woods. :)
Is there a shelter in your town that can help you? Our shelter sets up a plan for their guests and after a few days they talk about jobs, apartments, etc. Thank you for the time and honesty you have given us.
And yet we can "afford" to pour a trillion dollars into that rathole in Iraq, and another trillion into its twin rathole in Afghanistan, and NOBODY AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL EVEN TALKS ABOUT IT, not even the ones who are death on deficits. Why aren't we spending American dollars on Americans?
Michael, when you are applying for jobs, what do you give as your address? Do you tell any interviewers that you are homeless? How do you think this would be taken? Or how is it received? Is it too much of a risk to be honest with companies that you interview with? Do you find that people understand or judge more?
I wonder if the numbers above reflect runaways. They are so often a sort of hidden group. I think good teachers can play a special role in preventing reason for homelessness among children. A bit of mentoring, guidance and compassion can make a world of difference for teens living on the edge of running away.
I think it is important to note that the "homeless" do not always look like the stereotype, as your statistics indicate.
Re: Due date foods. There are several places in the Twin Cities which put these items for purchase for 75% off. The one I go to is called Mike's discount foods on Central. 1. Research your topic. Use at least FIVE references 25 points
2. Synthesize your conclusions 25 points
3. Discussion. Respond to peers. 25 points
4. Guest 25 points
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Comments (Show all 64)
Elizabeth Murray said
at 8:49 pm on Apr 10, 2011
Minnesota ranked 25th in the nation for homeless CHILDREN???? How can that possibly be - it is freakin' cold here 9 months out of the year! That number ASTOUNDS ME!
I love your extra credit for not using electronics for a week. To boost points, students should turn in the electronic to you (cell phone, ipod, etc....obviously not their family TV or computer. : )
ALSO......you should totally put a disclaimer at the top of your page -- THIS VIDEO WILL MAKE YOU FERKLEMPT (don't know how to spell).....i.e., choked up!
Zach Johnson said
at 7:08 pm on Apr 11, 2011
Yeah, that's really incredible. I wonder what the homeless do in that situation?
Elizabeth Murray said
at 8:51 pm on Apr 10, 2011
I would also love a week w/o electronics! How fortunate we truly are and yet grip when the phone rings or someone texts at an inopportune moment - or the kids are WHINING about being kicked off the wii.....or the discussion board messages are piling up........
Elizabeth Murray said
at 8:52 pm on Apr 10, 2011
No kids at the soup kitchen -- where were they eating them I wonder? Our youth group once a year goes door to door at Halloween collecting donations for our local food shelf.....obviously, it needs to be coordinated more often!
Elizabeth Murray said
at 8:55 pm on Apr 10, 2011
Excellent! I would looooovvvveee for rules and regs to change in our school cafeteria that would allow unused food to be given away like this - obviously, not what is on the kids tray he ignored, even if it could start with the multitude of unopened milk and juice that goes in the trash. Check out the cafeteria garbage - it'll infuriate you.
Elizabeth Murray said
at 8:57 pm on Apr 10, 2011
Shoot, I should read down a little further -- I just mentioned the same thing above. The waste in school cafeteria's is a SIN! And you can consider that SHOUTING. I don't care what the rules and regs are for government subsidized food......if it is edible, it is a SIIIINNNN to throw it away.
Elizabeth Murray said
at 8:58 pm on Apr 10, 2011
That is awful - what cold-hearted people would do that! Can any of us imaging having to get food from a dumpster to survive? I cannot fathom it.
Elizabeth Murray said
at 9:00 pm on Apr 10, 2011
Excellent idea. Teens especially get wrapped up in the "haves" and "have nots".....most teens feel deprived somehow ---- showing them is the best idea!
Elizabeth Murray said
at 9:02 pm on Apr 10, 2011
SIGH -- will we miss the millions of DB posts to wade through??? : ) I am sick of teens that walk around with cell phones in hand everywhere they go -- checking them every few seconds and responding. Very obsessive-compulsive. It cannot be healthy at all -- where is it going to lead them???
Elizabeth Murray said
at 9:05 pm on Apr 10, 2011
Mental illness could definitely be a cause of homlessness. Not being able to hold down a job and make ends meet is common for many with mental illness I bet -- but why wouldn't those people be institutionalized? Are they possibly folks that were maybe on meds at some point and have gone off them w/no one to get them back on track?
Dan Morrison said
at 12:28 am on Apr 11, 2011
I think the medical community is moving away from the classic institution we all know. In Elgin, IL, there was a huge state mental hospital. It is all gone now.
Elizabeth Murray said
at 9:06 pm on Apr 10, 2011
This a similar story to the movie Blindside w/Sandra Bullock! Scary to take in homeless teen. Did everything go OK????
Jaime Goulet said
at 8:00 am on Apr 16, 2011
Fortunately, for them yes. He is well adjusted and gets fantastic grades. He was never a dumb kid, just never given a chance during the school year. He became homeless at the age of 13 when his mother got addicted to drugs. He was afraid to go home but he didn't want to go into foster care, so he ultimately became a homeless runaway. He was fortunate to have a family friend that was able to help him out until he was 16. But then this family friend moved out of state, which left him homeless again. He was afraid of the shelters...don't know the full story of why and my thoughts don't want to go there since it probably isn't good.
HE WAS SMART! In the summers (16 & 17 years old), he saw an ad for a camp counselor. He decided to apply and he got the job. He was a camp counselor from June - August where he got a place to sleep, eat and bathe. During the school year (same ages) he worked at McDonald's (3-8 shift) and then bused tables/dish-washed at a local restaurant on weekends - both places gave him a free meal. The money that he earned during this time, he saved for the winter months to stay in cheap hotels in the area so he wouldn't have to be out in the cold. At least 3 times per week, he was able to crash at people's houses.
He just needed a safe place to trust and know he could come home to. He gave his new family a graduation gift - a letter that stated how thankful he was to be part of a family again and for taking a leap of faith on him...brings tears to my eyes just hearing him read it to them while we were at the party.
Elizabeth Murray said
at 9:07 pm on Apr 10, 2011
Or are the homeless children still with their parents???
michael.johnson256@gmail.com said
at 1:56 pm on Apr 16, 2011
Elizabeth,
My children stay with there friends and there family. I think it is important they have some stability in there life. As much as I miss them, I know it is important for them
Lindsey Krawchuk said
at 9:46 am on Apr 18, 2011
That must be really hard for both you and them. Do you find that their parents are pretty supportive of your situation?
Hayley Lonnquist said
at 4:58 pm on Apr 11, 2011
Yes! No electronics can be so relaxing... no work, no interruptions, no school, NO STRESS! That's the only way we go on vacation!
Darla Stevens said
at 1:49 pm on Apr 16, 2011
Wouldn't that be a great pleasure! No computer and posting for a whole week! haha
Joe Lakeberg said
at 8:26 pm on Apr 14, 2011
I totally agree. There is a hog farm about a mile from the school I grew up at, and they take all of the waste from the two schools (elementary and HS) and they feed 100 hogs everyday with it....just think how many people that could eat from the thrown away food....Exactly...what a waste....
Darla Stevens said
at 1:50 pm on Apr 16, 2011
I am just glad the food didn't get totally thrown away.
kj.tucker798@gmail.com said
at 12:02 am on Apr 15, 2011
I work at a restaurant and when I first started I was appalled at how much food was thrown away each night because of "health reasons", such as dented cans, one day past the expiration date kind of thing. But in the time that I have worked there much change has been done to donate unused food to local food shelves. The food is perfectly fine, the standards that are set by the company are simply ridiculous and the place I work for now found a way around to donating their unused food. It saddens me when I think about all the food that is wasted on a daily basis.
kj.tucker798@gmail.com said
at 12:07 am on Apr 15, 2011
Whoops! this is from laura, I am showing my authentic voice how wikis work, posted under his email. He wants to contribute to the discussion, he said he remembers times when he was using (addictionrehabiliation is my topic) and would use facilities that provided a hot meal. He is grateful for the people that run those facilities and take the time to help those who can't help themselves.
David L Zuck said
at 10:17 am on Apr 16, 2011
I'm wondering if they were not in hiding so child services can't take them away? Does the soup kitchen allow take-out?
David L Zuck said
at 10:18 am on Apr 16, 2011
I have to put soup kitchen on my to-do list. I go to the BWCAW to escape electronics, and always come back refreshed and ready to work harder.
Darla Stevens said
at 1:51 pm on Apr 16, 2011
I love working at the soup kitchen. I wish I had more time to do it more often. I feel that I have done something so great.
David L Zuck said
at 10:21 am on Apr 16, 2011
Should there be something proactive too? Instead of leftovers, serve the homeless first.
David L Zuck said
at 10:34 am on Apr 16, 2011
Your post makes me think of a lot of things. First off, I am not seeing homeless people in my day to day activity, or maybe they are there and I am not noticing them. I used to when I was in the city. It makes me think of that white privilege discussion thread. Second, I recall that outside influences such as drug abuse do come into play with homelessness from our class research. To me, it seems like when the issues multiply in amount and complexity then it's maybe harder to come up with political social solutions to help out. There are not only NIMBY perceptions but perceptions of drugs, welfare, crime, etc,... Personally, I think we really need some kind of Department of the Poor in government. Otherwise, some people start talking about the bad choices others make... and getting stuck in their own political ideologue. And for me, once it starts going unnoticed then my involvement disappears, especially since there are so many organizations asking for help and money these days.
David L Zuck said
at 10:36 am on Apr 16, 2011
Wow, that blows me away.
Dan Morrison said
at 12:07 pm on Apr 16, 2011
In Chicago, which is almost as cold as here, the homeless people were very resourceful. I imagine there was a pecking order that established who got to sleep over the grates where warm air came out. Lower Wacker Dr. used to be a haven for shelter, but I think the city cracked down on that. In Grant Park there are a bunch of statues on rather large pedestals. Someone had pried open an access door on the base and was living in the space in the pedestal. He had the whole thing lined with newspapers and foam. It looked rather cozy although the reality is, it was probably a miserable place to live.
Dan Morrison said
at 12:15 pm on Apr 16, 2011
I wonder if there isn't something the schools could do. Wasn't there a student down in Apple Valley that was homeless and trying to go to school? I do not remember the details. I just remembered it now so maybe I'll look and see if I can find the details. If anyone can fill in the details it might be intersting.
michael.johnson256@gmail.com said
at 2:01 pm on Apr 16, 2011
Hello everyone,
I have been reading your posts and I hope you all can do some good! besides getting food and shelter, one of the hardest and most frustrating things is technology. Communicating with Darla has been difficult since I don't have a phone or computer available. I try to get to the library on the campus to use the public computers there. When we set up a gmail, darla had to be there for authentication. this would have been difficult otherwise. I am thankful for this too since looking for jobs is more of an online thiong then newspapers.
Michael
Marissa said
at 4:57 pm on Apr 16, 2011
Michael,
Good point about technology. How does this affect communication with your children's teachers? Are you able to go to the school to visit with the teachers? What are other ways we can keep the lines of communication open?
Thanks!
Marissa
Laura Rust said
at 3:00 pm on Apr 16, 2011
I am not a mother, so I cannot relate to your feelings about the safety of your children if a homeless shelter was built next door to me, but I am sure I would have similar fears. But I have to ask, if we don't do something, such as building a homeless shelter for those who are down on their luck, what do we do then? I think it creates the perpetual cycle of drugs and alcohol abuse because think about where current locations of homeless shelters and food shelf locations are; in the rough parts of the city, in tough neighborhoods. People that frequent these locations are surrounded by their problems each day and the prospect of them getting out of their situation is goes down. I think we need to think outside the box and come up with ideas on how to be proactive about the problem instead of reactive. And perhaps that means building safe homes for homeless families with children place to seek refuge outside of the tough areas of the city. But, then to contradict myself, the question would need to be asked, would bringing in homeless shelters into cleaner, safe neighborhoods in turn change those neighborhoods into unsafe areas too?
Marissa said
at 4:51 pm on Apr 16, 2011
Three after I wrote this my power was out for 1+ hour, then the next day for another 8 hours. I nearly freaked (mainly b/c I couldn't do homework online) w/o packing up everything to go somewhere with power. So I could not go without electronics for a week while being at home, but I could do it camping in the woods. :)
Brenda Mattei said
at 9:16 pm on Apr 16, 2011
Is there a shelter in your town that can help you? Our shelter sets up a plan for their guests and after a few days they talk about jobs, apartments, etc. Thank you for the time and honesty you have given us.
Richard S. Russell said
at 11:48 pm on Apr 16, 2011
And yet we can "afford" to pour a trillion dollars into that rathole in Iraq, and another trillion into its twin rathole in Afghanistan, and NOBODY AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL EVEN TALKS ABOUT IT, not even the ones who are death on deficits. Why aren't we spending American dollars on Americans?
denise.larson@... said
at 11:53 am on Apr 17, 2011
Isn't that the truth!
denise.larson@... said
at 11:56 am on Apr 17, 2011
Michael, when you are applying for jobs, what do you give as your address? Do you tell any interviewers that you are homeless? How do you think this would be taken? Or how is it received? Is it too much of a risk to be honest with companies that you interview with? Do you find that people understand or judge more?
Anna O'Neil said
at 10:48 am on Apr 18, 2011
I wonder if the numbers above reflect runaways. They are so often a sort of hidden group. I think good teachers can play a special role in preventing reason for homelessness among children. A bit of mentoring, guidance and compassion can make a world of difference for teens living on the edge of running away.
Barbara Bridges said
at 5:06 pm on Apr 20, 2011
I think it is important to note that the "homeless" do not always look like the stereotype, as your statistics indicate.
Re: Due date foods. There are several places in the Twin Cities which put these items for purchase for 75% off. The one I go to is called Mike's discount foods on Central. 1. Research your topic. Use at least FIVE references 25 points
2. Synthesize your conclusions 25 points
3. Discussion. Respond to peers. 25 points
4. Guest 25 points
You don't have permission to comment on this page.