Homeless Children

[CUTiger]

I'm thinking of having some type of forum, or doing something at my university in order to educate people about homeless childern. I'd like to talk about statistics, their rights, and what we as educators can do for them. Unfortunatly, I'm a little short on ideas right now (this is my practicum semester). Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do or who I can invite to speak? Maybe it doesn't have to be a forum, but some kind of event to simply raise awareness. Right now my fraternity brothers have an annual event where they encourage campus residents to donate clothes at a free cookout. I'm looking to help them do a little more than that, and it doesn't have to be on the same day.

Got any ideas?...

Thanks!

 

[Ms. K]

What city are you in? I know that here in Sacramento there is a school called The Mustard Seed School specifically open for homeless children. They use the Montessori method. It is privately funded and is part of a whole community called Loaves and Fishes. You might see if there is something like this in your city.

 

[Ana]

Dept. of Ed. Policy

Our school system has a Homeless Education Dept. to carry out the mandate of the law. We're a big school system that serves approximately 800-1000 homeless students a year.

If you want to look at the laws governing elementary and secondary homeless education here is a link to the "McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001".

http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg116.html

 

[Julz]

Homelessness has so many titles now. I have students who were abandoned, couch surfing and just living on the streets in their car. Our district has funds available through a grant. We also have work closly with our community to help the student become independent...at a young age. I would suggest that creating a home staffed by college students for the homeless students would be a wonderful way to help others. One district created a house just for these students but are having trouble staffing it. This would be a good cross over and leadership oppurtunity.

 

[Julz]

Homelessness has so many titles now. I have students who were abandoned, couch surfing and just living on the streets in their car. Our district has funds available through a grant. We also have work closly with our community to help the student become independent...at a young age. I would suggest that creating a home staffed by college students for the homeless students would be a wonderful way to help others. One district created a house just for these students but are having trouble staffing it. This would be a good cross over and leadership oppurtunity.

 

[NJ Teacher]

Book

There is a wonderful children's book written by Eve Bunting on this subject. I believe the title is Fly Away Home. It might be interesting to share the book with your audience because if these people are future teachers, they may have such children in their classrooms, and will need to educate the other students about homelessness, as well. Thanks for raising awareness about this subject. As far as a speaker, perhaps you could engage a school social worker to talk about the issue, as they would be on the "front lines" dealing with this issue in a school district. I think having a drive for school supplies and/or backpacks is also welcome, because these things are so expensive.

 

[CUTiger]

Thanks

Thanks everyone!

But I'm still a little undecided about what to do. I'd feel like I failed if I planned a great event, and then people don't show up. You know how "busy" undergrad students can be (especially on Thursday nights). I feel like I need an event that people can get involved an, and not just sit and listen (unless I have a great speaker). I know that the Department of Mental Health runs a lot of services in this area, so I may talk to them as well. I'm in Clemson, SC and I know that we have homeless people in this area, but I'm sure that it's not as much as what some of you may see in your area. Once again, thanks for the ideas.

And keep 'em coming!

 

[psc]

contact the DO

You may want to consider contacting the Pickens school district and ask them what their needs are. My school district has a person in the district office who teachers contact when they suspect that one of their students is homeless. The DO may be able to give you specific ideas for how the money you raise or your time could be best used.

Go tigers!