Our Unhoused Friends: A Case Study

I have decided to create a social program that identifies the social problem of Homelessness. The new human services, social program will target helping homeless individuals and families to get off the streets. In order to have a successful program I have to come up with an outline and cover all of the basics. This program will have many different resources available to homeless or about to be homeless individuals and families. There are so many homeless people out there and her in the state of Florida there are not many places for homeless people to turn to for comfort and safety. So I am truly excited to be creating this new program that will help many people to go forward and live wonderful and successful lives, no matter what they have been through. Throughout this paper I will be discussing some of the things that are needed in order to start an organization. This paper will serve as an outline or an information source on how to create a social program as well as the social program that I am creating.

The work that I chose to write about is “The Homeless and Their Children” taken from Jonathan Kozol’s book, “Rachel and Her Children”. This is a story of a woman whom Kozol calls Laura and her four children that lived in a run-down hotel room in 1985.

It is crucial that we find new and creative ways of helping the homeless, through education, recreation, religion, and the revamping of homeless shelters. I implore you to help the destitute, so that we might end this travesty once and for all. To employ to my viewpoint, it is important that you open you mind to gain a wealth of fascinating information, that will help you to understand that the homeless should be able to receive an education, in pursuit of a better life. Education is as old as civilization, and aims at producing intelligent, responsible, well-informed citizens, who take an active interest in the world around them. Education includes a variety of learning experiences. Acquiring knowledge, skills, habits, values, and attributes, can better help our homeless to become useful and productive members of society, and shape their character in hopes that it will remain with them throughout their lives. Education is more important today than ever before. It provides them with the specialized training that they will need, to prepare for a job or career. Education also helps people adjust to change. This benefit has become increasingly important, because social changes today take place with increasing speed, and affect the lives of a great many people.

Family Promise of Summit County is an emergency hope center for homeless families with children. Family Promise began in 2004 when community leaders saw the desperate need for families with children to find a shelter where they could stay together. These leaders set to work by researching the necessary human and financial resources to create the Interfaith Hospitality Network, now Family Promise of Summit County. While many programs must separate children from their families during a homeless crisis, their mission is to help families with children stay together while they achieve sustainable independence (Family Promise of Summit County). Their vision is as follows: “To Keep Families Together, to alleviate the trauma of homelessness and assist families in securing a stable home environment” (Family Promise of Summit County).

Homelessness is a problem in many communities across the United States. It is particularly sad when one sees women and children that are homeless. The Cornerstone Rescue Mission Women and Children Home in Rapid City, South Dakota addresses this need in this particular community. They serve pregnant women, single women, Veteran women, girls under the age of 18 with their mother, and boys under the age of 16 with their mother. A community assessment was completed on this population to identify strengths and their particular needs; interventions were then done based on these needs.

Every night across America, roughly 32,000 people between the ages of 18 and 24 are homeless (Youth Homelessness). In the same night, hundreds of thousands of girls say goodnight to their fellow sorority sisters before crawling into their beds. As a Panhellenic community, University of Nebraska gives girls the opportunities to create friendships, form connections, and build strong women. We are called to be active members of society, and use our fortunate lives to change the world we live in. After visiting Community First! Village of Austin, Texas, it has become aware to me the severity of homelessness in America and how simple it can be to change it. Community First! not only builds tiny homes through donations for homeless people around Austin, but gives them a community to become a part of. Donating money to build a tiny house at Community First! Village would not only strengthen UNL’s Panhellenic Council’s generous reputation, but also support the movement to end homelessness through providing a home and community to a young outcasted individual.

Homelessness is an issue in American society today that affects anywhere from 800,000 to 3.5 million people. There are a substantial amount of people that are without shelter, food, or employment, and there are numerous other people affected by poverty and homelessness. People living in nearly every city in the United States are affected by homelessness due to the large amounts of homeless individuals living on the streets and begging for money, food, and other necessities. The issue of homelessness has been a constant problem since the conquering of the New World, and soup kitchens and homeless shelters have not been able to fully end homelessness. Especially today, with a lack of affordable housing and high unemployment rates, homelessness is prevalent.

In 2013, I had the opportunity to assist local public school administrators on the issue of illiteracy and the allocation of resources in inner-city schools. Additionally, I collaborated on a small team to implement plans to provide public housing for the homeless in Orange County, CA. During this time, I also had the opportunity to be a nanny for five kids who were formerly homeless. I was able to be a part of their transition from street life to home life and witness the effects of poverty

Throughout the United States, there are a large number of individuals that goes unnoticed. Hidden in right plain sight, but are overlooked. They can be our friends, family, classmates, or the person standing right next you to at this moment. There are young individuals who are facing the tremendous challenge of being homeless. They are overlooked by many in society. However, there have been countless individuals, groups, organizations dedicated to ending youth homelessness. However, they are confronted with challenges due to the lack of interest. The lack of interest found within society can contribute to barriers to ending youth homelessness.

In Judy Daniels’ article entitled "Humanistic Interventions for Homeless Students: Identifying and Reducing Barriers to Their Personal Development," the author is successful in describing real-life examples of the effects of homelessness on school-aged children. She starts out with the story of Angie, a high school student who lives in a tent with her mother and two siblings. After being caught for fighting with her classmates, Angie is sent to the counselor’s office where she confesses her frustration with her current living situation.

The educational goal of Super Solvers Gizmos and Gadgets is to teach young children a variety of basic concepts in math and science. It accomplishes its goal mainly through the use of minigames. Some of the minigames involve launching a ball into the designated hole, which teaches about force; completing a circuit by drawing wire, which teaches about electricity; matching the types of energy to example images, which teaches about different types of energy; and a few more.

“Better is a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse.”- PROVERBS 28:6. I learned the truth in this verse while living with relatives in Colorado Springs, Colorado and the time I became homeless. What comes to mind when thinking about homeless people? I remember the first time I saw a homeless person begging at an intersection. He looked scruffy, unkempt, and dirty, which really scared me because I did not know what he would do to me. He just stood there, holding a sign that read, “Out of work,

China was kept isolated for centuries due to its natural barriers(Gobi desert, oceans,and the Himalayan Mountains). Although isolated, Chinese culture continued to evolve and flourish leading to a burst of ideas and innovations that would change and influence the world then and still today. China’s most notable invention was the compass.

Imagine a young child growing up, learning, and trying to further his or her life to obtain success in the future. For an “everyday” child this can be challenging, however “everyday” obstacles can be overcome. For thousands of children in the United States, this dream is almost impossible to achieve. These children are a part of the homeless population that is spread throughout the United States. Many times these individuals try to hide this major secret from the rest of the world, but homelessness is very prevalent among these youths today. Various problems occur in these peoples’ lives that others could not even begin to understand. Homelessness affects children in every stage of life physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Flanders’ article on prostitution in Victorian London focuses on the misinformation and misconceptions surrounding sex-workers of that era, especially focusing on how unreliable the numbers involved can be. She approaches the topic with three main arguments in mind: the supposed amount of prostitutes and the evolution of what defines a prostitute, how women are frequently mistaken for prostitutes based upon their appearance, and the often looked-over presence of male prostitutes. Within her article she presents multiple primary sources including: diary entries discussing encounters with prostitutes, letters detailing how women were leered at and the public’s response to such incidents, and even some authors. It is when she first introduces her argument as a whole that she discusses the questionability of the reported number of prostitutes in Victorian London.