Transcript Homeless Youth Simulation

Homeless Youth Awareness
Workshop
Welcome:
 Dr. Glenn Pelecky,
Mississippi Bend AEA, Chief Administrator
 Cindy Swanson, MSW, MA
Mississippi Bend AEA, Head of Professional Development
 Ellen Reilly, MA
Davenport Community Schools, Homeless Education Liaison
Music played today: Homeless, Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Long Walk to Freedom, Heads
Up Africa Series, Gallo Music International, 2006
Homeless Youth Simulation
A day in the life of a homeless teenager….
Can YOU do it?
Goals for Today
 Gain insight into the day-to-day realities
faced by homeless teenagers
 Become advocates for homeless youth in
our schools and community
Introduction
 You will be a homeless teen for a “day”
 The simulation will last for 45
minutes….each 5 minutes is an hour.
 You will be asked to complete a list of
tasks by the end of the 9 hours.
 You will be prompted every 5 minutes that
the hour is over, and another one has
begun to move you through the “day”.
Housekeeping
 Review your simulation materials (bio and
map) to see what tasks you must complete
during the simulation and what documents
you have. Both are listed on your bio.
 Maintain your role as much as possible
 Help us out with clean-up after the
simulation. It is much appreciated!!!
Transportation
1) If you don’t have transportation, you must
ride the “bus”. You cannot move from
your location until the bus goes by. You
can get on and off at any stop but must
wait for the bus to travel to another
location.
2) If you have transportation (friend, family
member) you can travel from location to
location at any time.
This info is indicated ON YOUR BIO.
Shelter
1) Keep in mind that finding shelter may not
be something at an actual shelter. You
may be able to find another place to stay
for example, a friends house.
Good Luck!
 Try to be realistic about your role
 Take your circumstances seriously
 Imagine the fears and frustrations faced by
teenagers in this situation
LET’S GET STARTED
 Figure out your plan for the day based on what
tasks you need to complete.
 Begin your day……….when the bell rings.
 Every hour (5 minutes) the bell will ring,
signifying an hour is over and another has
begun. The bell will ring a total of 9 times, once
to begin the day, and then 8 more times. Watch
the screens to keep track of the day.
 You must have a bus pass to ride the bus.
Check at various locations to get a pass.
BELL ONE: 7:00am
 Begin your day
 Make sure you are working
towards accomplishing your
tasks.
BELL TWO: 8:00am
BELL THREE: 9:00am
BELL FOUR: 10:00am
BELL FIVE: 11:00am
BELL SIX: NOON
BELL SEVEN: 1pm
BELL EIGHT: 2:00pm
BELL NINE: 3:00pm
BELL TEN: 4:00pm
THE DAY IS OVER
PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR
SEATS
HOORAY YOU MADE IT…
“de-briefing”
 Take a few moments to discuss the
following with your tablemates:
 How did you feel while participating in this
simulation?
 What thoughts did you have while trying to
accomplish your tasks by the end of the day?
 Did your participation change your ideas or
perceptions about homeless youth?
Recognition of organizations that
work with homeless youth locally
 Ben Cleaveland, Bethany for Children and Families
 Molli Nickerson, Project Now
 Penny Kellenberger, The Center
 Adela Martinez, The Place2B
 Chantell Lamont, ELEVATE
 Marty McLaughlin, Foster Care & Parent Association
 Kelly Thompson, Humility of Mary Shelter
 Jill Green, United Way 211 Referrals
National Data on
Homeless Youth
2009 statistics
Did you know…
 1.37 million (or 39%) of the total homeless
population are children under the age of
18. (2009 statistic)
 57% of homeless kids spend at least one
day every month without food.
Did you know…..
 50% of adolescents aging out of foster
care and juvenile justice systems will be
homeless within six months because they
are unprepared to live independently, have
limited education and no social support.
 Over 25% of former foster children
become homeless within two to four years
of leaving the system.
 According to a study of youth in shelters,
nearly 50% reported intense conflict or
physical harm by a family member as a
major contributing factor to their
homelessness.
 In the United States, as many as 20,000
children and youth are forced into
prostitution by human trafficking networks
every year.
How do you measure
homelessness?
 Measuring homelessness is difficult because of the
fluidity of the homeless population.
 Part of the difficulty stems from varying methodologies
used to measure homelessness.
 Some researchers attempt to count all the people who
are literally homeless on a given day or during a given
week, called a "point-in-time" count.
 Critics say this method is likely to overestimate the
number of chronically homeless and underestimate the
number of people who experience temporary
homelessness.
Quad Cities Homeless Youth
Needs Assessment Summary
(A copy of the summary is in your folder on the right side)
Thank you to the following organizations for their
successful partnership in completing this work:
Catholic Charities
YWCA of Rock Island
St. Ambrose University School of Social Work
Community Foundation of the Greater River Bend
Presented by : Adam McCormick, St. Ambrose
Details of Data Collection
 Summer of 2009, Catholic Charities, the YWCA of Rock Island, St.
Ambrose University School of Social Work, and the Community
Foundation of the Greater River Bend partnered to conduct a
community wide assessment of the needs of homeless youth in the
Quad City area.
 16 focus groups were conducted with over 160 at-risk youth to
address the experiences, challenges, and needs of homeless youth.
 In addition to the focus group data investigators collected survey
data assessing numerous issues including types of living
experiences and prevalence of homelessness.
 Participants were recruited from 10 social service agencies across
the Quad City area.
Why they are homeless…
 Based on the discussions that took place, most
of the youth felt that what happens at home is
fundamental to whether or not a youth leaves
home.
 Incidences of physical and verbal abuse were widely
reported among the youth. Many youth noted that
these were major contributing factors to the reasons
young people leave home.
 Lack of communication with parents, including
parents being physically and/or emotionally
unavailable to them influenced their leaving home.
Challenges
 Just under 10% of youth identified finding shelter
as their most significant challenge. The same
percentage identified finding food as a
significant challenge.
 As one youth pointed out, even when they try to
get help, they can’t. “I’ve been homeless
multiple times. I’ve called many different places
and half the time they don’t ever call you back
when they say they’re going to or they don’t
even help you”
Challenges cont…
 In addition, depression and anxiety (16%),
and transportation (16%) were consistently
identified as the greatest challenge facing
youth.
What Homeless Youth Want
 When it came to determining what services should be
offered in the shelter, counselors and therapists were
mentioned quite frequently.
 Several youth also noted that it should made clear right
away that where they are (agency) is offering help and
has someone there that youth can go to for help.
 Youth mentioned things such as listings for jobs and
affordable housing options as well as listings of other
available community resources.
 Other suggestions included having “circle sessions”
where the youth would be able to get to know one
another.
Questions?
The McKinney-Vento
Homeless Education Act
Effective Education for Homeless Children
and Youth
Homeless Youth Awareness Workshop
March 2011
Presented by Ellen Reilly
Homeless Education Liaison for Davenport Community
Schools
PowerPoint adapted from the State of Vermont and modified for this presentation
What is the definition of a
Homeless Student?
A homeless student is an individual
who lacks a fixed, regular, and
adequate nighttime residence.
What is the definition of an
Unaccompanied Youth?
A homeless Unaccompanied Youth is:
 an adolescent who is not in the physical
custody of a parent or guardian and
who meets the criteria for homelessness in the
definition
Students are still considered homeless even if their parents say that
they can return home. (Often times older students are trying to
escape from an abusive situation)
How/why does a student become homeless?
A student may be homeless as a result of eviction,
economic hardship, divorce, illness, natural disaster,
domestic violence or other reasons and may be living in:
 Shared housing (doubled up)
 Motels, hotels, camp grounds
 Shelters or emergency housing
 Cars, parks, or other public places that are not designed
for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping
accommodations
Educational Impacts
 Every time a child has to change schools, his or her education
is disrupted. According to some estimates, 3-6 months of
education are lost with every move.
 Homeless children are at high risk for falling behind in school
due to their mobility. Without an opportunity to receive an
education, homeless children are much less likely to acquire
the skills they need to escape poverty as adults.
What The McKinney Vento Homeless
Assistance Act Does for Homeless Youth…
 Maintains educational continuity for students
and families during a time of transition
 Requires schools to identify and enroll students
who meet the definition of homeless
 Supported under the “No Child Left Behind
Act”
How do we identify and enroll
homeless students?
This is not a perfect process. It is a difficult issue for some to talk
about and ask for help. For others, they are in dire need and seek out
assistance or ask for a referral. There are a variety of ways that the
schools may find out a student is experiencing homelessness.
Regardless, once a student is identified as homeless:
• Ensure the guidance counselor who is the assigned homeless point of
contact in the building is notified immediately of the situation.
• Document in district student information system.
• Maintain the student and family's privacy and dignity.
• Families/Students cannot be forced to accept services. It is important to
respect their decisions as a family even if you do not agree with them.
How do we identify and enroll homeless students?
• You can try to collect housing information at
registration, but remember to use discretion and
respect the family and their privacy.
• Ensure “Homeless Information Posters” for parents
and youth are prominently displayed. They should
be located in your main office where parents can
see them. They are also available in Spanish.
Posters with information for homeless youth and families
How are schools required to serve
homeless students?
 Every school district in Iowa must designate a homeless
education liaison.
 Identify and immediately enroll homeless students based on
the best interest of the child and the preference of the parent or
unaccompanied youth
 Schools may not deny a homeless student enrollment, even if
they are missing medical or educational records (proof of
homelessness may be requested by homeless liaison for the
district)
 Provide transportation options for students to continue
attending school of origin (if appropriate)
What are Homeless Education
Liaisons required to do?
Facilitate identification and enrollment by knowing the
law, train school staff and display parent/youth posters
in each school
Make sure that homeless students receive transportation
(if appropriate), free meals, Title I and early education
services…and all other services available to nonhomeless students
Link homeless students to appropriate services in both
the school and the community
Meals for Homeless Youth
Once a student is identified as homeless, school food
service may not:
 Single that student out in any way
 Serve them meals that are not equivalent to what other
students are receiving
 Make them stand in a separate line for lunch
 Indicate in any way to others, including other food service
employees, that the student is homeless or receiving free
meals.
 Send home or mark the student in any way if their meal
account is showing a negative balance.
Data Collection in your District
• Districts should identify students in their student
•
•
information system and ensure appropriate services are
offered to students and their families.
Data is required to be reported to state entities on an
annual basis
Districts should review homeless data on a regular
basis to be in tune with current trends
Resources to support your work with
homeless students
http://www.terrifictransitions.org/nche/
If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to
contact Ellen Reilly at 563-336-3832 or by email at
[email protected]
Lunch till 12:30pm
 A 20/20 (YouTube version) clip on homeless students will be shown
starting at 12:15pm.
 Maggie Tinsman will start promptly at 12:30pm.
 Music played today: Homeless, Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Long Walk to
Freedom, Heads Up Africa Series, Gallo Music International, 2006
 The cardboard cutouts represent “lost children” who age out of the foster
care system and fall through the cracks. They were specially delivered
through the efforts of Marty McLaughlin from the Foster Care and Adoptive
Parents Association and CASA in Waterloo, IA. Thanks Marty!!!!