Homeless Children: How to Help the Economy’s Most Vulnerable Victims

One of the risk factors for ending up homeless is if your parents are homeless. In a crumbling economy, rife with job loss and foreclosures, the number of homeless people has started climbing again after experiencing a downturn from 2004-2007.

“‘I’ve never seen it like this before, and I have 30 years of experience working with the homeless,’ said Darlene Newsom, head of the UMOM Day Centers emergency housing project in Phoenix, Arizona, where the number of homeless families seeking services has doubled in the past three months.”

The Sun Sentinel ran a piece, entitled “Economy takes toll on kids” about the South Florida’s growing population of homeless children. Schools are often left to cope with the effects of families that lose their homes. Homeless kids struggle to stay focused, are often stressed, and act out to get attention. Many are teased by their classmates.

Broward County, FL has about 1,600 homeless children enrolled in the school system, according to the article. Palm Beach County has 953. Most of them are living “in shelters, motels and cars, or doubling up with friends or relatives.”

Being homeless puts kids at risk of foregoing their education and turning into homeless adults. “Fewer than one in four graduate from high school, and homeless children worry more and get sick more often than other kids.” (Sun Sentinel)

In addition to the high toll homelessness takes on their own lives, these at-risk kids, should they decide to drop out of school, cost taxpayers millions of dollars as they grow up and become dependent on the state.

So what can be done to give homeless children the tools they need to survive these hard times?  It is possible for homeless and at-risk youth to remain strong and resilient through their families’ struggles. Being homeless as a child does not have to automatically equate to a wasted life.

ARISE Foundation’s vast library of life skills material can help homeless kids build their self esteem, stay in school, handle bullies, manage their anger and experience an outlet for their emotions. ARISE lessons offer kids and teens practical advice, tips and tools to help them make the right decisions. The lessons are best taught in a group environment, where learners can share their experiences, get things off their chests and feel validated and appreciated in spite of their economic situations.

The following ARISE books are ideal for a homelessness prevention program, a support program for youth that are already homeless, a dropout prevention program or a life skills workshop:

1.  Anger Management
2. Self Esteem
3. So You’re Thinking of Dropping Out?
4. Networking, Jobs and Money
5. Learning Strategies and Time Management
6. Violence and Conflict
7. Substance Abuse and Guns

All ARISE material is best taught by certified ARISE Life Skills Facilitators. When you go through the ARISE Life Skills Group Facilitator training, you learn how to bring the learners out of their shells, how to engage and interest them, how to conduct the lessons in a productive way and how to make sure that you get the most out of each book.

To learn more about training or purchase ARISE materials, visit the ARISE Website or call TOLL FREE (888) 680-6100.

Keeping Kids Off The Streets: How ARISE Helps Prevent Homelessness

What causes people to become homeless? Dr. Carl Cohen, a professor of psychiatry at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, suggests that a number of risk factors accumulate over time to create homelessness. Some of those risk factors include:

• age, race, ethnicity
• low income
• disruptive events in youth, such as the death of a parent
• prior imprisonment
• chemical abuse
• psychiatric disorders
• victimization
• poor social support

Many of these risk factors occur during youth. ARISE life skills lessons are a valuable tool for any homelessness prevention program because they attack the problem on multiple fronts. ARISE believes that it’s never too early or too late to help keep these kids off the streets, which is why the ARISE curricula offers life skills material for children from pre-k through the teen years. The ARISE life skills library teaches young people how to manage their anger, build their self esteem, communicate effectively, understand the importance of getting an education, avoid abusing drugs and alcohol, stay out of a gang, get and keep a job and reach their highest potential.

But it’s not just the material itself that does the trick. ARISE programs provide structure to any homeless prevention program. They get youth to open up and express themselves through group discussions and activities. Most of the time, young people just want to be heard. A lack of self-worth, a sense of belonging and the feeling that someone cares about them often drive youth to look for that attention and validation in dangerous ways. ARISE also trains people to use its curricula, turning instructors into mentors, always ready to listen, understand and value the opinions of the youth they interact with.

If you arm kids and teens with these basic life skills, you give them the foundation they need to stay off the streets. A person with an education, high self esteem, great communication skills, strong social connections and a body free of drug and alcohol addiction is unlikely to end up as a statistic.

For more information on how ARISE can help your homelessness prevention program, visit the ARISE website.

ARISE as a Gang Prevention Program

The ARISE Gang Prevention Program was featured on West Palm Beach’s FOX-29 News in their “Making a Difference in the Community” segment.

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Download ARISE Gang Prevention Media Kit (PDF)

There are a variety of reasons that teens join gangs. Some are looking for prestige and excitement. Others are looking for income, protection, or a sense of belonging.[1] There are also factors that help protect youth from joining gangs. Youth that use their free time in positive ways are more resistant to joining gangs. After-school programs, sports, and the like give youth a sense of purpose, relieve boredom, and give them connections with others.[2]

Given the trends in gang violence and youth gangs today, ARISE approaches gang prevention in multiple ways. First, ARISE has developed life skill curricula with over 260 practical life skill lessons, such as anger and conflict management, the importance of a staying in school, finding and keeping a job, self-esteem, healthy living, graffiti avoidance and more.

These lessons contain vital information youth need to make healthy choices in their lives. Armed with this practical knowledge, youth will be better able to resist recruitment into gangs. Youth will learn how to find legitimate employment and how to resist drugs, guns, and conflict. Each lesson contains all the needed background information on the topic as well as multiple engaging, fun activities.

ARISE recognizes that it is important to help youth before gangs solicit them. ARISE has a number of materials available to reach youth of all ages. The curricula have been specifically designed to be age appropriate. We have many different materials available for pre-K, K-grade 1, grades 2-3, grades 4-5, middle school, and teen/young adult. It is never too early or too late to start a gang prevention program.

ARISE not only provides valuable life-skill lessons, but we train instructors to effectively teach the material and serve as mentors to troubled youth. ARISE provides staff training for those working directly with at-risk youth in various settings (after school programs, secure facilities, churches, etc.). We offer on-site instruction to the staff in how to use the ARISE curriculum and instructional ARISE formula in order to receive the maximum benefits from the curriculum.

The intensive Life-Management Skills Instructor Training will instruct your staff on how to use the ARISE curriculum to the fullest. Among other things, trainees will learn how to manage difficult students, effectively run group activities, and successfully lead group discussions and brainstorming techniques.

The ARISE groups resulting from the combination of ARISE lessons and certified instructors provides the most powerful prevention to gang involvement. It is within these groups with the facilitation of the instructor that the magic happens. Not only are the youth exposed to vital information in an interesting and interactive way, but they also get to bond with instructors and other youth in the group. Youth are given the opportunity to share their feelings and experiences, as well as learn from their peers. The groups form a connection of caring and respect. The youth feel valued, understood, and listened to in ways that are often lacking at school and at home. They are given the sense of belonging they need to avoid gang involvement.

ARISE is one of a kind. It is the only known program designed to reach at-risk youth and juvenile offenders with reading difficulties at all ages and provide a comprehensive set of necessary life-skills. The ARISE program is perfect for people looking for a structured program to implement in a gang prevention program. The lessons are also easily added to after school programs, church programs, or any other organization that would like to prevent gang recruitment.

In addition to the ARISE curricula and training, ARISE also offers another program for gang prevention that can be implemented in any community called Grab a Future. For more information on this program, check out the Grab a Future page.

Please take a minute to view our powerful gang prevention short story entitled “Diamond in the Rough.”

ARISE Curricula that Address Gang Risk and Protection Factors

ARISE offers life skills curricula for those specifically looking to establish a gang prevention program. Please view our selection of Gang Prevention and Intervention materials in the ARISE Online Store.

Footnotes
[1] Howell. J.C. (1998). Youth Gangs: An Overview. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

[2] The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center website, “Youth Gangs,” retrieved March 7, 2007, from http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/teens/gangs.asp