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.” (Reuters, March 26,2009)

The Sun Sentinel ran a piece on April 13, 2008, 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 milions of dollars as they grow up and become dependant 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 ALSF 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

As of 2005, there were 744,000 homeless people in the United States, according to a study by the National Alliance to End Homelessness (msnbc.com).  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.