Process
Define homelessness and research to identify the factors that contribute to homelessness. Explore how the legal definitions of homelessness change public perspective of homelessness and influence public policy and program support. Interview 5 people. Ask them to name 5 reasons people are homeless. Create a brief presentation to show your findings.
[Include definitions and examples from your research.]
Assume the a role of homeless advocate (ie. Salvation Army, Catholic Charities) and write a persuasive paper that portrays the challenges of the poor and needy. Reflect on the programs and services provided by the federal government and public and non-profit agencies. Show how these agencies help and show how there is a continuing unmet need. Make a case for continuing support.
Host a town hall meeting. Debate the impact of homelessness in your community from the perspective of members of your community. Role- play the following members of your community: mayor, community planner, real estate developer, police, hospital and clinic administrators, school superintendent, church pastor, small business owner, and citizen. Write 10 questions to illicit perspectives on homelessness in your community and how to manage it.
Collaborate with your team to create a strategy that represents the community in a plan to manage the problem of homelessness.
As a team, create and present a Power Point presentation informing "the community" of your recommendations to reduce homelessness and to manage the impact of homelessness in the community. [Use all of your findings to support this presentation.]
Resources
US Department of Housing and Urban Developmenthttp://www.hud.gov/index.html
Centers for Medicare and Medicaidhttp://www.cms.hhs.gov/HomelessnessInitiative/
PBS Online News Hour
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/search_results.html?q=homelessness&x=10&y=7
National Coalition of Homeless
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/
National Alliance for Ending Homelessness
http://www.naeh.org/
Library of Congress
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:s.02573:
Book Resources
Encyclopedia of Homelessness, 2 Volume Set (Hardcover)
by David Levinson (Editor)
The Homeless by Christopher Jencks (Author)
Down and Out in America: The Origins of Homelessness by Peter H. Rossi
Reckoning With Homelessness (The Anthropology of Contemporary Issues) by
Kim Hopper
The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler
Street Crazy : America's Mental Health Tragedy
by Stephen B. Seager
Tell Them Who I Am: The Lives of Homeless Women by Elliot Liebow
Making Room: The Economics of Homelessness (Hardcover)
by Brendan O'Flaherty
How to Increase Homelessness by Joel John Roberts
Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America (Paperback)
by Jonathan Kozol
Use the following links to refresh your understanding of the applications required to accomplish the tasks in this webquest. [interviewing, persuasive argument, researching]
Interviewing Techniques http://webquest.sdsu.edu/processguides/interviewing.html
Making a Persuasive Argument http://webquest.sdsu.edu/processguides/persuasive.html
Evaluating Web Content http://webquest.sdsu.edu/processguides/HowToPrimaryS.html
You have 4 team tasks to accomplish. Each task builds upon the previous one. Successful completion of these tasks will require:
Clearly assigning roles and responsibilities.
Managing your time, the scope of your work, and the final presentation or product.
Asking questions and checking for confusion or misunderstanding.
Sharing ideas, supporting each other as needed.
Follow this link to a Process Guide to help keep each task on track.
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/processchecker.html