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
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US Department of Housing and Urban Developmenthttp://www.hud.gov/index.html
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Centers for Medicare and Medicaidhttp://www.cms.hhs.gov/HomelessnessInitiative/
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PBS Online News Hour
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National Coalition of Homeless
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National Alliance for Ending Homelessness
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Library of Congress
Book Resources
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
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.