Welcome
to the children’s pages
By Susan Peine
Welcome to
the children’s pages of this edition of the Homeless Grapevine. In this
section, we hope to provide you with a glimpse of the child’s perspective on
homelessness.
We questioned
children, in and around Cleveland, on their opinions of homelessness. The
responses consist of both housed students and students who have currently found
themselves in a homeless situation. These particular students range in age from
elementary school to high school.
We often
think of a child as innocent, perhaps even naïve to the seemingly complex
issues of our world. But as you
will find from reading these responses, children are very attentive to what goes
on around them. Their awareness of problems equals their awareness of how the
adults around them deal with or ignore these same problems. As they develop,
children ‘s opinions and attitudes are easily influenced by those around them,
such as parents, teachers and other mentors, whom they have come to love and
respect. Therefore it is essential for us to strive to teach our children
responsibility for one another as citizens of our country.
Children
understand that a person wandering the streets asking for money may very well be
a homeless individual. They also
understand that by walking away, ignoring and avoiding contact with that same
individual, we are showing them how to ignore the problem of homelessness. When
we choose to walk away from that individual on the streets and do not discuss
the issue of homelessness with the child, we are teaching them that homelessness
is not an issue worth acting upon. When we yell in disgust that the welfare
system only supports lazy people who don’t have any desire to work, the
children hear and learn.
As citizens
of this country we are allowed many individual rights, but as I have been taught
those rights come with responsibilities. As long as I have the right to live in
a home, so does the man, woman and child on the streets. Because I have been
fortunate enough to never have known the injustices of homelessness, I have a
responsibility to ensure that our society provides a means for those without
homes to enable themselves to have homes.
I have found
in giving presentations to students about the issue of homelessness, that they
are very interested in discussing the problem.
Most are aware of the problem’s existence, though some felt it only a
situation found on television. Many do not know the causes of homelessness.
Because these students are on their way to becoming the leaders and decision
makers of tomorrow, we owe to ourselves and our society to teach them to face
the issues of homelessness and understand how people find themselves in such a
situation.
The voices
found on these pages are responses to what we have taught them, what we have
shown them and their own conclusions drawn from what they have learned. I think
that you will find much optimism in their words, and we are responsible for
keeping their optimism alive.
Thank you to
all the children who have taken the time to respond to our questions and have
developed an interest in the issue of homelessness.
The
following are the questions asked of the students and some of their responses:
1) What
does homelessness (being homeless)
mean to you?
l
Homelessness, to me, means being without shelter or being empty hearted.
(Male,
age 19, grade 12)
l
Homeless means no place to call your own.
Nowhere, a person can go for sanctuary or to
feel stable.
(Female,
Age 18, Grade 12)
l
It’s when you sleep in a church. It’s
when you have to go to a friend’s house to stay when you do not have a house.
(Male,
Age 7, Grade 1)
2)
What would you do if you saw a homeless person or family on the streets?
l
I feel bad for them, but if they look like a druggie, I get kind of mad
because they are taking money from people to destroy their lives.
Female,
Age 13, Grade 8
l
Honestly, I do not know. I’ve never been put in that situation. So, I wouldn’t know what I would do.
Female,
Age 14, Grade 8
l
When I see a homeless person, I think to myself ‘that could be me or my
family’ and I am thankful for what I have.
Male, Age
13, Grade 8
3)
How would you feel if you or your family became homeless?
l
I would be very upset. I would be mad at everybody because this happened.
Female,
age 13, Grade 8
l
I would be worried so much. I probably couldn’t sleep at night. I would
try to get a job to make a little money.
Male, Age
14, Grade 8
4) How
can you help to end homelessness?
l
I can help to end homelessness by helping to spread information about it,
to let people know
the truth
about homelessness.
Female,
Age 18, Grade 12
l
That’s a hard question, there’s so many things that we can do. I think the best thing is to give money to churches to help
feed the homeless.
Male, Age
13, Grade 8
l
I don’t think I could do much by myself but if a lot of people get
together, I think it can be stopped.
Female,
Age 13, Grade 8
l
I think the answer is simple. You
can help the homeless by building more houses.
Female,
Age 17, Grade 12
5)
Additional comments made by students about the topic of homelessness.
l
I used to think homeless people were all really bad.
Some are, but many of them are kids and just regular people who lost
their house.
Female,
Age 13, Grade 8
l
I didn’t realize the complications and details of being homeless.
Female,
Age 13, Grade 8
l
I think everyone should know what homelessness is and should read the
Grapevine
Male, Age
8, Grade 3
l
I think more attention needs to be brought to the subject.
I hope that sooner or later the community can do something about it.
Male, age
19, Grade 12
l
I think that people with homes should remember that homeless people were
probably just like them. Never down
a homeless person either.
Female,
Age 17, Grade 12