 Many people who overcome challenges and succeed are often called resilient. Meaning they have the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens”(Merriam Webster). However, rarely do we indulge in the conversation that identifies all of the traumatic experiences through which children have to go through to be labeled resilient in the end. To better understand how adversity builds resilience in homeless youth we must gain an understanding of
Trauma in itself can be described as a personal response “from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life-threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.” (SAMHSA, 2014). It’s imperative to note that homelessness is considered a traumatic experience that can be considered an adverse experience for anyone. Youth who experience homelessness can process these events in unique ways and oftentimes need more support from healthy relationships to develop social-emotional skills at an early age. What is an ACE score? The adverse childhood experience (ACE) study was put together in 1995 by the Center for Disease Control and the Kaiser Permanente health care organization of California. In the original study, there were three categories of adverse experiences. The first one was physical and emotional abuse, the second one was neglect, and lastly household dysfunction. It wasn’t until later that community and systemic issues were recognized as adverse experiences. According to the Harvard Center on the Developing Child, “the body’s stress response does not distinguish between overt threats from inside or outside the home environment, it just recognizes when there is a threat, and goes on high alert.” When youth are on high alert all the time it means that they are not able to properly identify or self-regulate their mental state to acknowledge that they are safe and well. The ACE study presents us with valuable insight into the upbringing of the child and what types of adversity they may be facing. From this data we as educators, community heroes and parents can best support the development of the whole child. How is Resiliency Built and Measured Science has proven that some children develop the ability to be resilient while others do not. In other words some people are able to “bounce back” from a traumatic experience while others stay in a fight or flight response long after the traumatic experience has passed. We can think of resilience as a balancing act of the good outweighing the bad. Some of these positives that can outweigh the bad are supportive adults, healthy relationships and exposure to positive experiences. Imagine if a child is only having adverse experiences in their life and the scale is tipped heavily to one side, what is the likelihood that resiliency will be the outcome? In this instance there are other risk factors that come into play like long term health problems, developmental delays and other behavioral issues that may arise. For these reasons it’s important to note that all children can build resilience if they have the proper support and guidance from the people around them. If someone’s scale has been tipped to the negative side for most of their life, the possibility for them to build resilience is still there. Thankfully the brain is a beautiful muscle that is able to learn new things and reprogram itself time and time again. Noting those adverse experiences and working through the trauma as well as building up the positive experiences can help to balance out the scale at any age in life. Before we can begin to support others along their journey it is imperative that we understand the depths at which the trauma of homelessness affects certain demographics. In Chicago alone, %81 of people who identified as homeless were Black/African American in 2019. (Chicago Coalition for the Homeless) in the same year 1,343 were students enrolled in the Students in temporary Living Situation program with CPS and only %11 reported living in an actual shelter. When we come across these learners in our daily programs we must adopt a trauma centered lens that allows us to see the potential for resiliency in their situation and develop an empathetic approach to build out positive learning experiences that will support that child on their journey. This will empower us to see the potential in their situation as an opportunity to build resilience in the face of adversity and change the expected outcomes that lie farther down the road. 
0 Comments
 Living on the streets or in public spaces means constantly being vulnerable. This includes being susceptible to natural disasters, to illness, and to the system and people we have in place to ideally protect us: law enforcement and our criminal justice system. Cities are responding to growing frustrations towards homelessness from the public with a new tactic; legislation designed to hide the homeless rather than help them.
Being homeless is not explicitly illegal in the United States, but currently there are civil and criminal laws which make the behaviors of homeless people illegal. “Law enforcement threatens or punishes homeless people for doing things in public that every person has to do. This includes activities such as sleeping, sheltering oneself, asking for donations, or simply existing in public places.” It also includes arbitrarily enforcing other laws, and the practice of sweeps, which displaces homeless people from outdoor public spaces through harassment, threats, and evictions from living in camps. These activities make it very difficult for homeless people to exist without committing a crime. A report from the National Homelessness Law Center tracked the upwards trend of criminalizing homelessness in 187 cities and found that it actually has an adverse effect. In these cities, the practices of camping in public increased by 92%, begging increased by 103%, and loitering increased by 35%. These trends happen for many reasons, but partially because certain periods of incarceration under laws criminalizing homelessness directly harms a person’s ability to maintain or access public housing. Furthermore, when a homeless person has been arrested for unavoidable behavior, they now have a criminal record and will often miss work for an extended period of time. This creates barriers that lessen the likelihood of employment or losing a pre existing job. Also, court costs associated with resolving or appealing a case can amount to hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. Individuals who do not have the resources to pay are then subject to additional jail time, once again interrupting any chance at maintaining employment. In these ways, an arrest or conviction can lead to lifelong barriers. The consequences of civil penalties are similar, as unpaid tickets lead to bad credit scores which can easily bar a person from housing access. Unpaid tickets can also lead to the suspension of one’s driver’s license or repossession of a vehicle, which drastically limits the prospects of work for that person. The 2019 federal court case Martin v. City of Boise, involved 6 residents of the city who had experienced homelessness and were arrested or cited due to violating a city ordinance that made it a misdemeanor to use “any of the streets, sidewalks, parks, or public places as a camping place at any time.” The plaintiffs claimed this was a violation of their 8th amendment Constitutional rights, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The court ruled that cities can not arrest or punish people for sleeping on public property unless they provide adequate and accessible indoor accommodations. While this ruling acknowledged the fact that it is unfair to criminalize individuals for behaviors that are unavoidable, and presumed they had a choice in the matter, there are still too many people in local governments who think the right answer to homelessness is arresting people. The majority of cities have too few shelter beds, this shortage has been made worse since federal funding was scaled back in 2012. Our system gravitates towards the easiest and quickest solution to homelessness, which is arresting people and getting them out of sight; however, this is far from an adequate solution, as whether people are in jail or on the streets, they nevertheless remain homeless. This “solution” is an attempt to avoid the core issues of homelessness and does not offer people the necessary resources to alleviate the barriers that cause homelessness in the first place. By Zeff Worley AmeriCorps S&N  It’s no secret that climate change is here to stay. This past June was the country’s hottest in 127 years. A record-shattering heat wave in the Pacific Northwest brought Portland to 116 °F and killed at least one billion sea creatures on the coast. The United Nations’ most recent published study on the effects of climate change puts it in stark terms: “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.” If intergovernmental policy does not adequately limit greenhouse gas emissions sooner rather than later, then the world will continue to heat up at an unprecedented rate.  By Meghna Phalke AmeriCorps S&N As voting is one of the most fundamental rights of our democracy, its absence removes an American citizen’s agency and voice in a way that very little else can. Although every state is obligated, under the law, to make accommodations for people experiencing homelessness, these people remain hindered by bureaucratic red tape. There is very little data collected regarding this issue, but in 2008, only one in three people experiencing homelessness registered to vote, and in 2012, only about 10% actually voted (Vertenten 2020).
 By Kimberly King Homelessness is a complicated issue our society is plagued by. A result of a system-wide problem that has been perpetuated for decades; it has been a challenge to envision a society where homelessness can be eradicated. Strides towards this possibility are hindered by stigma, stereotypes and myths associated with homelessness. The types, common causes, intersections, and experiences of individuals facing homelessness are often overlooked. Although our society has taken steps to tackle this issue, such as through rapid rehousing programs, there is still much work to be done. A 2020 study by Barbara Duffield looks at reimagining how children and families can benefit from homeless assistance. This study piqued my interest in how our society can re-envisage the future of eradicating homelessness by taking a deeper look at the current responses and re-evaluating new ways to reshape for better solutions.
 By Benedicta Bonsu Reading the articles, “Social Factors and Ending Homelessness Around the World,” by Atlanta Mission, and “Dismantling the Harmful, False Narrative that Homelessness Is a Choice” by Urban Wire inspired me to share awareness of what can be done as a society at large, to effectively resolve the homelessness crisis. Both articles leverage social connectedness as a helpful solution to shaping social justice for the present and future. To dismantle the crisis, it is equally important to recognize that homelessness is rooted in a lack of stability in a person’s life foundation and affordable housing.
 By Alex Kirchner Development Administrator Poverty comes at a cost. Some of these costs may be familiar, like housing that’s unaffordable when earning minimum wage, or healthcare emergencies that can quickly overwhelm uninsured families. For families living below the poverty line, these costs make up a disproportionate amount of their income and can also lead to poor public health and weaken the overall economy. Nowhere is this more true than when considering one expense that is easy to overlook, but that no family can live without: electricity.
 By Hannah Miller AmeriCorps S&N This week, the Biden Administration is preparing to distribute a $1.9 trillion economic relief bill to qualifying Americans, the third round of stimulus packages which arrives one year after the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a global pandemic. Notably, a substantial portion of the bill is directed towards individuals, 54% to be exact, compared to the previous packages under the Trump administration which placed a larger emphasis on business directed assistance (Long, Flowers & Van Dam, 2021). The economic impact of the pandemic has been vast, unmeasurable even, weighing most heavily on vulnerable populations, including folks experiencing poverty and homelessness.
 By Francess Dunbar AmeriCorps S&N Millions of Americans take advantage of their local food bank every year, and that number has only grown during the pandemic (1). Cook County alone has almost 800,000 food insecure residents, a more than fifty percent increase since 2018 (2). But difficulties with distribution and social distancing have created new lines and delays at pantries even as rising unemployment has increased demand, and the older volunteer base which often sustains food distribution organizations has been forced inside indefinitely. The public transportation systems which patrons of food pantries often depend on have become vectors of transmission.
 by Alex Galván Outreach and Family Engagement Administrator at Chicago HOPES for Kids What is Mutual Aid?
Mutual aid is “cooperation for the sake of common good” – to put it simply. It is not charity, nor is it a way to “save” people, but instead an acknowledgement that, as people, our survival is dependent on one another, and it serves as a way to bring people together to meet each other’s needs. During 2020, as government support for citizens remained scarce, communities across Chicago bound, and continue to bind, together to support one another. From providing cash assistance to those in the service industry through the Service Worker’s Support Fund, to delivering care packages for seniors through My Block, My Hood, My City, Chicagoans have shown dedication to showing up for one another. |
RSS Feed
