Martin Luther King Jr. Service Learning Project:

1
Martin Luther King Jr.Service Learning Project

• Increasing Youth Awareness
• of Homelessness

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Goal and Objectives

• Goal
• Students will conduct an education and awareness
  outreach to children of all ages on critical
  issues facing the homeless population
  
• Objectives
• Youth Health Service Corps students will be able
  to
  
• Communicate the basic beliefs of Martin Luther
  King, Jr. as they relate to the empowerment of
  the homeless
  
• Provide information on the most critical issues
  facing the homeless
  
• Engage children of all ages in creative outreach
  activities that address their feelings about
  homelessness
  
• Implement age appropriate teaching methods

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Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.?

• The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., a minister and
  global civil rights activist was born in 1929 and
  died in 1968 fighting for the right of workers to
  earn a decent living.

Days before his murder, King told striking
sanitation workers in Memphis, Tenn., "We are
tired of working our hands off and laboring every
day and not even making a wage adequate with
daily basic necessities of life.
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The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is
Born

• The national Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of
  Service was started in 1994 by former
  Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Harris Wofford and
  Atlanta Congressman John Lewis, who co-authored
  the King Holiday and Service Act.

The federal legislation challenges Americans to
transform the King Holiday into a day of citizen
action through volunteer service in honor of Dr.
King. The federal legislation was signed into law
by President Bill Clinton on August 23, 1994.
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What Was Dr. Kings Dream?

• Supporters of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of
  Service seek to fulfill Dr. Kings dream of the
  Beloved Community, a global vision, in which
  poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be
  tolerated.
• As Dr. King often said, Injustice anywhere is a
  threat to justice everywhere.

6
12 Years and Counting

• For the last twelve years volunteers have joined
  together to create service learning projects that
  help reverse the global injustices of
  homelessness, poverty, sub-standard housing,
  illiteracy, environmental disregard and
  disparities in healthcare access and racism.

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How Can We Support the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Day of Service?

• During the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service
  2007, the CT Youth Health Service Corps in
  conjunction with Learn and Serve America will
  conduct an education and awareness outreach to
  children of all ages on critical issues facing
  the homeless population.

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The Homeless In America

• In America, on any given night in October,
  444,000 people experienced homelessness - which
  translates to 6.3 of the population of people
  living in poverty.
• On a given night in February, 842,000
  experienced homelessness - which translates to
  almost 10 of the population of people living in
  poverty.
• Converting these estimates into an annual
  projection
  
• 2.3 million people (based on the October
  estimate) and
  
• 3.5 million people (based on the February
  estimate) or
  
• Approximately 1 of the U.S. population
  experiences homelessness each year,
  
• 38 (October) to 39 (February) of them are
  children

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How Does Homelessness Affect Children?

• A 1992 U.S. Department of Education report,
  Serving Homeless Children, stated "...homeless
  children may have special social and emotional
  needs resulting from a destabilized, disrupted,
  or confused family life.

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The Problems of Homeless Children

• Homeless children experience a range of problems
  including
  
• physical problems hunger and poor nutrition
  lack of or inadequate access to medical and
  dental care lack of or inadequate immunization,
  leading to susceptibility to disease lack of or
  inadequate hygiene lack of or inadequate sleep
  and susceptibility to illness and infection.
• 2. behavior problems antisocial behavior
  disruptive behavior, and inadequate social skills
  such as the inability to share and the tendency
  to develop inappropriate relationships with
  adults.
• 3. academic problems irregular attendance at
  school lack of an appropriate study space where
  homework can be done lack of access to library
  resources or reference books at home.

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Laws that Protect the Homeless in America

• Beginning in 1983, homeless advocates around the
  country demanded that the federal government
  acknowledge homelessness as a national problem
  requiring a national response.
• The Homeless Persons' Survival Act introduced in
  1986 contained emergency relief measures,
  preventive measures, and long-term solutions to
  homelessness.
• The Homeless Eligibility Clarification Act of
  1986 removed permanent address requirements and
  other barriers to existing programs that also
  benefit the homeless such as Supplemental
  Security Income, Aid to Families with Dependent
  Children, Veterans Benefits, Food Stamps, and
  Medicaid.

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Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act

• Legislation containing emergency relief
  provisions for shelter, food,
  
• mobile health care, and transitional housing --
  was introduced as
  
• the Urgent Relief for the Homeless Act, passed in
  1987.
  
• After the death of its chief Republican sponsor,
  Representative Stewart
  
• B. McKinney of Connecticut, the act was renamed
  the Stewart B.
  
• McKinney Homeless Assistance Act.
• Revised in 1990, The Stewart McKinney Act now
  ensures that homelessness children have access to
  an appropriate education.
  

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What are the Rights of Homeless Children?

• This legislation now ensures that all youth who
  experience homelessness have the right to
  
• Go to school, no matter where they live or how
  long they have lived there.
  
• Receive transportation to school
• Enroll in school without a permanent address
• Receive the same programs and services provided
  to all other youth served in these programs
  including access to medical care, food, clothing
  and social services.

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How Does Homelessness Affect You?

• In your recent CT Youth Health Service Corps Tier
  One training, you interviewed a person who is
  familiar with homelessness in Connecticut.
  
• Take a moment to reflect on the impact of this
  discussion by answering the following questions.
  

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Reflections from MLK Day of Service The
Homeless Population

• What was the most memorable question that you
  heard on the day of this discussion?
  
• What were some of the critical issues raised
  during the discussion?
  
• How did these issues make you feel?
• Did anything that you heard in the discussion
  surprise you?
  
• Do you know of anyone or have you yourself ever
  experienced homelessness? Write a few sentences
  about the experience.
  
• From the choices listed below, select all of the
  ways in which you would like to help youth in
  your community become more aware of homeless
  
• __ distribute educational information __
  provide a direct service
  
• __ engage youth in a creative project __
  educate my peers
  

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Time to Learn and Serve!

• In a few moments you will begin to form teams
  with other students and begin to plan your Martin
  Luther King Day of Service outreach activity.
  
• When preparing your activity, here are some
• Teaching Tips for you to Remember!

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Teaching Tips

• Establishing Presence
• Introduce self, classroom rules
• Speak loudly clearly
• Position self closest to most number of children,
  group children around you
  
• Always be respectful to students even if
  misbehaving
  
• Act professionally
• Regaining Students Attention
• Establish signals at the start of class
• Raise hands, clap hands, flick lights, etc

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Teaching Tips

• Stay Organized
• Work from an outline and stick to it
• Summarize Key Points
• Redirect discussion when off topic
• Ask Questions
• Helps keep children engaged
• Means of evaluating what children learned
• Stimulates learning
• Positive feedback for participation correct
  answers
  

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Teaching Children Ages 5-7

• Learn best when active while learning
• Eager to learn, but are easily fatigued and need
  short periods of rest
  
• Like organized games- very competitive
• Cannot consider another childs viewpoint
• Can only consider one variable at a time
• Enjoy puppets, drawing, and role playing

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Teaching Children Ages 8-10

• Very active, need breaks from tasks to do things
  that are fun and involve use of energy
  
• Competitive
• Eager to ask questions
• Team games are popular
• Admire TV stars, heroes, sports figures
• Can consider opinion of others
• Able to classify and order things

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Teaching Children Ages 11-14

• Know-it-all attitude
• Bodies going through physical changes- self
  conscious about appearance and growth, early
  development may be upsetting
  
• Friends are important
• Can think about concepts they have not
  experienced directly
  
• Can understand ideas beyond the scope of the
  individual
  

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Reflection Questions

• 1. Why are you serving today?
• 2. What is the connection between Dr. Kings
  legacy and honoring him by serving others?
  
• 3. If Dr. King were alive today, what issues
  would concern him? How would he react?
  
• 4. What are some ways you can continue to honor
  Dr. King throughout the year?
  

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Reflection Activity

• Create a newsletter in which CT Youth Health
  Service Corps volunteers report on the Martin
  Luther King, Jr. Day of Service project
  activities.
• Share this newsletter with other CTYHSC peers in
  schools or local communities.
  

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References

• United States Homeless Statistics
• www.homeless.org.au/statistics/us
• CT State Department of Education Homeless
  Education
  
• www.state.ct.us/sde/deps/homeless/FactSheets/Whois
  homeless.pdf
  
• The King Center The Beloved Community
• http//www.thekingcenter.org/prog/bc/
• Time.com Martin Luther King in His Own Words
• http//www.time.com/time/photoessays/mlk/