People without Homes Toolkit

We are taught to love all humans and help others, but as a society we tend to be less empathetic when we come face-to-face with someone experiencing homelessness and poverty. Breaking the general stereotypes associated with homelessness and poverty with information and ideas may greatly help individuals who are experiencing such struggles. This toolkit provides information, activities, and resources to help youth use their voice, heart, and hands to take big and small actions for a meaningful purpose.

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This toolkit guides youth, educators, group leaders, families, and community groups as they investigate the issue of homelessness and poverty and prepare to take action. Contents:

Without a Home or a Secure Income to Thrive

Many people experience hardship, and some have resources and privileges to help them thrive while others struggle to find work or a living wage. When we understand the forces that work for and against people in poverty, we can begin to take action. Each young person has a voice, heart, and hands to take big and small actions for a meaningful purpose.

“There is a lot that happens around the world we cannot control. We cannot stop earthquakes, we cannot prevent droughts, and we cannot prevent all conflict, but when we know where the hungry, the homeless and the sick exist, then we can help.” - Jan Schakowsky

Share this film to inspire empathy and youth action.

Definitions and Key Questions

See the handout below for Vocabulary and Key Questions related to poverty and homelessness.

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Definitions:

As young people build knowledge and passion for taking action, they can look up vocabulary and read more about the issues and needs. Here are some of the relevant vocabulary words.

Key Questions for Learning and Service:

These key questions may guide investigation or generate inquiry about other areas of interest. The best service-learning experiences follow the passions of youth and local concerns. Here are some sample questions:

Background Information

Share these background resources to inspire and inform youth about poverty issues and actions.

Lesson Plans

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Learning to Give has hundreds of lesson plans to inspire and inform youth action. Search our full list of poverty-related lesson plans for topics that fit your interests and age of your kids. Narrow your search with keywords like justice, homelessness, nonprofit, or jobs. Here are some sample lesson plans:

Community Resources

For meaningful service-learning projects with long-lasting impact, connect youth to people and nonprofit organizations and natural resources in the local community related to their area of interest. This is an opportunity for a field trip (may be virtual) or for an expert to teach about issues and what is already being done. Youth may write, call, or interview experts about needs and partnerships.

​Project Ideas

There are four types of service. The ideas below are grouped by these types. The best service-learning experiences follow the passions of youth and local concerns. These are provided to start conversations and ideas.

This overview Guide for Planning Service-Learning describes each step of the process and actions to take.

This blank chart for Planning Service-Learning helps youth prepare for who does what for maximum service and learning impact

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Literature Guides

In Sam and the Lucky Money, we all recognize the joy of Sam who has money to spend any way he chooses adn the difficult decision as he browses the toy store and the bakery. But Sam surprises us all by giving his money to a stranger who doesn’t have any shoes. This book will spark a discussion about feeling lucky with what we have and helping others in creative and small ways. Note that Sam made the decision himself, and the freedom to choose made his decision much more meaningful.

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The literature guide for Through the Cracks provides before, during, and after-reading discussion questions. Choose from activities and discussion questions to build youth's understanding of their potential impact on community, as well as, exploring the idea of taking action to find one's own voice and purpose in life.

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The book We Are Not Yet Equal is an adaptation for young people of the New York Times Bestselling book, White Rage. This book received several accolades including an NAACP Image Award finalist book and a NYPL Best Book for Teens. It helps build understanding of the story of civil rights and race relations and what it means in the current world they are living.

Quotes

Ways to use quotes with youth: Use it to spark conversation. Write about its meaning or do research on the person or topic. Represent the quote visually and display in social media. Tell whether you agree or disagree with the quote. Rewrite it to speak for you.

“We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.” — Mother Teresa

“People…were poor not because they were stupid or lazy. They worked all day long, doing complex physical tasks. They were poor because the financial institution in the country did not help them widen their economic base.” — Muhammad Yunus, Author

“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life.” — Nelson Mandela

“Just because a child’s parents are poor or uneducated is no reason to deprive the child of basic human rights to health care, education and proper nutrition.” — Marian Wright Edelman

“If poverty is a disease that infects the entire community in the form of unemployment and violence, failing schools and broken homes, then we can’t just treat those symptoms in isolation. We have to heal that entire community.” — President Barack Obama