Philadelphia Students Get to the Root of Homelessness

When Philadelphia eighth graders studying homelessness volunteered at a food bank, it wasn't the end of their service-learning project. It was just the beginning of a process that would enrich the entire 2003-04 school year.

The students from Grover Washington, Jr., Middle School's "learning support" class had partnered with Ready Willing and Able, a nonprofit that helps formerly homeless men end their addiction to drugs, and find housing and employment. During a class visit, two RWA graduates, Gary Swimpson and James Ballow, shared their stories, sparing no details of the challenges they faced, from living in cardboard boxes to begging for food. After hearing the stories, the students and teacher Jennifer Parker spent an afternoon working alongside RWA volunteers at the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank — an experience that helped them understand why people go hungry in their hometown. Jennifer Drew, from the Food Bank, followed up with the youths, visiting their class and engaging them in an interactive exercise called "Hunger 101," designed to demonstrate the causes and effects of hunger.

Armed with this new knowledge, the students decided that volunteering at the food bank wasn't enough. They wanted to address the root cause of hunger and homelessness: unemployment. They decided to meet with local employers and lobby them to hire RWA trainees. Working in groups of twos and threes, the students prepared and rehearsed their message, learning how to make eye contact, introduce themselves, provide information, make their requests, and thank the employers for their time. With RWA leave-behind packets in hand, the students spoke with the managers of ten local businesses, including Rite Aid, Pep Boys, Shop Rite, and Home Depot.

"At first they were quite nervous and shy," said Michelle Loucas of Need in Deed, the Philadelphia service-learning organization that helped guide the project. "This really took them out of their comfort zone." It was a challenge at first, but the students grew more comfortable over time and even convinced Parker to take them on visits to more employers.

Though it's still too early to know how many jobs this will lead to, the impact on the men served by RWA can already be seen. "To have these kids campaigning for men who are trying to turn their lives around, that really touches my heart," says Swimpson. "They are giving us all hope."