Homelessness, housing and poverty are valuable as topics for study because they:
- Help children to make sense of the economic injustices in the world and form thoughtful opinions for themselves.
- Provide an opportunity for schools to interact with the community and establish service-learning partnerships
- Give students the chance to make a contribution toward ending homelessness.
- Identify stereotypes and dispel myths about people without homes.
- Reinforce the value of education in fulfilling one's own career goals.
- Sensitize students to be more accepting of those in their school who might be without a home.
- Prepare students to deal with important social problems instead of "sheltering" them from the concerns of our society.
For those wishing to educate children or young adults about family homelessness, please feel free to use the resources provided below.
- Unsheltered Lives: Teaching about Homelessness in Grades K-12, An Interdisciplinary Activity Guide
- Homelessness Fact Sheet for Children in Kindergarten Through Grade 2
- Homelessness Fact Sheet for Children in Grades 3 Through 5
- Homelessness in the U.S. for Middle School Students
- Homelessness in the U.S. for High School Students
- A Kids Guide to Hunger & Homelessness: Service Learning Projects for Your Students
- Books with Homeless Theme
- Films with Homeless Theme
Check out these student-appropriate videos as well...
- The Young & Homeless; Streetlife (60 mins)
Stories from homeless teenagers across the UK. - Hardtimes Generation: Homeless Kids (13 mins)
- Hardtimes Generation: Families Living in Cars (14 mins)
This two-part series is written and produced by 60 Minutes. - Sesame Street: Growing Hope Against Hunger Highlight Reel (4 mins)
- Our Journey Home (55 mins)
Singer-songwriter, Jewel, narrates the stories of three families struggling to maintain their housing.
- Season 1, E4, of Through Our Eyes, Sesame Street's new docuseries, explores homelessness through the eyes of the children experiencing it. Hosted by HBO Max.