Homeless Children in the United States: Celebrating the Resilience of Children

Social Studies Review, Fall 2004 by Betts, Brenda

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this article is to provide information for teachers and students about three significant migrations of homeless children in the United States. Information and resources for instruction are included in this text. Homeless children are not a new phenomenon in the United States. Our history is replete with stories of resilient children from many cultural backgrounds who have demonstrated remarkable courage and strength during difficult and frightening conditions.

The topics of homelessness and the resilience of children are relevant for students in our schools today. Learning about children's experiences in the past will help students in the present to overcome the challenges they encounter at school and in the community. History becomes meaningful to students when they have the opportunity to learn about events from the perspectives of other children. The goal of this activity is to help students understand the experiences of diverse groups of children within the contexts of historical events.

This article focuses on three significant, but often overlooked, migrations of children. The first migration was the Underground Railroad, the escape of African-American slave children and their families from the horrific conditions of slavery in the South to the free northern states and to Canada. The second migration was the Orphan Train Riders, the relocation of orphaned and abandoned children from large cities in the North and East Coast to rural communities in the Mid-West and other states. The third migration was the One Thousand Children, the relocation of more than one thousand Jewish children during the Holocaust. These children were sent from their homes in Europe to Jewish foster homes in the United States.

The goals of these three migrations were to protect the children, ensure their safety, rescue them from unbearable conditions and possible death, and to provide a better life for them. The children of these three migrations demonstrated remarkable courage, strength and resilience. Whether they were slaves, orphans, or living in a war-torn country, they were the victims of circumstances created by other people and by desperate social conditions. The children in these migrations faced uncertain futures and unknown challenges, but they proved that they were survivors.

INSTRUCTlON

Teaching and learning about the history and experiences of these homeless children can be accomplished through the use of graphic organizers, historical background summaries, web sites, and bibliographies. Five graphic organizers are provided at the end of this article. There is one for each migration group (total = 3), one for all three groups together, and one that is completed (teacher's answer key). It is suggested that each migration is studied separately, the graphic organizers completed and then comparisons be made across all three migrations.

By using the graphic organizers and information, students can look for similarities and differences in the three migrations. They can record the time periods, number of children involved, location(s), causes and consequences, organizations that supported the migrations, the people involved, primary sources, modes of transportation used, themes and goals. The graphic organizers provide a method for collecting and recording information, which can be used for additional instructional activities.

Students can also compare their lives to the lives of the children in the migrations. The focus of this topic is the resilience of children under unbearable conditions. The children in these three migration periods were able to overcome obstacles and challenges in order to survive. In each circumstance, many children were separated from their families. Often, family members were lost forever. Yet, many of the children were rescued and cared for by strangers.

Reoccurring themes for all three of the migration periods are: hardship, struggle, loneliness, fear, an unknown future, dependence upon the kindness of strangers, strength, determination, courage and the resilience of children.

The information in this article can be adapted for use in several grade levels. United States history is taught in the Fifth and Eighth Grades, so it would be appropriate to learn about these migrations in those grade levels. The study of these migrations can also relate to the topics of family, types of families, adoption, foster care, charitable organizations, towns and communities, people who make a difference, meeting ordinary and extraordinary people, cultural diversity, and linking the past to the present.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was a network to assist African-American slaves to escape from bondage in the South. This volunteer organization helped thousands of people to reach freedom. It was a clandestine operation that began during the colonial period and reached its peak from 1830 to 1865. In the decade before the Civil War, it is estimated that the Underground Railroad was responsible for helping approximately 70,000 African-Americans escape from slavery.