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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 346 97E PS 020 591 TITLE Family Friends in Homeless Shelters. INSTITUTION National Council on the Aging, Inc., Washington, D.C. SPONS AGENCY Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, New Brunswick, N.J. PUB DATE 92 NOTE 33p.; For related documents, see PS 020 592-594.. AVAILABLE FROM National Council on the Aging, Inc., 409 Third Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20024 (free). PUB TYPE Reports - Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Child Advocacy; Family Problems; Family Programs; Helping Relationship; *Homeless People; *Intergenerational Programs; Middle Aged Adults; *Older Adults; Program Descriptions; Social Support Groups; *Volunteers; Volunteer Training; *Young Children IDENTIFIERS Adult Child Relationship; Family Advocacy; *Family Friends Program ABSTRACT Family Friends is a nationwide outreach program that enlists the support of senior volunteers in providing nurturing help to children and their parents. Homeless Children is a branch of the program in which volunteers are matched to homeless families with young children, and, during biweekly visits to homeless shelters, become surrogate grandparents to the children. The volunteers serve as tutors and role models to the children and as advocates and sources of/information to the families. Each local Family Friends/Homeless Children project involves a coalition of agencies. Each project has: (1) a project director, who is a trained professional with experience with at-risk families; (2) an advisory committee of community leaders, professionals, and specialists; (3) a local sponsoring agency that recruits and trains volunteers, provides education and recreation, works with public schools, serves as a liaison with health projects for the homeless, and provides information to families; and (4) volunteers, who are screened and trained. Establishing a Family Friends/Homeless Children program involves recruiting and training volunteers, selecting families to participate in the program, fundraising, and promoting and evaluating the program. (BC) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Imprerement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Niftrhu. document has been reproduced ss ... to received from the person or organisation .ling it 0 Minor chomps hare bean made to improve reproduction quality Cn, Pointe ()Ivey, or opmons stated in due dome ment do not rocisserdy reproSent OW& lort, OERI position or coney 3 4, 41.1D 7.4 4 4k.` "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY M \QOYN C \'\W( TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC1- rir II -74 The Aational (.inincil on the Aging Mc. wishes to thank The Salvation Amy. and B01) Stockliekl, IktItitnow, (Ind The Dallasjetrish Coalition jhr the Homeless fin- the plu4ognphs used in this publication, 1 Family Friends in Homeless Shelters Sponsored by The National Council on the Aging no place to go," "We've got Karen told her Family Friend. FAMILY FRIENDS PROGRAM 7 "Without their , fr..A Laris;badi Family Friend, their days would be bleak indeed." A The three children on our cover are homeless. They are part of the he shucking truth is that fastest growing segment of the homeless population in our country. tuaiy's I R nneless person is likely to he part of a young family But, despite the harsh realities facing them as they begin each day, froill Mc of man\ diverse they are not hopeless. Thanks to a group of volunteers called Family ethnic backgrounds. Andworst of Friends, they know a special person who truly cares about them. allt1 le lastest grow* gnmp They listen in rapt attention as their Family Fiend reads to them among the honicicss is children Lill- about the wonders of the world beyond their shelter. Their Family dcr the age ut. 18, who arc Friend takes them on excursions so they can see that world through par of a lainilv heack.d by a ill()ther eager eyes. That Family Friend gives their lives stability, hope, and warmth. Without their Family Friend, their days would be bleak Nearly hall a million children in this indeed. country do IRA have homes. In New York City alone, 13,000 chil- In Baltimore, a dozen men and women aged 55 and over come to the dren and their families live in shelteis shelter twice a week to spend a couple of hours with a group of children and welfare hotelsthe final move or to take their individual "grandchild" on an outing to an art gallery, in a long line of desperate measures. sdence center, aquarium, ball game, or even a pizza parlor. This gaming phenomenon of homeless families and children is nothing short of a nati(mal crisis that must be Family Friends is a nationwide out- The Family Friend is available treated with the urgency demanded reach program, created by The Na- as a tutor. Helping children with by this critical situation. Pnwiding tic mal Council on the Aging, that their studies paves the way for them needed services to these people de- enlists the support of senior volun- to stay in school when many fitced pends heavily on the goodwill and teers to pmvide nurturing help to with their situation drop out. CU.( )Fts ()I dedicated vttlunteers. children and their parents. Family Friends/liomeless Chiklren is the The Family Friend gives parents 'rhe Family Friends I lonleleNs Chil- arm of Family Friends that operates some time off. Being freed even dren pr( )Iain pro% ides one impor- within homeless shelters. for a few hourst.rom the constant tant kind ( needed service to what burden of child care and the worries is perhaps thc homeless p(vulatiolis Thr( aigh Family Friends. I lomeless that with it go parents a chance gives IlL'ediCst segment the chddren. Children, senior volunteers are to look kw Kising and empktyment. matched to homek.ss kimilies with t's a ve\ hard \ orkl ollt there. y( king children. During their twice- The Family Friend is an advo- Nlayhe in the smallest possible way weekly visits, the voltmteers bec(nne cate of the homeless family. lin SCL'd in the mind ot a stirrog.ite grant Iparents lending a 1)1:ti1ting :I Intervening with kmdlords who ae chiki kit thew is a better helping hand and loving care--in way to live too often reluctant to rent to a home- a number of ways. in the world than \% hat IR' now less family can make a workl dif- Of s.- says Family Friend i Liniet kn( ference to the chiklren and their Raskin. parents, os importan I wan them to feel ,ve good abou themselves." .01 eds ago- The Family Friend is a source of The Family Friend is a valued important information for the role model and mentor. Mast of family. Counseling the parents the mothers need advice on such matters as budgeting, handling bills, alx mit available community services and providing access to "off the writing resumes, and preparing for street" accommodatk)ns at senior jol) interviews. Family Friends can offer wisdom and insight into these centers, recreation centers, libraries, or other gathering places helps break tasks based on their Own experience the pattern of feeling helpless and in the world and at home. unwanted. 12 k 3 Tad is a seven-year-old who has no permanent address. His day begins The Family Friend is a door- opener to the outside world. Lack sr at 5 a.m. because he must help his mother and younger sister pack up their few belongings and leave their "home" by 6:30 a.m. of time and money means most children in shelters miss out on enter- They "live" in a shelter for the homeless. tainment, att, and culture. The Family Friend can give those children a Having a complete breakfast is not guaranteed; a cold snack is often all chance to see some goodness and they can hope for. beauty in the world beyond the shelter walls. Tad goes to school, but he knows he may not remain long in that particular school. Ashamed of being stigmatized as "homeless" by his The Family Friend gives stabil- schoolmates, he tends to avoid them. In fact, he seldom makes ity to their lives. any Mends and does not get involved inschool activities. He knows how great the pain The km of a family's address means will be when he's forced to leave, because he's been through this before. the loss of its anchor. The lack of an address makes finding a job even During the day, Tad's mother must use public transportation to seek harder, because the employer has no permanent housing, employment, and another shelter for the next night. way to contact the job applicant. A Tad sees his father infrequently, because the welfare system has no Family Friend brings a sense of sta- facilities for conjugal living. His father must "sign in"at the front desk when bility, continuity, and self-esteem he visits his wife and children. tbr the children and for the parents. The generous act of a Family Friend After school, Tad's Family Friend, Henry, meets him at the shelter. They can help break down isolation and spend an hour talking, visiting, and working on Tad's reading assignment desperation. for school. Then they take a break and walk a few blocks to an ice cream shop for a light snack. Tad's friendship with Henry has given the boy a feeling of stability he's been missing. 1 4 Harriet 66, became a Family Friend because she loves children. She WHAT A FAMILY was paired with S-year-old Evan, who lived in a shelter with his 23-year-old FRIEND IS mother. The boy's father is dead. - A Family Friend is an older person "To begin with he was very reserved. But ofter two or three times with listener, talker, storyteller, teacher, me he became more relaxed. We went skipping down a street one day mentor, caregiver. A Family Friend that helped. We were laughing and singing. He had the besttime," she said. isat various timessupportive, ob- "He calls me grandma." jective, optimistic, curious, informa- tive, helpful, cheerful, or sad. A Family Friend is there when some- HOW FAMILY FRIENDS/ In 1990, Family Friends began to one needs a shoulder to lean on. HOMELESS CHIIDREN help another at-risk group, the rural STARTED poor. In contrast to the basic pro- A Family Friend becomes a grand- gram, which focuses On the chroni- parent to the children and parents. The Family Friends. I iomeless Chil- cally ill or disabled child, Rural They enjoy helping the families with dren program is an ou4.4rowth of Family Friends work with entire kimi- whom they are matched, and they NCOA's kunily Friends pr()gram. lies in distress. feel better t'or the part they play in \villa began in 1986 to match volun- making Family Friends such a suc- tcers \\.ith families of chronically ill Or In the Sallie year, NCOA introduced cessful pa)gram. disabled children. The otiginal Fam- Family Friends into homeless shelters ily Friolds program was funded '0). fc)r families and chiklren. Shelters in The Roben wu()(_I johnson Foun(Ll_ lialtinuwe (Salvatk)n Arm)'), Milwau- tint). pliilanthmpica I Karen, a shy 13-year-old who kee (Sc)cial l)evelopment Commis- )I'ga ni4it ion (Icy( )cd imprm ing the nation's si(m), and Dallas (Dallas Jewish lives in a Baltimore shelter with her health caw. mother and 3-year-old sister, de- ( (mliticni fin. the I Iomeless) have scribes Evelyn, her Family Friend: inatdied senior volunteers with parents :md children. The result has "She's very friendly. From the first Iven the creation of a small ak.ove of day, she was very natural with me, just like she'd known me." humanity for pers(ms searching ibr a 16 place t>live. 17 , 'r ; . FAMiY agenciesprograms serving home- WHAT A ; , r-tal,:r5 - FRIEND DOES less families and children, aging pro- ) " ,fr.T , 44-. grams, and others. Project staff members recruit and screen volun- A Family Friend reads to the children, teers and match them to families plays games, draws or paint.s, sings with children, aged 3-12, who need with the children--and helps the volunteer help. mother budget her meager funds. A Family Friend may help the mother Project Director. Each local pro- complete an employment or housing gram is run by a trained professional application, offer respite to a parent who has experience with families at who needs some time to search tör risk: 11he project director recruits and work and other lodging, or work with supervises the volunteers, who are the children on class assignments. asked to make an initial nine-month commitment to the pn)gram. Family HOW THE Friends volunteers spend at least four hours a day, two days a week, with PROGRAM OPERATES the chiklivn. The volunteer is gener- ally reimbursed for transix wtation Each lc xal Family Friendsi'l lomeless (hildren pn)ject is a coalition of and meals. Evelyn took 12-year-old Jessica on outings twice a week while she lived at a shelter with her father, an unemployed construction worker. They went to Baltimore's Science Center and the National Aquarium. The children, as a group, have gone on a Chesapeake Bay boat ride, learning about boats and ocean life. 19 Is