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Resources
for Volunteers and Librarians working with Homeless Children
Statement
of Purpose
Children's Books...
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Stephanie
Hartman
Information
and Library Science 503-70
Service Project
Statement
of Purpose:
I began this project with the goal of creating a resource guide for volunteers
working with children in homeless shelters. Many volunteers have no background
in homelessness and the issues that come with it, such as poverty, domestic
violence, addiction, etc. There are countless issues that must be taken
into account when working with homeless children, such as developmental
delays, literacy development, issues regarding multiculturalism, and developing
the child's self-esteem. This guide serves as a resource not only for
the education and/or exploration of the issues, but also as a tool to
help volunteers better serve the needs of the children with whom they
work.
Although
this project started by focusing on volunteers working with children in
homeless shelters, it quickly began to grow. As I conducted my research
and read countless papers, books and information on the topic, I realized
that in fact the role of librarians, particularly school and public librarians,
can and often does, play a very large role in the education and growth
of the homeless child. Librarians can also play a roll in the education
of the general public on issues of homelessness.
One of the
main focuses of working with homeless children is literacy development.
Book choice is sometimes more complex with homeless children as you want
and need to present books with nontraditional families and homes. A focus
on multiculturalism is also very important. During my time volunteering
in the shelter it was not unusual to have three to five different languages
being spoken at any given time. Living in a shelter presents many issues
for children, from the loss of security and privacy, to the introduction
to new people, languages, and cultures. Finding books which represent
a variety of the above can be very helpful to the well-being of the homeless
child.
Contained
within these pages is a range of resources and bibliographies for the
shelter volunteer, for the librarian looking to put together an outreach
program for their community's homeless, and for anyone who wants to educate
themselves or the public on the issues of homeless children and families.
I
have used many of these books and resources in my own volunteer work with
homeless children and have found many more quality resources during the
course of researching this project. In general, the summaries come from
the database or resource where I found the complete citation. I am happy
to have a place to pass them along and hope they will be of inspiration
and use to all those interested. In time this page will hopefully live
on my volunteer's organization's website.
Last updated on April 28, 2002.
Send any comments to Stephanie Hartman.
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