Project Description
Proyecto ComUNIDAD
Lisa Griffin & Andrea Adams Team
Proyecto ComUNIDAD
Griffin-Adams 10th Grade Team
August - December 2017
Essential Questions:
San Diego’s High Tech High tenth grade students developed friendships with sophomores at Tijuana’s Instituto México Americano del Noroeste (IMAN), discussing and researching shared issues of injustice and opportunities for hope in our two cities along the US-Mexico border, finding common ground and connection in their weekly Skype video chats and shared photo posts via Instagram. Students interviewed experts and leaders connected to the research issues, and created visual stories about their research through cut paper art, a twist on traditional Mexican folk art, papel picado. Students will meet at Friendship Park and exhibit their art and research to the public at the border on December 9th, and at High Tech High on December 14th.
Lisa Griffin & Andrea Adams Team
Proyecto ComUNIDAD
Griffin-Adams 10th Grade Team
August - December 2017
Essential Questions:
- As high school students on the border - what do we have in COMMON; how are the issues facing teens on both sides of the US-Mexico border similar and different?
- How can we share our visions of UNITY and HOPE; what do we want to tell the world about what matters to us?
San Diego’s High Tech High tenth grade students developed friendships with sophomores at Tijuana’s Instituto México Americano del Noroeste (IMAN), discussing and researching shared issues of injustice and opportunities for hope in our two cities along the US-Mexico border, finding common ground and connection in their weekly Skype video chats and shared photo posts via Instagram. Students interviewed experts and leaders connected to the research issues, and created visual stories about their research through cut paper art, a twist on traditional Mexican folk art, papel picado. Students will meet at Friendship Park and exhibit their art and research to the public at the border on December 9th, and at High Tech High on December 14th.
- Instagram Photo Sharing with Partners
- Original Papel Picado - Areas of Injustice and Opportunities for Hope
- I-Search Papers on Student Digital Portfolios
Research Paper
Homeless: We Want Real Change
I am choosing homelessness as my topic because homelessness is a problem that is everywhere. I can't go to school or hang out with some friends without seeing a homeless person on the streets. As I start to research about my topic and being my interviews, I hope to gain a new perspective of who a homeless person really is throughout my research and to diminish the stereotypical perception of the homeless that is commonly portrayed.
I hoped to volunteer at places that could give me the opportunity to serve food to those in need. I wanted to host a bake sale to raise enough money to be able to create t-shirts that would display a more positive representation of homeless people. Everyone who would purchase a shirt would not only be spreading a positive message as they wear it, but the money that is gained from the sales would go straight to a homeless organization. It is nearly impossible to be oblivious to the fact that there are not enough homeless shelters in California and the homeless population is growing tremendously .
I see homeless people everywhere and it is concerning that many of the homeless population are youth. To be observing and researching this issue and not being able to do anything about it is extremely unfortunate and unfair to those affected by this. This project is going to give me a chance to help out the homeless. It is devastating to even try and fathom the idea of there being kids out there without a place to sleep and that are seeking a shelter.
There was a story in the news about homeless people living in tents on the sidewalks and receiving tickets for sidewalk disturbance and it got me thinking. I wonder why they don't go to shelters and spend the night in a safe place? Do the shelters not provide enough room for those in the area or do they prefer to be in their own tents? My major question would be how can I help the homeless children/youth community?
I would want to talk with people that work at shelters and see what experiences they have with homeless youth. If I could talk with someone that focuses on that type of work, I would want to know what's the main reason children are homeless and what is she doing or what are organizations doing to help out this specific homeless group. If I have some extra time I think reaching out to some police officers and asking about their experiences with the homeless community would be great, especially because I would be receiving a whole other point of view.
To start off the project we read the book Into the Beautiful North. This book went over many topics that we are talking about in our project, such as poverty, injustice, women’s rights, politics,and more. Luis Alberto Urrea took his readers on a detailed mission from a made up town called Tres Camarones which is in Mexico, all the way to San Diego. When talking about poverty, Luis described a real Tijuana garbage dump which was a place that I would imagine people with little to no home live. The detail in this section of the book was so informative that I felt like I knew exactly what he was talking about. This sparked my interest in learning about the homeless population and what their living conditions are like.
I started by looking into homeless shelters and noticed that everyone else in the homeless group was looking at a subtopic of homelessness, such as: pregnant homeless women, homeless veterans, health in homeless populations. When I started to brainstorm about different type of homeless people I came upon homeless children and how their are special places that these kids can go to to receive the education that they need to succeed. This changed my interest into people instead of shelters. Specifically children because I wanted to research about a deep topic that would really touch someone.
I reached out to my peers for websites that they might come upon while researching their own topic. We had to have interviews and some sort of experience to go along with our website sources. These would later help us on our research paper. Homeless children is definitely a very touching subject to look at but I feel like someone has to talk about it.
I interviewed Tiffany Tran a lady that works with homeless youth. Prior to this interview I had to come up with some questions that could keep our conversation going and would help with my research. She talked to me about the programs they offer at the San Diego Youth Services and how it helps the homeless population with their education, job finding, independent skills, etc. I was very interested when I found out about the 24 hour emergency shelter that she mentioned. Later in my paper I go over some of the facts that she mentioned during the interview.
It was really stressful for me because I sent out email after email trying to get an interview with someone but most of these people were so busy with their jobs that they didn't get back to me till weeks after. It was understanding because they work closely with the homeless population and are constantly doing more and more work. Since the deadline for our research being done was approaching rapidly I was getting worried about not being able to have a interview done on time. Once Tiffany and a couple of other people had reached out to me I had a sense of relief and was feeling much better about my work and the deadline that I had to meet.
In an article that I read that was on the San Diego Rescue Mission website I learned that 21% of homeless San Diegans are in families. This means that there are homeless children in this family. The families need help because they can not get it on their own. Having parents without a job is extremely difficult for these children. The San Diego Rescue mission helps out families and provides the children with a safe place to learn. These children tend to have delays in their development and they suffer from anxiety, emotional distress, and toxic stress. Of course not every homeless child has all of these things but a good amount of them have one or more of these things (Freitas). According to an article by KPBS, homeless children struggle to keep up with their peers. A low 1:6 ratio further ensures children will receive the attention and care they require in order to develop to their potential.
On the San Diego Youth Services website, I read about how last year there were 192 youth that received safe shelter. More than 2,000 youth are seen annually on the streets by the outreach team. “As part of the Youth Emergency Shelter mission, outreach workers search the streets of San Diego in search of homeless children, providing them with survival information, warm clothing, something to eat, and an opportunity to get off the streets.”
According to Tiffany Tran, a former employee at the San Diego Youth Services, there is a program called Transitional Housing that is offered to homeless people in the age group of 16-25, offered by the San Diego Youth Services. This helps the homeless people with independent living skills starting from simple things like having a grocery list or a budget and going into bigger things like resumes. This program puts on career fairs to help inspire these people. Many homeless people living in this housing do have their own children. They are receiving help as a family. They do work to pay the rent for their home and have conditions to live there. There's an 24 hour emergency facility for homeless youth that includes 20 beds. Its location is confidential because the homeless people do not feel safe when they arrive at this location due to the emergency that they are in. Common reasons people are in crisis and stay there are because they feel unsafe at their home or because they arrived to San Diego and have no home.
While doing research I went to a homeless cafeteria where people go to get food. I was on the main floor where the food was being passed out and was helping people that used walkers, canes, wheelchairs, dogs, etc, and bringing them food. They had a priority over people without those things because with their walkers and wheelchairs it makes it hard for them to move around the cafeteria and they take up more space in the line. I noticed that there were significantly more men than women. When I was serving food to the homeless pregnant women and children had more options to choose from. The head chef works there every week day. As soon as the last person in line gets their food the kitchen closes. Thats final. You can't be running late. Once it's closed, it's closed.
According to the Alpha Project “In 2003, children under the age of 18 accounted for 39% of the homeless population” Some of these kids were high school students with nowhere to go home. In its 2007 survey of 23 American cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that families with children comprised 23% of the homeless population (ALPHA PROJECT) The definition for child according to dictionary.com is “a person between birth and full growth” Research also shows that 40% of homeless men have served in the armed forces. When driving through downtown I do notice homeless people with signs that say they were in the military.
Reflection
When I began researching this problem I was impacted by the statistics that I found. The facts that I explained above were revoking to hear. I wish that something like this would have never existed. I continued to dive deeper into my research which helped me understand even more about my topic. I learned new skills in researching and in reaching out. I was able to construct a great interview email that would effectively secure an interview. I was very proud of this because I feel so much more confident in my ability to interview someone and get more information when needed.
When it came to creating and cutting out a papel picado, I struggled. I switch my idea many times before settling on one that I thought would best fit for my topic. I learned so much about my persistence and about how much I can do when I am under pressure. I am not the proudest of this but I definitely can get down to crunch time and finish my work if I needed to. My process was great because I was able to see my revisions. It's crazy to look back on my drafts and see how much I have improved.
Having a partner from another school, IMAN Preparatoria, was not a new thing to me because I did a project like this last year. It was very different than I expected. In the beginning it was very awkward but as we came along and finally met them we were so much more open. We exchanged social media and became friends. Definitely a moment that I won't forget. Over time I became more open with others and learned more about myself.
When our IMAN partners arrived we were excited to finally see them in person. It was the first time we would ever see them outside of a computer screen. It was an awesome feeling to converse with them with ease. When we exchanged social media it was awesome because we all wanted to. It was a mutual desire and it felt great. I wonder if we could still converse with them and talk to my partner group even more. I wish we could have gone to their school and met all of their friends and shadowed them for the day like they did to us.
Works Cited
Freitas, Michelle. “Children’s Center.” San Diego Rescue Mission, KBPS, 23 Sept. 2014, www.sdrescue.org/our-programs/childrens-center/.
O’Sullivan, Laura Galdorisi. “Youth Emerency Center.” Youth Emergency Shelter - San Diego Youth Services, CECO, 6 Apr. 2017, www.sdyouthservices.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Youth_Emergency_Shelter.
Sandiegouniontribune.com, The San Diego Union-Tribune , 17 Nov. 2016, www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/data-watch/sd-me-homeless-population-20161117-story.html.