Paul, when my son was attending a private hippie school in Atlanta he went with his biology teacher on a homeless project program. It was written up in the NY Times and was very controversial. She and three other parents had a two week homeless immersion program where the kids (ten in all) slept outdoors in a playground. They were allowed one sleeping bag and one plastic bag. During the day they looked for work, visited downtown shelters and traveled by foot. They were given 5 dollars a day, I believe, for daily work and sometimes they didn't get paid at all. The kids had to apply to the program by writing an essay as to why they wanted to do this. Like you our family was very involved in homeless ministry programs with our church. I was proud of my son but he was the one who was already empathetic and asking those questions. I think he grew up with empathy, a value that was most important to us for our children.
Paul, when my son was attending a private hippie school in Atlanta he went with his biology teacher on a homeless project program. It was written up in the NY Times and was very controversial. She and three other parents had a two week homeless immersion program where the kids (ten in all) slept outdoors in a playground. They were allowed one sleeping bag and one plastic bag. During the day they looked for work, visited downtown shelters and traveled by foot. They were given 5 dollars a day, I believe, for daily work and sometimes they didn't get paid at all. The kids had to apply to the program by writing an essay as to why they wanted to do this. Like you our family was very involved in homeless ministry programs with our church. I was proud of my son but he was the one who was already empathetic and asking those questions. I think he grew up with empathy, a value that was most important to us for our children.
I love this piece. TY for writing it.