4-H club members study homelessness, teach others

The gymnasium at Oak Ridge Elementary School is most often home to children at play but served a different purpose Friday as students from the after-school 4-H club gave a presentation on homelessness to students.

"They were surprised to learn the facts about homelessness, surprised to find out it's in our area," said after-school program director Sharon Tuschhoff.

Over three weeks, members of the 4-H club learned about common causes of homelessness, which demographic groups are most at risk and the effects of malnutrition. They also participated in exercises like a pretend grocery shopping trip where they could only "spend" $20 or use food vouchers, intended to make them realize how hard it is to shop, even for essential items, on a limited budget.

"I think they learned a lot from that," Tuschhoff said of the shopping exercise.

On Friday, it was these students' turn to teach other children what they learned.

Wearing old clothes, stocking hats, and some with blankets wrapped around them, the students sat around the cardboard shelters they had erected. One boy held up a sign reading "will work for food" while another walked around with a shopping cart.

They took turns at the microphone, reading off statistics about homelessness such as the apparent percentage of homeless people in the United States and in Missouri or how long it would take a minimum-wage worker to buy a house. Some presented themselves as homeless people such as mothers with low-income jobs and down-on-their-luck veterans, and told their stories.

After the presentation, Cape Girardeau resident Theresa Taylor talked about her own experience being homeless from the time she ran away from home at the age of 12 to when she was 29 years old.

"I can tell you that there is a lot of homelessness in our area," Taylor said. "It's hidden in a lot of ways because people are embarrassed. They don't want people to know they're homeless."

Taylor is the executive director of Vision House, a transitional living facility for homeless women that will open in Cape Girardeau early next year.

"I think that kids at this age level are like sponges," Taylor said. "They do retain the information, and the next time they go to Wal-Mart and see a homeless person they'll remember what we did here today."

kalfisi@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182