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(Feb. 24, 2002 | San Francisco) — 40 Students at the University of San Francisco are learning about homelessness not only in the classroom, but also by talking, meeting and observing the homeless first-hand. The class comes as public debate rages in San Francisco over its growing homeless problem and the city’s struggle to cope.
The class, Public Policy: The Homeless in the United States, is taught by Roberta Ann Johnson, who received a federal grant to help develop the course with a service learning component. The course concentrates on how to develop and evaluate public policy and explores how the problem emerged, its social implications, demographics, and policy development toward a solution on the federal, state and local levels.
Several San Francisco public officials have agreed to participate in the course and talk with students about how policy is made and implemented.
Students will also explore different paths to homelessness including mental illness, substance abuse, family abuse and joblessness. They will also learn how the changing economy is affecting the number of homeless, including globalization of the American economy and its transformation from an industry-based to a service-based economy.
Each student must complete one of three “hands on” projects:
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1) Explore the connection between mental illness and the homeless. Student projects include visiting service sites and conducting interviews with the homeless.
2) Explore the connection between substance abuse and the homeless. Projects include visiting detox centers and creating a photo documentary.
3) Explore the effect of homelessness on families, the fastest growing group of homeless. Some students are interviewing homeless Hispanic families in San Francisco’s Mission District and visiting family shelters.
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One-third of the students are also volunteering 40 hours during the semester to help the homeless, including reading bedtime stories to homeless children, performing legal research to help protect the civil liberties of the homeless and helping in soup kitchens.
The course is taught at the University of San Francisco Tuesday and Thursdays at 11 a.m.
For more information, contact Roberta Ann Johnson, University of San Francisco Professor of Politics at (415) 422-6296 or Gary McDonald, director of media relations, at (415) 422-2699.
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