0.12 Safer, l., wilhite, r., sims, p., mann, s., & Kroeger, t.  (Page 4/5)

And finally, the VISTA serves as a liaison between Chicago Public Schools’ central office and the satellite Chicago HOPES shelter sites. The main responsibility is to facilitate formal and informal methods of program evaluation including grade appropriate reading and math achievement tests that chart student progress.

Making a difference

The volunteer tutors provide crucial educational and emotional support to Chicago HOPES’ students. Volunteer recruitment data from 2011 indicates that 22% came from college campuses, 22% from the search engines, and 13% by word of mouth and then smaller percentages through media, distribution of flyers, and corporate community service activities. From 2009-2011 the program has enlisted 153 volunteers per semester comprised of 53% college students, 11% boomers, 2% 65 years and older, and 34% from other vocations. Because of the lack of personal stability that the students experience, they absolutely need to know that they can expect to see their volunteer tutor on a regular basis. As such, Chicago HOPES requires a minimum commitment of one tutoring session per week for the length of one semester.

Only volunteer tutors who have completed the Chicago HOPES volunteer training components including an in-house training session, one-on-one training completed by the VISTA coordinator, and on-site shelter orientations and have assented to and have successfully passed a criminal background check are permitted in the selected shelter. The students are in a very delicate situation living in a homeless shelter and it is imperative that their names and homeless status remain completely confidential. For these reasons, no one-time guest tutors, including friends or family of current tutors, are admitted into the designated Chicago HOPES shelters.

While the program’s goal is to match tutors and students with a one-to-one ratio, in reality its student to tutor ratio trends closer to three-to-one. They strive to match tutors with students that will most benefit from the tutor’s skills and personality. Students may act out because of the stress that they are dealing with, or they may become withdrawn and demonstrate no interest in the volunteer tutor or their homework.  In either case, it is important to be sensitive to the student’s needs and their feelings.  Students are held to a high standard, but the program acknowledges that they may need extra patience and assistance to reach that standard.

Most students who are homeless face problems with school work because they are often transferred to different schools and/or their parents are not able to provide them with substantial academic support.   It has been documented as early as 1991 by Rafferty and Shinn and in 1994 by Zima, Wells&Freeman that students who are homeless must deal with the stressors of “inadequate conditions and shelter instability and a lack of educational services” (Rafferty&Shinn p.175) and “substandard living conditions, abrupt residential transitions and discontinuity in school” (Zima, Wells,&Freeman p.1) which can interfere with their academic success. Current data indicate that there has not been much improvement in the plight of these homeless children.