African American transient housing dwellers are the studied population in this chapter. A noted section addresses transient students, also referred to as highly mobile students, which are a group that can benefit from additional educational support at school and also in the community. As communities of people are drawn together in faith and love, churches are distinctively positioned to fill in the gap for kids and their communities. By entering into a supportive partnership with a school, they can make the kind of difference that transforms a community. According to Fulgham, every school in low-income communities has a plethora of needs, and churches likely feel compelled to meet each of them. Fulgham went on to encourage churches to prioritize their support for programs and activities that help increase student achievement. This chapter provides findings from interviews conducted with adult transient housing dwellers and suggests methods to reach transient African American students during challenging times, specifically addressing their educational needs.
TopIntroduction
Transient housing dwellers consist of a group of individuals residing in various communities who are often stigmatized. The stigmatization often impacts children in the educational setting. Transient students, also referred to as highly mobile students, are a group that can benefit from additional educational support at school and in the community. According to Dover (2004), there are various reasons that students are labeled transient. Some transient students move once during a school year, while others experience multiple moves. Dover noted that students who move from one school to another during the academic school year, either from unstable homes or from homes where parents are not particularly involved in their child’s education, are considered truly transient. This aligns with the Michigan Public Policy Initiative (2001), which indicated that students who move six or more times in the course of their K-12 career may be defined as highly mobile. Popp et al. (2003) indicated that mobility is not a new issue encountered by educators; however, the make-up of transient students has changed. Popp et al. further noted that from the 1880s through the 1950s, mobility was often due to job promotions, except during wartimes.
In 2020, most moves for transient students were not necessarily the result of parents’ upward mobility. Numerous times, the reasons were attributed to lack of jobs, which oftentimes lead to poverty. During 2020, results of job layoffs resulting from the impact of COVID-19 and weather-related disasters added to the increase of families relocating. The results of students frequently changing schools can possibly contribute to low academic achievement. Support for this population of students is warranted. This chapter will address the stigma of transient housing dwellers and suggested collaboration of church and school partnerships. This chapter will provide recommendations in addressing the following questions:
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What are effective methods to reach transient African American apartment residents during challenging times, specifically with addressing their educational needs?
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How can churches form partnerships with local schools to meet the needs of African American inner city transient apartment students?
TopBackground
African American transient housing resident qualifies to be classified as a people group. The African American transient apartment residents have a common language, a common history, and what could easily qualify as a common religion—religious skepticism. One of the authors personally interviewed a sample of people who were indigenous, but who were of different ages, genders, and education levels (high school graduates, GEDs, and non-high school graduates) to ensure diversity and balance with the research sample.
The African American transient apartment dwellers believe that the “man” (White man) is out to get them. They see themselves as trapped by a system that is designed to keep them on the modern-day plantation (J. King, personal communication, November 14, 2018). In the minds of the African American transient apartment dwellers, the established welfare arrangement is a sociopolitical system that is designed to keep the people who receive it dependent on the system.
In an interview with an apartment dweller, the individual explained the quandary that male African- American transient dwellers find themselves birthed into. Consequently, the males of this people group move from apartment to apartment, because he cannot legally cohabit without the female losing her housing benefit if it is discovered that she has a resident who is not on the lease (X. Depressed, personal communication, November 16, 2018).
A married African American male who lives with his wife and children will receive less benefits than a single woman with children, because he is married. The reduction in benefits will occur in housing, income assistance, food assistance, and no childcare assistance will be available. The lack of childcare assistance for a married African American transient resident complicates the possibility for employment opportunities.