Poverty, Race, & Literacy members,
The following posts appeared originally on the LD discussion list (which
I am on) and I thought they would interest some of you.  I asked
permission to post them to our list, thinking someone might want to
contact Josh about his program or organization.  Please see below.
Donna

________________________________

From: Joshua Hayes [mailto:jhayes at searchproject.org] 
Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2006 5:20 PM
To: Brian, Dr Donna J G
Subject: Homeless Literacy as per R Kenyon's Request



Donna,

Feel free to cross post this.  This is the text from the 2 emails I sent
to the LD list.  Part 1 is a program description of our organization.
Part 2 describes our approach to literacy within the homeless context.
Unfortunately, I have to travel for a few day, but I will be able to
follow up anyone interested on Friday and thereafter.

Thanks,

Josh

 

I want to answer this in two parts.  First, the services we provide:

Part 1

SEARCH is a multi-service agency serving people experiencing
homelessness is Houston, TX.  For those of you familiar with Houston, we
are wedged between Downtown and the Medical Center.  Adult Education is
only a small program in a large agency.

In our four story building, I find it easiest to keep up with everything
by floors.

First Floor

Here we have our Resource Center.  This is a day shelter that provides
showers, laundry facilities, information and referral, clothes and other
"basic" services.  This space is shared by a demonstration One-Stop
employment center (WorkSource in Houston) funded through our LWDB, the
Houston Galveston Area Council.  This demonstration project targets
unemployed people utilizing SEARCH programs.  We also operate a soup
Kitchen here.  Finally we have a dental clinic onsite that is operated
as part of our Healthcare for the Homeless - Houston (HHH) through a
partnership with Baylor College of Medicine.

Second Floor

Here we have the HHH primary medical clinic that also has psychiatric
and counseling services.  SEARCH offers several scattered site permanent
and transitional housing programs.  The case managers for those programs
are also on the second floor.  The Scattered Site Housing subsidizes
rent in area apartment complexes and provides case management support.
The offices for our Mobile Outreach team are here.  This is also where
the adult education program resides.  We have two classrooms: one for
ABE and one for Basic Literacy.  The program boasts a full time case
manager tasked solely to address the needs of our learners.  The last
program on the second floor is our PATH program that addresses the
support and housing need of people with severe mental illnesses.

Third Floor

This is a transitional living facility for people with chronic health
problems such as diabetes, HIV and the like.  It's goal is to stabilize
the clients and assist them in finding work within a 6 month period.  It
is operated in partnership with AIDS Foundation - Houston.  

Fourth Floor

This is permanent housing for people who are disabled.  It is a Single
Room Occupancy arrangement with a shared kitchen.  Intensive case
management and other services are provided to these residents.

 

In addition we have a Mobile Outreach Team that visits campgrounds and
parks distributing food, clothing, sun block, mosquito repellant (a must
in Houston), and providing emergency housing or transportation for the
people who are sick, homeless families, and often times we offer free
HIV testing in the field through an HHH ride along.

We also operate an NAEYC certified childcare center for children from
homeless families off site.  They may attend up to five years of age,
regardless of the housing changes in the household, and two single sex
transitional housing programs for people with substance abuse problems

Oh, and I almost forgot.  We also have a business venture.  It is a
catering company that serves lunch to areas businesses and holds a
contract to process the meals for the Houston Food Bank.  It functions
as both a profit making venture and a culinary arts program for homeless
people.

 

Get back to you soon with the LD response.

 

Part 2

Learners in our adult education program are eligible for all services at
SEARCH.  We take full advantage of the medical, psychiatric and
counseling services which are available just down the hall.  However,
the prohibitive cost and limited return associated with an LD diagnosis
create barriers similar to those of other programs.  All of the learners
in our programs face multiple barriers to self-sufficiency.  Mental
illness (MI), substance abuse, felony convictions, HIV infection, Hep C,
and diabetes can not uncommonly affect the same individual.  I have seen
some stats that put the rate of LD/MI co-morbidity at and even above
70%.  But we don't have hard numbers for Houston homeless learners.  

We can usually get testing accommodations for the MI.  They are much
easier to document, especially considering my access to psychiatrists.
And there is no discrepancy model with standardized tools.  As far as
the classroom is concerned, we are running as fast as we can to
implement universal design.  In addition, as part of our two faculty
members' participation in the field test of the new state standards and
benchmarks for Texas, we are developing methods of a closely monitored
RTI model as a pre-referral intervention method.  

We've had some stumbles along the way.  We struggled for a long time
with how to provide intensive, multi-sensory phonics instruction in an
open entry/open exit classroom.  We've modularized and adapted materials
from several programs and are hoping to see the fruits of those labors
soon.  The instructional design element is probably more appropriate to
another discussion, but our average participation rate in the literacy
classroom exceeded 160 hours per learner last year.  The retention and
persistence are becoming less of a challenge.  In a few more months
we'll know how much power that had to affect measurable gains,
especially considering that we don't make accommodations on the TABE
with proper documentation.

I would like to know how people provide modification and accommodations
for the state mandated instruments.  I've heard of several approaches.
I tend to lean towards Robin's assessment of modifications and testing
and feel the time is workable in the right conditions.

 

Look forward to hearing more from all of you.

 

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