Running head: CONTEXTUAL FACTORS

HES470 : Contextual Factors in Consideration of Gateway 180 Abby Peskorse Fontbonne University

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS Contextual Factors for Gateway 180 Residents

For my external teaching site I will be giving a presentation at the Gateway 180 homeless shelter in St. Louis City, Missouri. Gateway 180 is an emergency shelter for families and single women in need of immediate housing. It offers shelter, meals, social services, and programs to help the residents prepare for their future in more permanent housing (Gateway 180, 2011, pp.11-12). They have a large meeting room with tables and chairs that I will be utilizing for the presentation. Prior to my lesson two other Fontbonne students will be presenting on age appropriate activities for children, and stress relief. My lesson plan explores various factors that contribute to family connectivity and strength. We hope to build on one anothers presentations in order to offer the learners a more meaningful workshop that integrates information and application. The audience of learners consists of single mothers, possibly single fathers, couples with children, and single women with no children in their care. Their ages range between late teens, and early fifties. The audience demographics are in line with census data for St. Louis City which found that 31% of households are women led families compared to 1% of male led families. Only 5% of families with children have married parents (US Census, 2013) . The Gateway 180 residents are in a transitional period of their lives so I will need to attend to their current living situation and how that affects their family dynamic, however, the greater message of my lesson plan is meant to transfer throughout their family life experiences and is not only applicable to their current environment. Specifically, I will be facilitating an activity that helps the learners to define their family in a way that is meaningful to them, and we will examine as a group the different ways communication can be helpful to or hinder our

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS closeness with one another. Lastly, we will be exploring the concepts of tradition and ritual and how they can create much needed consistency in times of change and connectivity throughout our future family life. According to census data for the greater St. Louis City area where Gateway 180 is located, 45% of residents have completed some level of high school education, 49% are high

school graduates, and 6% have earned their Associates or Bachelors degree (US Census,2013). I assume that the large proportion of my learners have the capacity to learn at a high school level, but I have created a lesson plan that could easily translate to adolescents because I want these parents, and older family members to be able to easily share the lessons they learned with their other family members. It is difficult for me to gage the achievement level of the audience. The circumstances that lead to homelessness are so varied and I believe a person can be a high achiever and still find themselves in this position. The immediate area surrounding the shelter has a 11% unemployment rate, and 57% of the population is not in the labor force (US Census, 2013). Im hesitant to make sweeping assumptions on the various achievements of the Gateway 180 residents based on employment numbers. Available jobs in relation to qualifications, childcare, and transportation can all play a part in gaining and keeping quality employment. Gateway 180s residents are largely women led families and from what Ive learned I believe that the most important thing for these families is that they are able to stay together. My assumption is what led me to want to teach the lesson plan concerning family strength. Going through a homeless experience and all the turmoil that builds to it can be very damaging to the family dynamic, introducing uncertainty and fear into their future together. My hope is that I

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS will be able to highlight the simple ways in which a family can increase their connectivity and strength regardless of their material or financial resources. My potential for bias has to do with my expectation of current family relationships. Its very possible that some of these women and their children are at a place in their relationship

where they need professional help to navigate their family interactions. Where this is the case my presentation will be insufficient to deal with their personal issues. My lesson plan works on the assumption that the learners have a family and that they want to increase their closeness with that family. I worry that this material may be uncomfortable for those who come from dysfunctional families, or have been removed, or choose to remove themselves from their family. My purpose for them is that I can present the material in a way that encourages them to create new behaviors and feel capable in creating the story of who their chosen family could be in the future. In order to mitigate any bias I may have developed in my presentation materials I have included small talking points in my presentation regarding the legacy of family strength. The discussion centers on the ability of the family dynamic to change, from generation to generation, and within the same family over time. Strength does not need to come from strength, when certain behaviors are attended to, it can be built over time. I also have included a great deal of opportunity for group discussion, I dont want to assume family dynamics, nor do I want to suggest ritual or tradition that is not fitting for the familys culture or level of comfort. My intention is that the learners can translate my message into their unique family narrative.

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS References Gateway 180. (2011). Annual Report 2011. U.S. Census Bureau. (2013, October). State and county Quickfacts: St. Louis City, MO. Retrieved October 20, 2013, from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/29/2965000.html