Ordinary Magic: Fostering Better Lives in Children Threatened by
Homelessness
By Ann S. Masten, Ph.D.
"Christmas is sad for
everyone. We have our toys. That's not the reason why. They givin' you
toys and that do help. I would rather that we have a place to be." ~
Angie, age 12 and homeless, December 31, 1986, as quoted in Rachel and
Her Children: Homeless Families in America (1988)
"I want to go home" ~
Davonte, age 5 and homeless, quoted in The New York Times Magazine,
March 24, 2002
What can we do to help Davonte
and all the other children who share his plight or soon will? This
question is particularly poignant to consider today, more than 15 years
after the issue of homeless children burst into American consciousness. In
the 1980s, homeless families appeared on the covers of newspapers and
magazines and Jonathan Kozol published his heart-wrenching book about
Rachel's children. Rachel's children would now be 17 to 28 years old. As
they grew up, the threat of homelessness in the lives of American
children, in New York and in the Twin Cities, has changed surprisingly
little.
Visiting a shelter in 2002, it
is difficult to avoid a feeling of deja vu, despite clear improvements in
shelters and service systems for homeless families. Staff now carry cell
phones, but shelters remain full to overflowing, children lack basic
clothing and school supplies. Realistic fears of getting lost, having no
food to eat, or failing in school shadow the everyday lives of the
children who come and go. Shock, pain, shame, and sorrow will not help
these children or those that follow them, though these emotions are not a
bad place to begin. So what would help these children?
This question is challenging
because the problem of homelessness and the lives of human individuals are
very complicated. Clearly it would be better to prevent homelessness from
occurring at all, yet this goal has proven elusive over the past fifteen
years. Homelessness arises from a coinciding of many influences, including
chronic poverty, low-income housing shortages, substandard housing,
economic downturns, domestic violence, poor decisions, health and mental
health problems, bad luck, and moving in search of a better life.
Internationally, homelessness also arises from war, famine, persecution,
and natural disasters. The problems of homeless families do not typically
begin or end with homelessness. The children have experienced an
accumulation of many risks that pile up in their lives. Nearly always,
though, there is poverty. Taking a look at who is homeless in our society
reveals whose lives are the most precarious from an economic perspective.
Over the past few decades, the countenance of poverty shifted dramatically
to the face of a child.
At one time, the most
vulnerable U. S. citizens were the elderly. It is probably worth
considering the impact of laws enacted in the 20th century that provided
social security and health care to all elder Americans as a model for
preventing homelessness and promoting healthy development among children.
Perhaps the time has come in the 21st century to provide basic security to
all children and their families. Child support, subsidized childcare,
universal preschool and health care for children, as well as more
plentiful housing, better schools, and safer neighborhoods would
undoubtedly help children. Such dramatic changes at the national level
will take a broad and sustained effort. Meanwhile, many children continue
to live in poverty and experience many of the associated stressful events
and conditions, including periods of homelessness.
When we consider children who
already are faced with homelessness and all its attendant risks, then we
need to ask, what can make a difference in the lives of these children? As
a university professor, I have studied how children overcome risk and
adversity to succeed, not only homeless children, but also child survivors
of war and children faced with diverse negative life events, such as
divorce or family violence. I have conducted research in Minnesota but
also learned from the research of many others around the world. The
take-home message from a generation of work on resilience in children at
risk is surprisingly simple.
Resilience emerges from the
power of fundamental human adaptational systems to promote coping,
healing, recovery, regrouping, faith, hope, and problem solving. Some of
this "ordinary magic" unfolds from the operation of individual minds and
hearts, but many of the protective systems for human development arise
from relationships and communities. Among the most widely reported
protective factors for overcoming adversity among children, world wide,
are connections to competent and caring adults, good problem-solving,
self-regulation skills, and supportive communities. As they grow older,
spirituality and positive friendships become important protective factors
for many children.
The most damaging situations
for children are those that destroy or harm the basic protective systems
for human development. For example, situations that undermine the
attachment systems (good parenting and later peer relationships), the
learning and problem solving systems (healthy brain development and
cognitive development), the education systems, or cultural systems
(ethnic, religious, and other) or mastery motivation system (opportunities
to gain self-efficacy through experiencing successful mastery of new
skills), have a far greater cost to children than a disaster that does not
fundamentally damage these systems. Chronic malnutrition, social
isolation, war, or conflict in the family can have a devastating effect on
children because they undermine protective systems and opportunities for
growth.
Homelessness is often
associated with threats to the major systems in the individual, family,
and community that protect child development, often through disconnections
from relatives, friends, schools, religious community and neighborhood
supports, poor nutrition and health care, or through the impact on
parents. Parents may be overwhelmed, depressed, distracted, or sick.
Children who continue to have protective systems operating for them during
the crisis of homelessness fare far better than children who do not. Our
research at the University of Minnesota found that that some of the
children living in shelters are managing to stay healthy, do well in
school, play with friends, act responsibly at home and school, and keep
their spirits up. Examining their lives did not reveal mysterious causes
of their resilience but rather pointed to the power of ordinary magic in
their lives, such as adults who cared about them, looked out for them, and
expected well of them.
Research on resilience in
children suggests that we can intervene in many different ways to reduce
risks, increase resources, and mobilize protective processes for homeless
and other disadvantaged children. There are many levels for intervention,
from hugs to national policy, from tutoring to universal childcare, from
backpacks to housing. A resilience perspective also offers some guidance
for priorities. Children need water, food, shelter, clothes, safety, and
medical care, but they also need the basic protection afforded by a close
relationship with a loving adult. Once these survival needs are addressed,
children need opportunities to learn, play, and grow, to develop their
talents, to build relationships, community ties, an identity, and a
future. Such building requires stability and a sense of security.
In 1986, Angie yearned for "a
place to be." Sixteen years later, Davonte yearned for home. All they
wanted were the basic conditions for human development that are every
child's birthright. Research on successful development in high risk
children suggests that they got it right.
Ann S. Masten, is the
Director of the Institute of Child Development and Distinguished
University Teaching Professor of Child Psychology, University of
Minnesota, Minneapolis.
