The Community Empowerment Fund: Service Learning Addressing Poverty and Homelessness

Background and Purpose: Service learning is an umbrella term describing a variety of models combining classroom learning with relevant community service addressing a variety of issues. However, there is little research on programs that address homelessness. With marginalized groups such as these it is often the distance from majority groups that maintains the marginalization. Thus, increased contact with such groups may increase awareness and change attitudes. Toward this end we examined one such University service learning program, the Community Empowerment Fund (CEF), which works with “members” who are homeless to achieve economic stability through financial education and matched savings coupled with student advocates, the service learning component. The primary research questions were: 1) How has CEF impacted perceptions of homelessness and poverty; 2) What skills were gained through CEF; and 3) What was learned through service learning?

Methods: Any student who participated in CEF service learning was invited to take a web-based survey containing close-ended and open-ended questions.  Responses were received from 90 participants. Responses to the qualitative, open-ended questions were analyzed from a grounded theory perspective. Two researchers individually coded and categorized themes. Upon discussion, overlapping themes were identified and representative quotes chosen.

Results: In terms of perceptions of homelessness and poverty, emerging themes included 1) better understanding homelessness and poverty, 2) the role of social welfare programs, 3) cycle of poverty, and 4) giving a face to poverty. One student noted “CEF has completely changed the way I see poverty - before I thought of it as a personal-level problem but now I see it as a product of systemic inequalities.” While CEF’s financial education targets members, students also benefitted: 1) saving more, 2) budgeting, 3) gaining a new perspective on money, and 4) attaining new skills. One student reported: “It’s hard to help someone make [sound] financial decisions when I’m not. I heard myself saying things that I myself wasn’t doing.” Students reported learning many things through service learning: “I really can’t think of something significant I learned in college that wasn’t through CEF.” The themes that emerged included 1) communication skills; 2) development of self-knowledge; 3) the importance of relationships; and 4) empowerment. Capturing a key aspect of CEF one student reported: “I learned how powerful relationship-building could be as a tool for social change. …[it] is really the start to achieving a lot: behavioral change, personal reward and fulfillment, and a meaningful impact in the community.”

Conclusions and Implications: This study highlights the key benefits that can occur from participating in service learning with an organization like CEF that serves individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.  Responses were positive and informative about the perceptions of homelessness and poverty, gains in skills; knowledge of finances, community resources, and the welfare system; and the development of positive behaviors that benefit both members and students. This study provides a starting point for examining the benefits of service learning projects focusing on poverty. Future research should include a pre-post-test design to assess change over time.