Soccer gives homeless new goals

A new soccer program in Washtenaw County is helping homeless get off the streets and re-enter society. From the Detroit News:

On this soccer team, accomplishment isn't measured by goals scored or shots blocked.

It's how many months a player remains sober. Or whether he receives a GED. Or finds a home.

For a team of homeless people, sometimes just showing up is a small victory.

"After so much heartache and chaos and pain, to have so much fun on a soccer field, you don't even know what it means," said David Altherr, 53, who became homeless after seven drunken-driving convictions.

Project Outreach Team (PORT), a Washtenaw County agency that provides services for the homeless, formed the soccer team in 2007 as a way to reach a population that prefers to be left alone.

Once PORT gains players' trust, it learns what type of therapy and other help they need.

Washtenaw isn't the only place doing it. A growing number of cities around the country have formed a 20-team league that plays a national tournament July 30 in Washington.

An international contest, the Homeless World Cup, is in September in Rio de Janeiro.

Soccer gives the homeless a relaxing way to dip their toe into the mainstream after being away a long time, said Linda Bacigalupi, a PORT jail diversion specialist who is one of the team's coaches.

It also teaches confidence, discipline and other traits that could help one re-enter society, she said.

"They say they feel like this is their family," she said. "That makes it worth it 10 times over."

Read the full article: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20100630/METRO/6300357/1408/LOCAL/Soccer-gives-homeless-new-goals#ixzz0sLbIfJVJ

Quality Childcare and Pre-School: An Essential part of Development for Low Income Children

"Every year, more than three million children enroll in a public kindergarten program. A momentous time in their young lives, each child enters with different strengths, weaknesses, skills and needs. Some differences are to be expected as normal variations in development, but unfortunately, socioeconomic factors appear to contribute significantly to a school readiness divide.

For example, research has shown a significant achievement gap already exists between low-income children and their more affluent peers at kindergarten entry. Researchers have identified gaps in a number of critical areas, including cognitive development, social-emotional development, and health status. One study found that the average cognitive scores of our nation’s most affluent children are 60 percent higher than those of our poorest children before they enter kindergarten. Furthermore, low-income children are more likely to attend lower-quality schools, making it unlikely that these gaps can be closed later through schooling alone."

A new white paper from Child Trends entitled Early Childhood Highlights addresses the importance of quality child care and pre-school programs in the development of children, especially children from low-income homes.

The paper includes a table which compares early childhood emphasis state by state. The 7 page paper plus state by state comparison chart can be found at:

www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2010_06_18_ECH_SchoolReadiness.pdf