Homelessness Policy Service-Learning Class Offers Lifelong Lessons

ATLANTA — According to Georgia State students, all 15 seats in the Homelessness Policy Class (Hon3280) Professor Rusty Tchernis teaches are coveted, with some students waiting two or three years to get in. Much of its appeal seems to be its service-learning focus — and a syllabus developed by students — that helps humanize unhoused individuals and breaks the stigma surrounding them.

Recent journalism graduate Abigail “Abby” Quain (B.S. ’24) was so inspired by what she learned in the class last fall that she decided to pitch it as a video news package for the Advanced Journalism Practicum she took spring semester. She’s been told the video she produced about her experience has been accepted for future broadcast by Georgia Public Broadcasting.

“Not only was I incredibly inspired by the class, but living in the city of Atlanta has always made me wonder about the individuals around us,” she said. “Breaking the stigma by showing the individual, human stories of people is a major step toward change. Once we care about others, we will demand better for those we care about.”

Tchernis, a professor of economics in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (AYSPS), has taught the class for the Honors College for three semesters and two for AYSPS. His next class this fall is already full. In fact, Tchernis’  students tell him the class normally fills up the first hour registration opens. This steady interest suggests Georgia State students are looking for ways to make an impact on the world they see around them.

Tchernis decided in 2018 that he wanted to find ways to help meet the needs of Atlanta’s unhoused.

“I saw so much suffering of people living on the street, with no one doing anything about it,” he said. “I realized that if I’m not doing anything, I’m part of the problem.”

He met with Mary Beth Walker, then Georgia State’s associate provost for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation, and asked what the university was doing to help. She knew Regents’ Professor Geert de Vries, chair of the Biology Department, was also concerned, so she invited him to send Tchernis a list of people on campus who were interested in finding ways to help address the issue.

Tchernis started an email list, had a few meetings, and participated in certified homelessness advocate training. He ran a GSU Homelessness Lab that offered resources and met with Associate Professor Joseph Feinberg of the College of Education & Human Development, who had started a service learning class on homelessness for the Honors College. When Tchernis decided he wanted to teach a class on homelessness policy, he asked his students to help put together the syllabus.

Tchernis taught his first class online during the COVID pandemic and did not require his students to volunteer. But half of the students did it anyway, helping different Atlanta-area homeless service providers.

Along with doing their classwork, every student is now required to volunteer somewhere that works with those experiencing homelessness for 20 hours during the semester to meet the service learning requirements of the course. They also must hand in a reflection on a conversation they’ve had with someone experiencing homelessness.

“Reading those reflections makes me a better human being,” Tchernis said. “It’s a very profound experience for them.”

Students are also required to lead at least three classes. In one example, they do a homelessness-around-the-world lecture where they choose a country, then define homelessness there and show its prevalence. They learn whether and where they can find this information, what the policies are and how they stack up against other countries.

As part of their studies, students read the textbook, “The Homelessness Industry: A Critique of U.S. Social Policy,” coauthored by Professor Elizabeth Beck from Georgia State’s School of Social Work who has come to talk to the class a few times. They also study a chapter on women’s homelessness coauthored by David Ribar, a professor of economics and faculty director for the Child and Family Policy Lab in the Georgia Policy Labs at AYSPS.

“This class changes the minds of a lot of students,” Tchernis said. “Some take the class because the issue is important to them. Some take it — I suspect — because they have experienced homelessness. I like to think of this class as a support group. Often we talk about personal feelings about the country, compassion, of people ‘deserving’ and ‘not deserving’ of our help. Is it important to give or not give money, know where it goes to, how help is used, how people got to this point?”

Students read about policy in the U.S. and homelessness counts, and the homelessness youth count run by Georgia State’s Eric Wright, a professor of sociology and public health and chair of the Sociology Department.

“They learn about homelessness with young people and what trafficking is and can mean,” Tchernis said. “Racism is big part of the conversation. While we learn about federal policies to alleviate homelessness, I stress the power the students have to contribute to the solution right away through volunteering.”

Eventually, the students do presentations on their service component. These include information on the organization where they volunteered, what they did, what they learned and how they plan to go forward.

“The class really impacted me a lot,” Quain said. “I’ve become more thoughtful, empathetic and grateful for what I have. The class requirement of community service at a homeless shelter was one of my most eye-opening experiences. The combination of learning how homelessness has become such a problem in the U.S. along with seeing the consequences of that problem is heartbreaking. It’s enough to make anyone want to change, and because of Dr. Tchernis’  class, I hope I have changed and will continue to change.”