Girls Inc. of Tennessee Valley & Girls Who Code Provide Lessons on Child Homelessness
Approximately 580,000 persons had experienced homelessness in 2020. One-third were persons in families with children, and 18% were children under the age of 18. The number of unsheltered families experiencing homelessness increased for the first time since HUD has collected national data. Homelessness is highly disruptive to children’s educational access, and COVID-19 caused unprecedented disruption to education, exacerbating existing educational disparities and creating additional inequities for those who are lower-income and/or minority race.
UTK and Girls Inc. of Tennessee Valley came together in Spring 2021 to challenge these issues. Through funding provided by the UTK College of Social Work’s Social Justice Innovation Initiative (SJII), Girls Inc. of Tennessee Valley hosted a Girls Who Code (GWC) after-school club in the Spring 2021 semester. Girls Inc. is a national nonprofit whose mission is to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. GWC, also a national nonprofit, aims to address the gender disparities in the computer science field, especially for women of color. This was the first time Girls Inc. of Tennessee Valley had hosted a GWC club.
GWC provides a computer science coding curriculum specifically designed for girls. It builds coding proficiency and develops character-building skills such as teamwork, communication, and time management. The GWC curriculum culminates in an impact project centered around a significant social issue: this semester’s issue was child homelessness. In addition to learning coding skills, the girls also participated in activities to increase their knowledge and understanding regarding child homelessness, including a presentation by TORCH (Tennessee Out-Reach Center for Homeless). Girls in the after-school club coded three different projects related to child homelessness.
Explore the projects
“Our girls loved having the chance to participate in Girls Who Code. Before going into this, the girls were hesitant to try coding. They don’t really see many women programming computers, so they automatically think they aren’t capable. The lessons on homelessness certainly opened their eyes to how fortunate they are. It also helped them develop an emotional response when creating their projects, so it wasn’t like programming a robot. Before Girls Who Code, we could hardly get them to try any sort of coding. Now, they ask if they can code everyday!”
Hailey Kraft, Girls Inc. of Tennessee Valley STEM Coordinator