Saint Peter's College

Learning
Community Charter
School wanted to
make its after-school
program more
accessible to
students. Saint
Peter’s faculty and
students assisted
with the effort.
the criteria for construction of
affordable housing.
New City Kids, an after-school
program located near Saint Peter’s,
requested help studying best practices
of other urban programs and then
adapting those practices to meet the
organization’s mission. The students
completed the research last year.
This year they are working directly
with New City Kids personnel to
implement the new approaches.
“Most of these groups are
strapped for staff, time and money,”
explained Prof. Malone. “Our goal is
to provide the support they need
now so the staff can take on these
duties next year.”
At the York Street Project, which
has the capacity to house 22 families
for up to 18 months, the students
last year compiled an up-to-date
listing of services available locally
for the agency’s
clients, as well as
new policies from
the Department
of Housing
and Urban
Development on
Homelessness. York
Street later used the data to advocate
for better local policies to help the
homeless.
While the listing provided vital
information for York Street’s staff,
Susanne Byrne, a casework advocate
for the agency, said the student
involvement reaped a bigger reward
in educating a new generation of
potential social service workers.
“I think for me, one of the best
things was getting us more involved
with Saint Peter’s and the students,
as well as getting the message out
about homeless families and the
need for services in general,” she
said. “The long-term benefit of the
Simon Foundation grant is to open
their eyes to a world they’ve never
seen before. Through the grant,
we’re training the next generation
of social service workers and that’s
pretty valuable.”
For Sociology Professor Malone, one of the
big payoffs was seeing the enthusiasm of
the Saint Peter’s students who embraced their
projects wholeheartedly.
For Professor Malone, one
of the big payoffs was seeing the
enthusiasm of the Saint Peter’s
students who embraced their
projects wholeheartedly.
“They really felt like they
made a difference,” he said. “There’s
been a lot of discussion nationally
about college students not being
active in social issues. I find that
they want to do this kind of work.
They really do care and are taken
aback by the problems locally.
They’re learning about social issues
in a very practical way.”
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Saint Peter’s College Magazine