Lexie Bowen, Sara Lascano, Dallas Smith, Lily Bragg

 Unemployment at 24.9% by  American “dream” betrayed now.  Did anything to keep rent paid and food on table.  Soup kitchens a big help!  Life became a daily struggle.

 Started in Great plains; Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, and Colorado.  Middle of 1930s.  Drought, loose top soil, and high winds.  Killed many animals, ruined farm land.  Destroyed rivers.  Farmers migrated & lost farms to banks.  Okies: Dust Bowl refugees.

 Family service agencies were overwhelmed by unemployment after the stock market crash of  Public services now had middle class cliental who were jobless, homeless, and hungry.  Most agencies struggled to stay open and by 1932, 1/3 of services were no longer available due to lack of funds

 The federal government started working on new programs and new funding techniques  The Department of Special Studies was created to find new methods to end unemployment and other strong issues.  President Roosevelt enacted New Deal welfare programs (creating a safety net for those in poverty, unemployed, and disabled.

 Landmark Security Act was enacted, it included social insurance for children with single parents, the elderly, and disabled workers.  The abundance of new programs and funds created a high demand for social service workers.  Opportunities opened in education, medicine, social justice, etc.  The demand required the knowledge and skills of a social worker causing a shortage of personnel  This forced the federal government to create new associations and training programs to fill the places needed.

 A soup kitchen is a bread line, or meal center where food is offered to the hungry, for free or at a reasonably low price. Mainly located in a lower income neighborhoods.  Soup kitchens in America, started around 1929, when the Great Depression was starting to affect Americans.

 When soup kitchens first appeared, they were mainly run by either churches, or private charities.  When the middle of the 1930’s rolled around, federal governments were also operating soup kitchens.  Soup kitchens mainly specialized in manufacturing and selling bread, and soup (Water could be added if necessary)

 Al Capone started his own soup kitchen, because he wanted to erase the shady image that people had for him.  He served three meals a day to assure that those less fortunate would have food to eat.

 Forced to move, many had to illegally hop freight trains  Called hoboes  Bulls-cruel guards hired by railroads to make sure there were only paying riders  Run beside train and hop on, if missed many lost limbs or life

 Jump off as neared destination so not arrested or beaten by bulls  Many left home because of unemployment, poverty, or simply an adventure  Young kids boxcar kids  Used Signs with other hoboes for information such as were to find food