2024 Service Learning Project
In the fall of 2024, Dr. Tobin’s HNRS 2020: Homelessness in Our Community collected donations and contributions totaling over $3000 for the Maternity Group Home of Youth Oasis, Baton Rouge’s only shelter for unaccompanied youth. The MGH serves mothers ages 17-24 and their young children while they search for permanent housing.
After learning about the many types of homelessness that exist in the US, the class chose to focus their service-learning on youth homelessness, specifically young mothers and their children. Students tabled in Free Speech Alley to raise awareness about the issue, placed collection bins on and off campus, fundraised, and purchased necessities to keep the children and the mothers at the MGH safe and healthy. They shopped for, collected, and delivered diapers, cleaning supplies, dishes, baby furniture, car seats, strollers, books, educational toys, clothes, bedding, and more. Students also helped decorate the living space to make it welcoming for mothers and babies alike.
A student in the class reflected that it was “really eye opening to help someone our age going through their own separate struggles. I believe being able to meet the young ladies and kids allowed for a real connection…I think our class had a strong impact.” When asked what she learned from the class, sophomore Mary Margaret LeBlanc said, “I think I learned most about the lack of community some people have…as a country we have really lost a sense of community beyond families and immediate circles. I think about how much could be prevented if we had a stronger sense of community and support for one another.”
Dr. Tobin says she “couldn’t be more proud of the way OHC students rose to the occasion, not just raising money and awareness, but bringing their own compassion and critical thinking skills to a problem of such social significance. And the moms at the MGH told me they felt seen and cared for, which is the best outcome I could have hoped for.”
In the spring of 2025, Dr. Tobin’s class will continue to partner with Youth Oasis, this time bringing the expertise of students from her home department, Education, to create educational and instructional materials for the moms and young children served by the Maternity Group Home.
