Kim Bokinskie, Kari Funseth, Sarah Johanson, Amanda Lewallen, Laura

Rindahl

Anna Bassett

Edward Hoyt

Nellie Crook

Sarah Hunt

Anna May Potthoff Keeton

Overview

• History• Map• Who and Why• Compare to today• More experiences

History Overview

• The Orphan Trains originated in New York City

• Charles Loring Brace and The Children’s Aid Society

• The New York Foundling Hospital

Charles Loring Brace

• A young minister• Founded Children’s Aid Society in

1853• Concerned about the wellbeing of

young children

Children’s Aid Society

• Services the CAS provides– Adolescent Developing Mentoring Support   – Adoption and Foster Care– Arts & Recreation – Camps    – Community Schools – Community Centers   – Health Services   – Housing – Youth & Court Diversion  – Homemaker Service

• Still exists today in New York http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/locations_services

Sister Irene- New York Foundling Hospital

New Foundling Hospital• Sister Irene and the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul • They took in babies that would have been left to die• Infants would stay here until they were healthy enough to

ride the trains• Created “Baby Trains” for Catholic Families• Preplanned adoption• The list of services this organization provides seems

endless, it is available at… http://www.nyfoundling.org/what_we_do.htm

• The New York Foundling's Mission:The New York Foundling, in the tradition of openness and compassion of its sponsors the Sisters of Charity, helps children, youth and adults in need through advocacy and through preventive and in-care services that strengthen families and communities and help each individual reach his or her potential.

http://www.nyfoundling.org/mission.htm http://www.kancoll.org/articles/orphans/or_hist.htm

The First Train• Left the Children’s Aid

Society on September 20, 1864

• Went to Dowagiak, Michigan

• Forty six ten-to-twelve year old boys and girls were on board

• All children were placed in homes off this train

Map

Who Rode the Orphan Trains?

• Infants• Children• Teenagers• Homeless• Orphans of all

nationalities and religions

• The poor • The abused and/or

neglected

Why Orphan Trains were Allowed

• Welfare programs weren’t developed • Children had no rights • Children were viewed as property• There were no laws or protection for

children• There were many homeless children

known as “Street Arabs”

http://www.orphantraindepot.com/files/OTHSAWP.ppt

This is a copy of the Children’s Aid Society

Placement Card

Before and AfterTwo of the “Fortunate Children” Who were placed in a wonderful loving home after riding “The Orphan Train”

Come and See the Children• Children stood on stages or platforms• Families checked them out, and observed them• Touched the children• Checked their teeth• Made them perform • Towns were aware of when children would be there so they could pick out their new child• Some children went to good families, some were not so

lucky

The ENDING of the “Orphan Trains”

• In total 200,000 children rode the trains

• As of 1996, 500 Orphan Train riders are still alive

• The Orphan Train came to an end in 1929 because of various reasons– The Depression– New laws and new programs designed

to help children

Today• Not enough shelters… A shelter is not a home anyway!

There is no money to fund these shelters • Children are left to die in dumpsters or trash cans• One in four children are being born to a single mother • Drugs, Rape, Abuse, Neglect, Money, all reasons children

may be homeless• Women have babies in bathrooms• There are a lot more organizations for the homeless• Main cause is unaffordable housing for the poor• Homeless people feel the most important help they could

get is finding a job, help finding housing, and assistance paying for housing

• NIMBY Not in My Back Yard- “Oh no you aren’t building apartments for homeless in my back yard”

Make Change Happen

Statistics in the U.S. Today• Study conducted in 1996 by service

providers• 444,000 people experienced homelessness

on any given night in October, which is about 6.3% of the population

• 842,000 people experienced homelessness on any given night in February, which is about 10% of the population

• 39% of them were children • Not all people utilize services so this doesn’t

even account for all the people that could be homeless

http://www.homeless.org.au/statistics/

How we think of homeless today, because there is no such things as an orphan train to bring them anywhere and we don’t know what to do about this

How the Orphan Trains relate to Social Welfare

• They started the adoption and foster care system.

• They created the child protection regulations.

• Social workers help place these children today.