Homelessness: Home

A half-century after the ""War on Poverty"" of Lyndon Johnson, poverty rates remain unchanged. Scholars have advanced polarized theories about the causes of poverty, as politicians have debated how (or if) to fund welfare programs. Yet little research has been conducted where the poor are provided a platform to speak on their own behalf. While it is important to understand how economic systems affect the homeless, it is equally important to learn about the day-to-day realities faced by those who rely on public policies for survival. Drawing on the author's experience working in the homeless community, this book presents some of their stories of loss, abuse, addiction and marginalization through interviews, observations and ethnographic research.

The Open Door: Homelessness and Severe Mental Illness in the Era of Community Treatment explains how and why homelessness among the mentally ill has persisted over the past 35 years, despite policy and program initiatives to end it. This ten-chapter book chronicles the unintended rise of homelessness in the wake of far-reaching post-World War II mental health care reforms, and highlights the key role of advocacy in spurring a governmental response to homelessness. The author provides a comprehensive, carefully documented "state of the science" on homelessness, reviews critical issues in managing severe mental illness in the community setting, and presents evidence of the effectiveness of service and housing interventions that have brought stability to the lives of many. Finally, the book reviews the role of homelessness prevention, a recovery orientation, and the promise of early treatment of psychotic disorders to facilitate greater social inclusion and community participation. In addition to providers of housing and services to the homeless mentally ill, this text will appeal to policymakers, mental health professionals, and students of public health and social sciences.

Social Welfare: Fighting Poverty and Homelessness provides users with up-to-date statistics and information from numerous authoritative resources -- all in one volume. The text provides clear and comprehensive summary of the data which is also vividly illustrated through tables, charts, and graphs.

At the conclusion of the twentieth century, the US economy was booming, but the gap between the rich and poor widened significantly in the 1990s, poverty rates among women and children skyrocketed, and there was an unprecedented rise in familial homelessness. Based on a four-year ethnographic study, Anne R. Roschelle examines how socially structured race, class, and gender inequality contributed to the rise in family homelessness and the devastating consequences for parents and their children. Struggling in the Land of Plenty analyzes the appalling conditions under which homeless women and children live, the violence endemic to their lives, the role of the welfare state in perpetrating poverty, and their never-ending struggle for survival.