Homelessness is a complex issue, affecting more people than we'd like to think.
A report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2015 said that more than 500,000 people—a quarter of them children—were homeless in the United States, with little access to affordable housing across much of the nation.
Because understanding and compassion are the first steps to finding a solution for this problem, the books and stories below can help, by better educating readers of all ages about the reality of homelessness.
Books
‘Stories From the Shadows: Reflections of a Street Doctor’ by Dr. James J. O'Connell
Dr. James J. O'Connell, president of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, has written a book with a riveting collection of stories chronicling his care for Boston’s homeless since 1985. If you read only one book on homelessness, make it this one.
Dr. O'Connell sees his job as something like that of a country doctor who knows how to listen and who may need to make “home” visits to places outside the hospital, even if they include shelters, soup kitchens, and correctional facilities.
