Overview

In their compelling examination of what it means to be truly at home on the street, Jason Wasserman and Jeffrey Clair argue that programs and policies addressing homeless people too often serve only to alienate them. Wasserman and Clair delve into the complex realities of homelessness to paint a gripping picture of individuals - not cases or pathologies - living on the street and of their strategies for daily survival. By exploring the private spaces that those who are homeless create for themselves, as well as their prevailing social mores, the authors explain how well-intentioned policies and programs often only widen the gap between the indigent and mainstream society. The result is an unvarnished look at the culture of long-term homelessness and a fresh approach to reaching this resurgent population. In their compelling examination of what it means to be truly at home on the street, the authors argue that programs and policies designed to assist homeless people too often serve only to alienate them.

Full Product Details

9781588267016

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Reviews

A revelation.... Wasserman and Clair offer a new way of looking at the diverse people living on the extreme margins of our society. Their rich ethnography confronts popular conceptions of homeless people and situates street homelessness as a choice distinct from living in shelters. Sociologists, service providers, and policymakers - not to mention students of homelessness and poverty - need to read this. - Michael Rowe, Yale University The author's expansive data is firmly grounded in the literature and theory of homelessness, making this an exceptionally strong, interesting, and well-rounded study. - Timothy Pippert, Augsburg College

A revelation.... Wasserman and Clair offer a new way of looking at the diverse people living on the extreme margins of our society. Their rich ethnography confronts popular conceptions of homeless people and situates street homelessness as a choice distinct from living in shelters. Sociologists, service providers, and policymakers - not to mention students of homelessness and poverty - need to read this. - Michael Rowe, Yale University The author's expansive data is firmly grounded in the literature and theory of homelessness, making this an exceptionally strong, interesting, and well-rounded study. - Timothy Pippert, Augsburg College

Author Information

Jason Adam Wasserman is assistant professor of sociology at Texas Tech University. Jeffrey Michael Clair is associate professor of sociology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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