The New Poverty: Homeless Families in America - Softcover

The New Poverty: Homeless Families in America explores the complex issues surrounding the epidemic of homelessness and presents plausible solutions to reverse the spread of this scourge. The book clearly defines the extent of the issue - its scale, severity, and scope - and offers a viable alternative to stem homelessness, poverty, and welfare dependence in America. Dr. Nunez, esteemed for his work in social welfare policy, makes an important contribution to the current literature on homelessness by proposing a bold new direction for national homeless policy, one that calls for the transformation of the emergency shelter system into comprehensive residential-educational-employment training centers that are child focused and family based. Supported by compelling interviews and photographs of homeless families, the author logically contends that with education, family preservation services, and job training, these families can become self-sufficient. However, if they are deprived of these opportunities, another generation of children will grow up without homes and without the traditional values of work, responsibility, and independence. The New Poverty is intended to reach many audiences, from general readers to professionals in sociology, political science, education, public policy, and the legal and medical communities. In the midst of the current tense political climate, this extraordinary book will educate and enlighten the public on the history and realities of family homelessness, as well as give policy makers and academics substantive material to help make decisions and develop policy and program directives.