Title:
"They just need to get a job" : 15 myths on homelessness
Author:
Publication Date:
2024
Publication Information:
Boston : Beacon Press, [2024]
©2024
Physical Description:
ix, 221 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.
ISBN:
9780807006979
Abstract:
"In a time of soaring housing insecurity and laws that criminalize acts of survival, politicians and the media increasingly push their "blame the victim" anti-homeless rhetoric. Mary Brosnahan, longtime CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless, debunks fifteen pernicious myths about our unhoused neighbors. Among them: that the problem is inevitable" (in fact, it is the result of policy decisions that put profits ahead of people) ; that "handouts" cause homelessness (in fact, the primary causes are flat wages and high rent) ; that homeless people need to prove they're "ready" to receive aid (in fact, enforcing hurdles is far more expensive and less effective than a Housing First approach). Brosnahan's solutions are forged from her decades of renowned advocacy and her frontline work with homeless New Yorkers. She also draws on extensive research, both historic and modern. From the enclosure of the English Commons to the emergence of nineteenth-century American hobos, from Reagan-era budget cuts to contemporary Supreme Court battles, Brosnahan shows us the true contours of homelessness -- and how we can bring unhoused Americans home for good." -- Back cover.
Contents:
Preface : The function of myth -- Introduction : Anita -- Chapter 1 : A brief history of homelessness -- Myth 1 : "Homelessness is inevitable and intrinsically unsolvable" -- Chapter 2 : The roots of American homelessness -- Myth 2 : "Homelessness in America is a relatively new phenomenon" -- Myth 3 : "Helping the 'worthy' poor is the best way to end poverty and homelessness" -- Chapter 3 : Homelessness in the twentieth century -- Myth 4 : "Ronald Reagan created modern homelessness" -- Myth 5 : "Most homeless people are mentally ill and dangerous" -- Chapter 4 : Offering aid creates more need -- Myth 6 : "If you build it, they will come" -- Myth 7 : "There is no shortage of help available for the homeless - they just need to access it" -- Myth 8 : "Handouts create homelessness" -- Myth 9 : "Homeless people just need to 'get a job' to lift themselves out of homelessness" -- Myth 10 : "Homeless people just need to learn to save" -- Chapter 5 : Who we think of when we think of the homeless -- Myth 11 : "Runaways really aren't homeless" -- Myth 12 : "Homeless people are single adults living on city streets" -- Chapter 6 : Barriers and solutions -- Myth 13 : "People need to prove that they're worthy of and ready for assistance" -- Myth 14 : "Investments in social housing have proven to be failures" -- Chapter 7 : Resistance vs. revolution -- Myth 15 : "There's really nothing I can do to make a meaningful difference".
Language:
English
