Would a good mother sleep with her children in a car parked on a city street in the dead of winter? Would a good mother send her child to school in shoes two sizes too big because that's all she could find? Would a good mother tell her child to shut up and behave or the whole family will be out on the street again? Does the woman with no money, no home, and no help have any chance at all of being a good mother, according to the model our society sets up? This is the woman whose voice, so rarely heard and so often ignored, resonates through this book, which follows the lives of mothers on the margins and asks where they fit in our increasingly black-and-white picture of the world. At once an anthropologist in the field and a social worker on the job, Deborah R. Connolly is ideally placed to draw out these women's life stories, the stories that our culture tells about them, and the revealing contradictions between the two. In their own words, by turns awkward and eloquent, poignant and harsh, these homeless mothers map the perilous territory between the promise of childhood and the hard reality of motherhood on the street, between "We're never gonna get married, we're never gonna have kids" and "God, how did we end up like this?" What emerges from these stories is a glimpse of the cultural imagination of class and gender as it revolves around the lives of mostly white homeless mothers. Attending to both everyday lives and cultural norms, while exploring and interpreting their interdependencies and tensions, Connolly makes these mothers and their plight as real for us as the headlines and stereotypes and the cultural paranoia that so often displace them and consign them to silence.

Moving true stories of 24 homeless mothers of color living in the NYC Shelters that reveal their struggles as they try to free themselves and their families from the limitations of poverty and scarce resources

"One of the very best things ever written about homeless people in the nation."—Jonathan Kozol.

A readerʼs guide is provided to assist readers in locating entries on related topics. It classifies entries into 14 general categories: Causes, Cities, Demography and Characteristics, Health issues, History, Housing, Legal issues, Advocacy and policy, Lifestyle issues, Organizations, Perceptions of homelessness, Populations, Research, Service systems and settings, World perspectives and issues.

"Extraordinarily affecting....A very important book....To read and remember the stories in this book, to take them to heart, is to be called as a witness." THE BOSTON GLOBE There is no safety net for the millions of heartbroken refugees from the American Dream, scattered helplessly in any city you can name. RACHEL AND HER CHILDREN is an unforgettable record for humanity, of the desperate voices of the men, women, and especially children, and their hourly struggle for survival, homeless in America.

There have always been homeless people in the United States, but their plight has only recently stirred widespread public reaction and concern. Part of this new recognition stems from the problem's prevalence: the number of homeless individuals, while hard to pin down exactly, is rising. In light of this, Congress asked the Institute of Medicine to find out whether existing health care programs were ignoring the homeless or delivering care to them inefficiently. This book is the report prepared by a committee of experts who examined these problems through visits to city slums and impoverished rural areas, and through an analysis of papers written by leading scholars in the field.

A poetry anthology featuring the writing of homeless and formerly homeless women of King County. These women tell not only their own stories, but the larger story of homelessness as well. Here are our sisters, our friends, our families--ourselves.

The first comprehensive assessment of the experience of violence among homeless women

Current research suggests that biology, psychology, culture, and social standing all contribute to alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems in women, yet few books show how to account for these factors during evaluation and treatment. Especially in terms of vulnerable populations, acknowledging these influences proves crucial to effective assessment and help. Drawing on extensive empirical research, this volume provides the necessary concepts, tools, and techniques for culturally and socially inclusive practice with vulnerable female populations. After a brief history of substance abuse among women in the United States, along with an overview of previous epidemiological study, An-Pyng Sun systematically describes the characteristics and nature of AOD problems among pregnant women, teenage girls, older women, street-walking prostitutes, homeless women, and lesbians. Clearly and concisely, she presents the theories that explain women's AOD problems, along with their related risk factors, and recommends effective treatment guidelines and strategies that speak directly to the needs of individual clients. Vulnerable women are more likely to develop substance abuse problems than other women, and their consequences tend to be more severe. This volume organizes complex data into a practical framework so practitioners can successfully respond to this special population. It supplies a long-overdue, comprehensive, and comprehensible knowledge base for screening, assessment, and care.