SOMETIMES THE WORLD SEEMS LIKE A VERY DARK PLACE. In this angry world, I have seen a glimpse of light. I have seen kindness, love and hope at a homeless shelter. Siloam Mission is named after a pool where, in Biblical times, Jesus healed a blind man. In this tradition, the Mission has a medical clinic, and I have had the privilege of working there. The homeless men and women I have met at Siloam have taught me profound lessons about perseverance through suffering, expressing joy in dire circumstances, and the rewards of service to those in need. I want to share those lessons with you.

SOMETIMES THE WORLD SEEMS LIKE A VERY DARK PLACE. In this angry world, I have seen a glimpse of light. I have seen kindness, love and hope at a homeless shelter. Siloam Mission is named after a pool where, in Biblical times, Jesus healed a blind man. In this tradition, the Mission has a medical clinic, and I have had the privilege of working there. The homeless men and women I have met at Siloam have taught me profound lessons about perseverance through suffering, expressing joy in dire circumstances, and the rewards of service to those in need. I want to share those lessons with you.

Late in the 1970s, Americans began to notice more people sleeping in public places and wandering the streets. By the late 1980s, the homeless were everywhere--a grim reminder of America's social and economic troubles. Renowned social analyst Jencks discusses the causes and extent of this problem and what can be done about it. Line illustrations and tables.

On any given night, there are over 643,000 homeless peopleresiding in shelters and on the streets across America. What can we do to help? "Levy crafts stories of characters who sear the memory: OldMan Ray, the World War II veteran who resents the VA system andregards himself as the de facto night watchman at Port Authority;Ben who claims to be a prophet disowned in his own country, crucifiedby the government and enslaved by poverty finds a bridge tothe mainstream services and a path to housing through the commonlanguage of religious metaphors, including redemption andforgiveness; and Andrew who has been 'mentally murdered' ishelped to understand his own situation and gain disability benefitsthrough the language of trauma; among others. These stories are deftly interwoven with theory and practice as Levy constructshis developmental model of the engagement and pretreatment process. The outreachworker strives to understand the language and the culture of each homeless individual, builds a bridge to the mainstream services, and helps those providers to understandthe special circumstances of these vulnerable people. Levy bears witness to thecourage of these pilgrims who wander the streets of our cities, and his poignant bookis a testament to the healing power of trusting and enduring relationships." --Jim O'Connell, MD - President and Street Physician forBoston Health Care for the Homeless Program The reader will... Experience moving real life stories that demystify homeless outreach and its centralobjectives and challenges.Learn about effective strategies of outreach & engagement with under-servedpopulations.Understand and be able to utilize the stages of common language construction inyour own practice.Learn about pretreatment principles and their applications with persons experiencinguntreated major mental illness, addiction, and medical issues.Discover new interventions via outreach counseling, advocacy and case managementwith people experiencing long-term or chronic homelessness.Understand how to better integrate policy, programs (e.g. Housing First), and supervisionwith homeless outreach initiatives. About the Author Jay S. Levy, LICSW has spent the last 20 years working withindividuals who experience homelessness. He has developed newprograms and provided clinical staff supervision. Jay is one ofthe architects to the Regional Engagement and Assessment forChronically Homeless Housing program (REACH). This wasadopted by the Western Massachusetts Regional Network as aninnovative approach toward reducing chronic homelessness. Learn more at www.JaySLevy.com From the New Horizons in Therapy Series at Loving Healing Press www.LovingHealing.com SOC025000 Social Science: Social Work PSY010000 Psychology: Psychotherapy - Counseling POL002000 Political Science: Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Dev.

A powerful and inspiring study of the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter: The only student-run shelter in the United States.

Harvard Square is at the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is the business district around Harvard University. It’s a place of history, culture, and some of the most momentous events of the nation. But it’s also a gathering place for some of the city’s homeless. What is life like for the homeless in Harvard Square? Do they have anything to tell people about life? And God? That’s what Harvard student John Frame discovered and shares in Homeless at Harvard. While taking his final course at Harvard, John Frame stepped outside the walls of academia and onto the streets, pursuing a different kind of education with his homeless friends. What he found—in the way of community and how people understand themselves---may surprise you. In this unique book, each of these urban pioneers shares his own story, providing insider perspectives of life as homeless people see it. This heartwarming page-turner shows how John learned with, from, and about his homeless friends—who together tell an unforgettable story—helping readers’ better understand problems outside themselves and that they’re more similar to those on the streets than they may have believed.

An updated and expanded edition of the gritty, challenging, and utterly captivating portait of the homeless crisis. Ever Wonder What it Would Be Like to Live Homeless? Mike Yankoski did more than just wonder. By his own choice, Mike's life went from upper-middle class plush to scum-of-the-earth repulsive overnight. With only a backpack, a sleeping bag and a guitar, Mike and his traveling companion, Sam, set out to experience life on the streets in six different cities—from Washington D.C. to San Diego— and they put themselves to the test. For more than five months the pair experienced firsthand the extreme pains of hunger, the constant uncertainty and danger of living on the streets, exhaustion, depression, and social rejection—and all of this by their own choice. They wanted to find out if their faith was real, if they could actually be the Christians they said they were apart from the comforts they’d always known…to discover first hand what it means to be homeless in America. What you encounter in these pages will radically alter how you see your world—and may even change your life.