We notice them but we don't really see them. They are holding a sign on the street corner and are just another part of driving in the city. We are on our way to a store or to work or to our home, and these homeless people are not our problem. Our problems revolve around our job and car, our family and friends, our weekends and vacation and fun times, not strangers asking for money. It isn't our fault that they became home-less or don't have a job, so why should we respond to them when they ask us for money?
I don't know if I can answer that question in this book, but I will try. First, I will introduce you to twenty homeless people and tell their stories. You will meet Baby, Alex, Carrie, Rita, Amanda, Eric, Cat, Serenity, Laylani, Yesenia, Emanuel, Gale, Zachariah, Monica, Amber, Bobby, Starr, Isaiah, Caspar and Steve. In the second half of this book, we will explore some of the crises that are plaguing America: a housing crisis, a pregnancy crisis, an exile crisis, a childcare crisis, a drug and alcohol crisis, a mental health crisis, an abandoning crisis, and a money crisis.
This is the third book in a series that I am publishing about homeless-ness in America. This series is my attempt to uncover the actions that lead to homelessness and some of the solutions that are being tried. I start with individuals, their background and history and the choices they made in life. I then examine large systems, financial and healthcare and the justice and housing, ones that are failing to make America a safe and happy place for all its citizens.