The newpoverty

by Ralph DaCosta Nunez

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 thes