Responding to the Homeless: Policy and Practice is largely a product of
a unique collaboration between Russell K. Schutt and Gerald R. Garrett
and their Boston community. As such, it offers a rich perspective on the
problem of homelessness that is derived from the authors' shared
experience with researchers, academics, students, providers,
policymakers, and homeless persons themselves. Schutt and Garrett take
the reader into the shelters and acquaint him or her with the
philosophical and practical dilemmas facing line workers as well as
policymakers. They also take the reader into the community to better
understand the housing market and the dysfunctional continuities among
shelter, housing, treatment, and social supports. There are sensitive
discussions of the salient health problems that too commonly touch the
lives of homeless individuals, such as substance abuse and AIDS. The
volume also includes clear descriptions of the sometimes elusive
processes of counseling and case management for homeless individuals.
The sidebars of "what to do" and "what not to do" contain useful
information that will both inform and empower individuals who are
working on the front lines, and inspire and prepare future caregivers.
While the eminently readable organization and style of the book are
sugges- tive of a highly practical handbook on the basics of
homelessness, the authors and their contributors have also produced a
scholarly volume that is replete with current research findings,
programs descriptions, case studies, and vignettes.
