An accessible, up-to-date, and comprehensive resource.
A well-rounded overview of the rising population of unhoused people in the U.S. and the ways that mental illness can lead to a loss of housing.
Allen presents a timely, unbiased, well-researched reference guide that covers a wide range of topics, including the ways that mental health treatment has evolved in the U.S. and current policy and outreach programs that are attempting to find housing solutions for people experiencing mental health struggles. The author explores the complex problems caused by the dissolution of state psychiatric hospitals that began in the 1950s. Although the movement toward deinstitutionalization was driven by good intentions for providing humane treatment and improved care, many released patients had nowhere to go and ended up living on the streets or in cheap tenements or landing in jails and prisons. Allen covers the daily challenges unhoused people face regarding food, transportation, medication, and basic safety. He also describes relevant subjects such as legislation, “hostile architecture” (features in public spaces that are designed to be uncomfortable for unhoused people), advocacy for a Homeless Bill of Rights, the right to refuse treatment, and current initiatives such as “street psychiatry teams.” The facts and figures are interspersed with rich narratives, making the text approachable, interesting, and relatable. Stock photos reflect racial diversity among unhoused people and those who help them, and sidebars provide additional information. The text doesn’t discuss the widespread preference for the term unhoused.
An accessible, up-to-date, and comprehensive resource. (picture credits, source notes, for further research, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781678208080
Page Count: 64
Publisher: ReferencePoint Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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