UW1020: Writing for Social Change: Books

The Encyclopedia of Homelessness is the first systematic effort to organize and summarize what we know about this complex topic which impacts not only the homeless but all of society. The Encyclopedia focuses on the situation in the United States in the early 2000's, with a comparative sampling of homelessness around the world. The Encyclopedia contains entries on Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, France, Guatemala, Japan, Nigeria, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, Tokyo, Calcutta, London and others from around the world. The Encyclopedia of Homelessness meets the needs of a broad audience, offering a rich history and the data, views, and perspectives of experts from different disciplines and perspectives.

The existence of minorities will grow in most countries of the world because of sociopolitical upheaval and economic crisis, both of which result in waves of migration. Contributors to this volume discuss the task of education to alleviate the problems arising from the mix of peoples of various ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious backgrounds.No education system alone can create a just and equal society, and education by itself is not enough to achieve peace. Nevertheless, educational efforts assisted by other institutional commitments and actions are essential in order to create an atmosphere of justice, mutual recognition, and acceptance as preconditions for peaceful coexistence within groups and between people.As a result of worldwide migration in reaction to wars and other geopolitical conflicts, as well as economic crisis, many modern nation-states consist of a mix of people of various ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious backgrounds. Indeed, there are very few countries that are monocultural. Here contributors discuss how it is imperative that multicultural education be promoted to achieve awareness, then tolerance, and finally acceptance of ethnic and other diversity within societies.

"This book explores how the homeless are presented by the media and consequently, how public perceptions of the homeless are shaped. By analyzing how the media informally educates their audiences as well as interviewing homeless people and journalists, the research uncovers the reality that the issue of homelessness is not a media priority because it does not provide the requisite ratings boost. This study also debunks the myth that the solution to a homeless person's problem is a meal and an overnight stay, illuminating how much farther the distance to becoming a "regular" person is." "As one of the first works to cast light on the relationship between the media, the homeless, and the public, Homeless Culture and the Media is an important contribution to media studies and American sociology."--BOOK JACKET.

Humans are social animals and, in general, donâe(tm)t thrive in isolated environments. Homeless people, many of whom suffer from serious mental illnesses, often live socially isolated on the streets or in shelters. Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illness describes a carefully designed large-scale study to assess how well these people do when attempts are made to reduce their social isolation and integrate them into the community. Should homeless mentally ill people be provided with the type of housing they want or with what clinicians think they need? Is residential staff necessary? Are roommates advantageous? How is community integration affected by substance abuse, psychiatric diagnoses, and cognitive functioning? Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illness answers these questions and reexamines the assumptions behind housing policies that support the preference of most homeless mentally ill people to live alone in independent apartments. The analysis shows that living alone reduces housing retention as well as cognitive functioning, while group homes improve these critical outcomes. Throughout the book, Russell Schutt explores the meaning and value of community for our most fragile citizens.

As one of our country's major social problems, homelessness is often in the news. The media tend to portray the homeless as drunk, stoned, crazy, or sick individuals—a portrayal that is only partly accurate and represents an obstacle to our understanding of the wider social implications of this complex issue. This edited collection examines the various ways—both verbal and visual—in which the homeless have been portrayed by the media from the 1980s to the present day. The contributors apply different frameworks, ranging from phenomenology to culture studies, to analyze the characteristics, implications, and consequences of the stories and images disseminated by the media.

Brings together the words of welfare mothers, activists and advocates, as well as scholars in a poignant and powerful challenge to the impoverishment of women.

The importance of studying volunteering -- What is volunteering? -- Personality -- Motives -- Values, norms, and attitudes -- Socio-economic resources -- Time and health -- Gender -- Race -- The life course: the early stages -- The life course: the later stages -- Social resources -- Volunteer recruitment -- Schools and congregations -- Community, neighborhood, city, and region -- Cross-national differences -- Trends in volunteering -- Volunteer tasks -- The volunteer role -- Citizenship and prosocial behavior -- Occupation, income, and health -- Conclusion.