{"product_id":"they-just-need-to-get-a-job-isbn-9780807006979","title":"\"They Just Need to Get a Job\"","description":"\u003cb\u003e“Readers will come away infuriated, with a greater understanding of the systemic causes of homelessness, and with more compassion for their homeless neighbors. Essential reading for any community affected by homelessness (which is all of them).” \u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, Starred Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor readers of Andrea Elliott and Matthew Desmond, the former CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless breaks through the highly destructive misinformation surrounding our homeless neighbors\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the COVID-19 crisis put millions of Americans in danger of eviction, the nation’s affordable housing crisis has reached new heights. Yet Conservative think tanks like the Manhattan Institute continue to disseminate anti-homeless myths in the media, legislatures, and the larger culture:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e“These people just need to learn to save money.”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e“Most homeless people are mentally ill and dangerous.”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e“Runaways aren't really homeless.”\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing on her deep legal knowledge, policy expertise, and decades of frontline service, Mary Brosnahan cuts through the misinformation to deliver two important messages: that homelessness ultimately stems from a lack of investment in affordable housing; and that the greatest myth of all is that we should have no hope. In fact, the proven solutions are well documented, and the ability to enact them depends on us all.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBrosnahan takes a nationwide look from New York to Detroit to rural areas such as Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, to debunk 15 widespread misconceptions, including:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ethat the problem is inevitable (in fact, Housing First approaches have shown great success)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ethat “handouts” cause homelessness (in fact, the primary causes are flat wages and high rent)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ethat homeless people need to prove that they’re “ready” to receive aid (in fact, enforcing hurdles is far more expensive and less effective than Housing First).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith brilliant insight, Brosnahan showcases how by dispelling these pervasive myths rooted in fear, we can embrace the affordable, housing-based solutions that will bring our impoverished neighbors home.\u003ci\u003ePreface: The Function of Myth\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction: Anita\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCHAPTER 1: A BRIEF HISTORY OF HOMELESSNESS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 1:\u003cbr\u003e“Homelessness Is Inevitable and Intrinsically Unsolvable”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCHAPTER 2: THE ROOTS OF AMERICAN HOMELESSNESS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 2:\u003cbr\u003e“Homelessness in America Is a Relatively New Phenomenon”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 3:\u003cbr\u003e“Helping the ‘Worthy’ Poor Is the Best Way to End Poverty and Homelessness”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCHAPTER 3: HOMELESSNESS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 4:\u003cbr\u003e“Ronald Reagan Created Modern Homelessness”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 5:\u003cbr\u003e“Most Homeless People Are Mentally Ill and Dangerous”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCHAPTER 4: OFFERING AID CREATES MORE NEED\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 6:\u003cbr\u003e“If You Build It, They Will Come”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 7:\u003cbr\u003e“There Is No Shortage of Help Available for the Homeless—They Just Need to Access It”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 8:\u003cbr\u003e“Handouts Create Homelessness”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 9:\u003cbr\u003e“Homeless People Just Need to ‘Get a Job’ to Lift Themselves Out of Homelessness”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 10:\u003cbr\u003e“Homeless People Just Need to Learn to Save”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCHAPTER 5: WHO WE THINK OF WHEN WE THINK OF THE HOMELESS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 11:\u003cbr\u003e“Runaways Really Aren’t Homeless”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 12:\u003cbr\u003e“Homeless People Are Single Adults Living on City Streets”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCHAPTER 6: BARRIERS AND SOLUTIONS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 13:\u003cbr\u003e“People Need to Prove That They’re Worthy of and Ready for Assistance”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 14:\u003cbr\u003e“Investments in Social Housing Have Proven to Be Failures”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCHAPTER 7: RESISTANCE VS. REVOLUTION\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMYTH 15:\u003cbr\u003e“There’s Really Nothing I Can Do to Make a Meaningful Difference”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003eNotes\u003c\/i\u003e“Readers will come away infuriated, with a greater understanding of the systemic causes of homelessness, and with more compassion for their homeless neighbors. Essential reading for any community affected by homelessness (which is all of them).”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, Starred Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Deeply experienced and widely knowledgeable, Brosnahan has provided a useful perspective . . . An impassioned advocate reveals her truth about and solution for the crisis of homelessness in the US.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Rarely has a book, or its title, been timelier. . . . Provides truths and wisdom on every page. . . . All politicians should read Mary Brosnahan’s book.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e—The London School of Economics and Political Science\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“With insight and compassion, Mary Brosnahan debunks the myths that help dehumanize and render invisible our fellow houseless citizens—increasingly families, children, and veterans. As homelessness is at the breaking point in America, Brosnahan offers a way out.”\u003cbr\u003e—Heidi Boghosian, author of \u003ci\u003e“I Have Nothing to Hide”\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Mary Brosnahan’s book, \u003ci\u003e‘They Just Need to Get a Job’: 15 Myths on Homelessness\u003c\/i\u003e, arrives like water on parched soil. To give succor to those who are without homes, we must understand that to be homeless is not a sin or a failing but is to find yourself buffeted by an unequal and harsh economy. Few have battled more heroically that Brosnahan to dispel the myths that cripple our ability to see clearly and help them. Now she has written a vital book that can perhaps be distilled to this message: dream bigger.”\u003cbr\u003e—Michael Powell, author of \u003ci\u003eCanyon Dreams\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eMary Brosnahan\u003c\/b\u003e led the Coalition for the Homeless from 1989 to 2018, first as director, then executive director, then president and CEO. Her op-eds have appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eNew York Daily News\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHuffington Post\u003c\/i\u003e and been featured on \u003ci\u003e60 Minutes\u003c\/i\u003e, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, and CNBC. She has contributed to dozens of news reports on both WNYC and NPR. Ms. Brosnahan has been awarded several honorary doctorate degrees and her alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, presented her with the Thomas A. Dooley Award for outstanding work on behalf of humanity.","brand":"Beacon Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302930600165,"sku":"NP9780807006979","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780807006979.jpg?v=1767742427","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/they-just-need-to-get-a-job-isbn-9780807006979","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}