Who is My Neighbor? - Communicating and Organizing to End Homelessness (Paperback)

"Who Is My Neighbor?" is a compelling account of the author s ten-year journey as a volunteer at the St. Francis Center, a homeless shelter in Denver, Colorado. A retired Professor of Communication, Phil Tompkins marshals his considerable experience as a participant observer in recording the voices of the guests of the shelter as they teach us about their situation. We learn about their hopes for regaining a home and their fears as they are victimized in some cases even murdered. Tompkins shows how effective communication and organization can contribute to finding an end to homelessness and establishing a movement toward protective action, especially when a proactive local government gets involved. In addition to giving voice to homeless people, "Who Is My Neighbor?" explores Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper s ambitious Commission to End Homelessness. This remarkable social experiment, now called Denver s Road Home, is two years into implementing an innovative plan for ending homelessness. It provides a model for other cities nationwide where persistent homelessness has defied resolution. "Features of this unique book: Includes poignant stories of and interviews with homeless people from every background.Recounts the era of the brutal decapitation murders among Denver s homeless population.Author s first hand experience with and scholarly understanding of the homeless is reflected throughout.Shows the ways that businesses, nonprofits, and local, state, and the federal levels of government can work together to eliminate homelessness.Puts forth the radical proposals of Denver s Road Home ending homelessness by providing homes for people without them."Additional online resources to learn more about homelessness Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, www.coloradocoalition.orgCommunity for Creative Nonviolence, http: //users.erols.com/ccnv/ Corporation for Supportive Housing, www.csh.orgDenver s Road Home, www.denversroadhome.orgEveryone Deserves A Roof, www.edar.orgGood Samaritan Society, www.good-sam.comHousing Justice , www.housingjustice.orgNational Alliance to End Homelessness, www.endhomelessness.orgNational Coalition for Homeless Veterans, www.ncvh.orgNational Coalition for the Homeless, www.nationalhomeless.orgNational Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, www.nlchp.orgThe St. Francis Center, www.sfcdenver.orgUnited States Interagency Council on Homelessness, www.usich.gov"