Social Poverty

Almost Home tells the stories of six remarkable young people from across the United States and Canada as they confront life alone on the streets. Each eventually finds his or her way to Covenant House, the largest charity serving homeless and runaway youth in North America. From the son of a crack addict who fights his own descent into drug addiction, to a teen mother reaching for a new life, their stories veer between devastating and inspiring as they each struggle to find a place called home.

Sage and Rocky Lewis own the land in Akron Ohio where a community of people that society threw away built a small village. The village was created on the principle of dignity, respect, and second chances. The city of Akron voted to close this village because it did not adhere to zoning codes even though it is completely hidden from the street and the only house near it is owned by The Homeless Charity which runs this village and day center. This audiobook is the story of some of the residents in that village. But maybe more importantly it is a story of community, love, and support.

Como seria viver em um mundo sem riqueza nem pobreza? Um mundo sem acúmulo nem miséria, sem desigualdade ou injustiça? A Bíblia anuncia a vinda desse mundo, livre de sofrimento, dor ou morte. É o Reino de Deus, inaugurado por Jesus nesta era. Enquanto todos os cristãos oram, em uma só voz, para que esse Reino venha em sua forma plena, há diversidade de vozes sobre como viver os valores do Reino no mundo de hoje – especialmente em relação ao controverso tema da riqueza e pobreza.

At the age of 14, Francisco Jiménez, together with his older brother Roberto and his mother, are caught by la migra. Forced to leave their home, the entire family travels all night for 20 hours by bus, arriving at the U.S. and Mexican border in Nogales, Arizona. In the months and years that follow, Francisco, his mother and father, and his seven brothers and sister not only struggle to keep their family together, but also face crushing poverty, long hours of labor, and blatant prejudice.

Her name is Odd. Twelve-year-old Audrey Wyatt bears the unfortunate nickname "Odd", a name even her bar-hopping, alcoholic mother uses when she's sober enough to recognize the girl. Cowed by life, Odd doesn't protest, not when she's deformed as she is. Born with a combination of rare birth defects, Odd's eyes are a startling and dreadful red. Demon eyes is the first thought that springs to mind. The little girl takes care to hide them behind dark sunglasses, something her mother insists on, except when she's trading freak-show peeks for dollars or drinks.

In an alternate reality a lot like our world, every person's physical size is directly proportional to their wealth. The poorest of the poor are the size of rats, and billionaires are the size of skyscrapers. Warner and his sister Prayer are destitute - and tiny. Their size is not just demeaning, but dangerous: day and night they face mortal dangers that bigger, richer people don't ever have to think about, from being mauled by cats to their house getting stepped on. There are no cars or phones built small enough for them, or schools or hospitals, for that matter - there's no point, when no one that little has any purchasing power....

Since the Great Recession, most Americans' standard of living has stagnated or declined. Economic inequality is at historic highs. But inequality's impact differs by race; African Americans' net wealth is just a 10th that of White Americans, and over recent decades, White families have accumulated wealth at three times the rate of Black families. In our increasingly diverse nation, sociologist Thomas M. Shapiro argues, wealth disparities must be understood in tandem with racial inequities - a dangerous combination he terms "toxic inequality".

We typically view poverty as a technical problem that we can solve with more money, more technology, and more volunteers. But there is an adaptive side to the problem of poverty, as well. Reframing Poverty directs our attention to the emotional and often unconscious mindsets we bring to this issue.

In this captivating and empathetic book, Gigi Georges follows five girls as they come of age in one of the most challenging and geographically isolated regions on the Eastern seaboard. Their stories transform our understanding of life in small towns and offer hope for the future of rural America.

Like Dave Eggers’ Zeitoun and Alexander Masters’ Stuart, this is a tour de force of narrative reportage - an intimate portrait of an invisible man. Mohammed Ashraf studied biology in college, and after college he learned how to repair television sets, cut suit lengths, and slice chicken. He has lived in Mumbai, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Surat, and Patna, but this evening he is stoned on a street in Sadar Bazaar, in North Delhi. The morning shall bring hangovers, whiskey breakfasts, and possibly answers to the lingering questions that haunt Ashraf.

Valley View Senior Housing, built in 2019 in Napa County, California, is a very affordable community of 70 cottages. This groundbreaking homeless project was organized by American Canyon’s city government for older homeless people and homeless veterans of the area. This solution-oriented book shares the inspiring story of a compassionate and humane project. Imagine if every city could create one community like this - we could begin to make headway to solve the homeless problem.

Tracing a new labor movement sparked and sustained by low-wage workers from across the globe, "We Are All Fast-Food Workers Now" is an urgent, illuminating look at globalization as seen through the eyes of workers-activists: small farmers, fast-food servers, retail workers, hotel housekeepers, home-healthcare aides, airport workers, and adjunct professors who are fighting for respect, safety, and a living wage. Drawing on interviews with activists in many US cities and countries around the world.

For years we’ve been inundated with bleak forecasts about the future. But in this electrifying new book, author Byron Reese debunks the pessimistic outlook as dangerous, and shows instead how technology will soon create a dramatically better world for every person on earth, beyond anything we have dared to imagine. With the art of a storyteller, Reese synthesizes history, technology, and sociology into an exciting, fast-moving narrative that shows how technological change has had dramatic effects on humanity in the past.

Some choose to "get off the grid", but many more Americans find themselves pushed off - whether because of financial pressures, a need or a deep desire to disappear for a period of time, or myriad other compelling reasons. John Casper is serious about teaching the listener how storage units can meet the needs of the housing-insecure, the adventurous, and anyone else willing to challenge social norms (and sometimes the law) in search of a place to call home.

The Day We Met the Queen: 10-year-old Ahmet has become the Most Famous Refugee Boy in the World. In fact, he's so famous even the queen wants to meet him - and his four best friends! So they're off to Buckingham Palace, with a list of questions for her and one special challenge. The Great (Food) Bank Heist: On Thursdays, Nelson, Ashley and Mum head out to the bank. But not just any old bank - the food bank. With its shining tins and packets of food stacked from floor to ceiling, Nelson thinks it's the best kind of bank there is. But there's a thief in town.

Mark McKnelly presents a restorative approach to transforming lives that is based on biblical principles and real-world experience. There is no need to be overwhelmed or deterred, for there is a way to restore lives with those in extreme poverty that is as fruitful as it is rewarding. Begin listening to Change for the Poor today and prepare to become a meaningful part of transforming lives—including your own—in a lasting way!

A searing, on-the-ground examination of the collapsing coal industry - and the communities left behind - in the midst of an economic and environmental crisis. The past few years have highlighted the paradox at the heart of coal country. Despite fueling a century of American progress, the people at the heart of coal country are being left behind, suffering from unemployment, the opioid epidemic, and environmental crises often at greater rates than anywhere else in the country. But what if Appalachia’s troubles are just a taste of what the future holds for all of us?

The school year is over, and it is summer in Atlanta. The sky is blue, the sun is blazing, and the days brim with possibility. But Leah feels...lost. She has been this way since one terrible afternoon a year ago, when everything changed. Since that day, her parents have become distant, her friends have fallen away, and Leah’s been adrift and alone.

Little Jeff Pearce grew up in a postwar Liverpool slum. His father lived the life of an affluent gentleman whilst his mother was forced to steal bread to feed her starving children. Life was tough, and from the moment Jeff could walk he learned to go door to door, begging rags from the rich, which he sold down the markets. Leaving school at the age of 14, he embarked on an extraordinary journey and found himself, before the age of 30, a millionaire. Then, after a cruel twist of fate left him penniless, he, his wife and his children were forced out of their beautiful home.

Twelve-year-old Lowen Grover is still reeling from the shooting death of his best friend, Abe, when he stumbles across an article about a small town giving away homes for just one dollar. It seems like the perfect escape from Flintlock and all of the awful memories associated with the city - and to his surprise, his mum, dad, and older brother are all onboard. Only his sister, Anneth, is reluctant to leave her friends and the familiarity (and amenities!) of Flintlock, but with the rest of the family anxious to do what’s best for grief-stricken Lowen, her protests fall on deaf ears. But is the Dollar Program too good to be true?