The major theme in this book is that people are homeless because of structural arrangements and trends that result in extreme impoverishment and a shortage of affordable housing in U.S. cities. It explains the economic and historical causes of homelessness with accounts of individuals and families.

Doug A. Timmer is associate professor of sociology at North Central College. D. Stanley Eitzen is professor of sociology at Colorado State University. Kathryn D. Talley is associate professor of sociology at North Central College. Doug A. Timmer is associate professor of sociology at North Central College. D. Stanley Eitzen is professor of sociology at Colorado State University. Kathryn D. Talley is associate professor of sociology at North Central College.

Overview -- Understanding Homelessness: Industrial and Urban Decline -- The Root Causes of Homelessness in American Cities -- Paths to Homelessness -- The "Old" Homeless: Sam Sheldon and Henry Walsh -- Work Versus Welfare-A False Choice: Sue Jackson -- The Economic Marginality of Young Families: Sara, Dave, Elizabeth, and Joshua -- Left Behind in a De-industrialized, Low-Wage Economy: Bob and Nancy Shagford and Their Childern -- Eviction: Debbie Jones and Her Children -- Social Service Bureaucracy and Homelessness: Diane Moore -- Runaway and Throwaway Teens: Jeffrey Giancarlo -- A Black Teenage Single Mother and Her Son: Michelle and Andre -- Battered Women and Homelessness: Barbara Evans -- Conclusion -- The Complex and Simple Reality of Homelessness -- Making Homelessness Go Away: Politics and Policy