Being Homeless presents the stories of homelessness as told from the perspectives of the clients, staff, and a researcher at an emergency shelter. Drawing on in-depth interviews, shelter documents, and historical analysis, the author provides ethnographic data that demonstrate the variety of the experiences and the attitudes of homeless people. This study underscores the necessity for a more comprehensive response to the needs of this group. Being Homeless offers insights, both practical and theoretical, of value to human service providers as well as sociologists.

"Where this book truly excels is its review of prior discourse on the topic, with special emphasis upon the limitations of the positivist research tradition that has thus far defined our knowledge of what it is truly like to be homeless. The book is an excellent review of the failings of prior studies of the homeless, a very good primer on ethnographic research methods, and finally, as a brief introuction to the homeless themselves via their own words." - The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare