"In his inaugural address last January, President George W. Bush pledged that 'When we see that wounded traveler on the road to Jericho, we will not pass by to the other side.' Using the best study of homeless Americans ever conducted, with information on both client needs and the services available to meet those needs, Helping America's Homeless, Martha Burt's latest book, shows who these wounded travelers are, what we have done for them so far, and what we have yet to do to end their homelessness. This landmark study should end pointless ideological bickering and provide a rock-solid foundation for finally ending this national disgrace."

—Robert Rosenheck MD
Professor of Psychiatry and Public Health, Yale Medical School, National Director, Evaluation of VA Homeless Programs

"Martha Burt has long been one of America's most careful and influential scholars of homelessness. In Helping America's Homeless, Dr. Burt and her colleagues demonstrate commendable thoroughness and rigor in their handling of data, but as important, they do not avoid the disturbing conclusion that much of what we've done with and for homeless people has been beside the point. They applaud no moral victories here, exalt no federal agencies and local heroes whose principal achievements have been to build service empires to manage a problem that we know how to solve. As homelessness continues unabated, advocates and officials at all levels of government should heed this fine work that brings important news."

—Jim Baumohl
Bryn Mawr College and the Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness

"Dr. Martha Burt and her colleagues’ work on the demographics of homelessness has long set the standard on the subject. In this important book, they have analyzed a new and comprehensive set of data, and used this information to probe further for answers to the questions of who, and more importantly, why. Helping America’s Homeless makes a significant contribution to our understanding of homelessness today. And by looking back at what we have done, and the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of the systems we have established to address the problem, it can give us guidance in our efforts to end homelessness in the future."

—Nan Roman
President, National Alliance to End Homelessness

"Every person seeking to affect public policy whether as a public official, professional or advocate should not only read this book, but use it daily to create real change in their communities. This is the most comprehensive, thorough and practical material to date on homelessness. The authors take a more holistic look at homelessness than ever before by including both the rural and suburban homeless, as well as urban, and by comparing the homeless to other poor Americans. This is not just a review of statistical data but a real analysis of the effects of public policy and ways to improve strategies to address the needs of our country's poorest citizens."

—Natalie Hutcheson
Director of Specialized Housing Resources, Kentucky Housing Corporation

"Helping America's Homeless offers a rich and informative overview of who is homeless and why, and what is now being done, based on an unprecedented national survey. The conclusions make a compelling call for reinvigorating homeless policy and programs with a much sharper focus on affordable and supportive housing as the way to permanently end homelessness in America; coupled with prevention efforts focused in hospitals and jails and other settings to end the practice of routinely discharging people into homelessness."

—Carla I. Javits
President and CEO, Corporation for Supportive Housing.

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