Caught in the Mix: An Oral Portrait of Homelessness

Through interviews with homeless people, Bulman provides readers with a unique perspective on homelessness. Conducted in soup kitchens, in homeless shelters, and on the street, the interviews reveal the human face of homelessness, which is often obscured by statistics. Chapter one explores the underreported link between domestic violence and homelessness through interviews with women who became homeless when they fled from their abuser. Homeless teenagers are interviewed in chapter two. Chapter three documents the link between crime and homelessness through interviews with homeless crime victims. In chapter four, people who became homeless because of economic factors, such as the loss of a job or of health insurance, are interviewed. Addicts are interviewed in chapter five, and chapter six covers those who have been homeless for some time. In chapter seven, the author turns to those who have found permanent housing after being homeless.

Through interviews with homeless people, Bulman provides readers with a unique perspective on homelessness. Conducted in soup kitchens, in homeless shelters, and on the street, the interviews reveal the human face of homelessness, which is obscured by statistics.

PHILIP MICHAEL BULMAN is a freelance journalist.