The Word On The Street

"In The Word on the Street, sociologist Kurt Borchard examines homelessness in Las Vegas from the perspectives of the city administration, the media, and especially of the homeless men themselves. He shows how popular interpretations of homelessness as a personal problem are used to create social policy, and he records the experiences of homeless men through interviews and conversations with them. Borchard's account offers a graphic, profoundly moving picture of life on Las Vegas's mean streets, depicting the strategies that homeless men employ in order to survive, from the search for a safe place to sleep to the challenges of finding food, maintaining personal hygiene, and finding an acceptable place to rest during a long day on the street. He also elicits the men's own perceptions of the causes and consequences of homelessness, as well as their views on the city's homeless policies."--Jacket.