Review of:
Donald W. Burnes and David L. DiLeo. Ending Homelessness: Why We Haven’t, How We Can. Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. (2016), 314 pages, $39.95 (hardcover)

Duncan, Stephanie

Fogel, Sondra J.

Larkin, Heather

English

ScholarWorks at WMU

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 
Volume 45 
Issue 3 September Article 10 
2018 
Review of Ending Homelessness:Why We Haven’t, How We Can. 
Donald W. Burnes and David L. DiLeo. Reviewed Sondra J. Fogel, 
Stephanie Duncan, and Heather Larkin. 
Sondra J. Fogel 
University of South Florida 
Stephanie Duncan 
University of South Florida 
Heather Larkin 
University of South Florida 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw 
 Part of the Social Work Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Fogel, Sondra J.; Duncan, Stephanie; and Larkin, Heather (2018) "Review of Ending Homelessness:Why 
We Haven’t, How We Can. Donald W. Burnes and David L. DiLeo. Reviewed Sondra J. Fogel, Stephanie 
Duncan, and Heather Larkin.," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 45 : Iss. 3 , Article 10. 
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol45/iss3/10 
This Book Review is brought to you by the Western 
Michigan University School of Social Work. For more 
information, please contact wmu-
scholarworks@wmich.edu. 
165Chapter TitleBook Reviews
Donald W. Burnes and David L. DiLeo. Ending Homelessness: 
Why We Haven’t, How We Can. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 
Inc. (2016), 314 pages, $39.95 (hardcover).
 Edited by two leading scholars and advocates for those ex-
periencing homelessness, this book provides a comprehensive 
and in-depth analysis of the complexities of the pervasive so-
cial and economic problem of homelessness. In recent years, 
academic interest and scholarship from diverse fields have 
contributed substantially to our knowledge of homelessness 
by demonstrating who and how various groups of people be-
come and stay homeless, and by exploring those who serve this 
group. Furthermore, various governmental and local programs 
that serve diverse individuals, families, and youth experiencing 
homelessness have increasingly implemented evidence-sup-
ported best practices and have designed new funding mecha-
nisms to engage other stakeholders in ending homelessness.
 Without awareness of the various intertwined elements in-
volved in homelessness, how would one begin to understand 
this seemingly intractable social issue? Read this book for a 
start. It offers 17 cogent and thoughtful chapters on the mul-
titude of factors contributing to homelessness. Divided into 
four sections—Where are we now? What have we done (or not 
done)? Why aren’t we further? and What do we do?—the chap-
ters are written by experts in their respected areas, including 
someone who formerly experienced homelessness. In the sec-
ond chapter, the author discusses how she went from serving 
those experiencing homelessness to becoming homeless herself. 
This chapter reinforces how societal “isms” create insidious bar-
riers to leaving homelessness and gaining housing. Her chapter 
magnifies the problems in our broken system and with service 
providers who are truly looking at people as numbers and not 
human beings. By the end of the first section in this book, read-
ers have gained a historical perspective on this issue and an un-
derstanding of government efforts, including the Point-in-Time 
counts and the difficulty of defining homelessness, to recogniz-
ing the breadth and reach of this growing human experience. 
 Section two presents current efforts to answer the question 
of what is being done. This section begins with a review of 
the implementation of permanent supportive housing, using a 
housing first philosophy, which is now a common approach to 
166 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
the provision of services for those experiencing chronic home-
lessness, as well as others. Those readers who are unfamiliar 
with this topic will likely appreciate the clarity with which this 
information is presented. It would be wise to take caution in 
repeating the statistics used, as more current data may be avail-
able. (This care is recommended in regard to all statistics pre-
sented in the book.) The remaining chapters read as case stud-
ies to showcase how communities are working with housing 
subsidy programs and challenges inherent when organizations 
are working in silos on this complicated issue.
 In the third section, chapters 9–12 give an impressive pre-
sentation of homelessness through the lens of housing, the law, 
and social policy. Dileo, who is also an editor of the book, ex-
amined the value of our past and its weight in what has led to 
homelessness today. His section provides a strong foundation 
for Chapters 10–12, which individually focus on housing, the 
law, and then social policy. Chapter 10 speaks of Affordable 
Housing policies and their impact on the poorest of citizens. 
The author makes a case for changes that must be made in order 
for these individuals to ever reach the ability to end their own 
homelessness. Chapter 11, especially relevant given the current 
political climate, illustrates the need for changes to present eco-
nomic policies for the well-being of those who are economical-
ly disadvantaged. Chapter 12 primarily focuses on anti-home-
lessness laws and neoliberal policies that leave unanswered the 
question as to who in the local, state, federal is responsible for 
helping people experiencing homelessness. Ultimately, these 
authors declare that we all bear a collective responsibility for 
this inhumane condition. 
 The final section of this book elucidates some of the mac-
ro-oriented influences on decision-makers. For example, this 
section points to the role of big data, outcome studies, funders, 
and of course, political will as some of the unseen forces shap-
ing macro decisions. These areas are all addressed to answer 
the question “what do we do?” Perhaps it is fitting that the final 
chapter is left to Donald Burns, one of the editors of this book 
and a tireless advocate for people experiencing homelessness and 
living in poverty, to summarize the material presented and offer 
guidance on the very important question of what do we do next. 
 This book is a valuable resource for professionals who work 
with people experiencing homelessness or anyone interested in 
167Chapter TitleBook Reviews
this topic. The contents are extremely useful for those new to 
the field or who may not have a strong foundation in the history 
behind the current state of homelessness issues, or in federal 
guidelines and intervention strategies that have been devel-
oped in recent years geared to end homelessness. Each chapter 
can be read alone, and in any order. While a strength of this 
book, it also bears noting that some chapters repeat prior pre-
sented information in order to set the context for their work. 
This is easily forgiven and is not uncommon in edited books. 
Overall, this excellent edited book makes the valuable contribu-
tion of educating anybody who has an interest in what actions 
are being taken in order to “move the needle” towards ending 
homelessness, and that is extremely valuable.
Sondra J. Fogel, Stephanie Duncan, and Heather Larkin
School of Social Work
University of South Florida
Naomi Glenn-Levin Rodriguez, Fragile Families: Foster Care, Im-
migration, and Citizenship. University of Pennsylvania Press 
(2017), 222 pages, $59.95 (hardcover).
 The nationalist narrative of anti-immigration rhetoric has 
been heightened in the past few years, especially during the 
2016 presidential election. Depicted among this narrative are 
Central American children crossing borders to gain economic 
advantage in achieving a brighter future. Latino unaccompa-
nied minors and U.S. citizen children whose undocumented 
parents have been deported experience the immigration system 
and child welfare system in a drastically different way than the 
general child population within the child protection system. 
Rodriguez’s book reflects the complex systems in which key 
players, such as social workers, legal advocates, and the court, 
shape the trajectories of immigrant Latino children who have 
experienced maltreatment in the border space between San Di-
ego and Tijuana. 
 This book addresses an important issue that crosses geo-
graphical borders as well as different legal systems. Rodriguez 
explores how Latino immigrant families embody experiences 
of both the child protection and immigration systems in this 


Review of \u3ci\u3eEnding Homelessness:Why We Haven’t, How We Can\u3c/i\u3e. Donald W. Burnes and David L. DiLeo. Reviewed Sondra J. Fogel, Stephanie Duncan, and Heather Larkin.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Volume 45 Issue 3 September Article 10 2018 Review of Ending Homelessness:Why We Haven’t, How We Can. Donald W. Burnes and David L. DiLeo. Reviewed Sondra J. Fogel, Stephanie Duncan, and Heather Larkin. Sondra J. Fogel University of South Florida Stephanie Duncan University of South Florida Heather Larkin University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw  Part of the Social Work Commons Recommended Citation Fogel, Sondra J.; Duncan, Stephanie; and Larkin, Heather (2018) "Review of Ending Homelessness:Why We Haven’t, How We Can. Donald W. Burnes and David L. DiLeo. Reviewed Sondra J. Fogel, Stephanie Duncan, and Heather Larkin.," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 45 : Iss. 3 , Article 10. Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol45/iss3/10 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Social Work at ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact maira.bundza@wmich.edu. 165Chapter TitleBook ReviewsDonald W. Burnes and David L. DiLeo. Ending Homelessness: Why We Haven’t, How We Can. Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. (2016), 314 pages, $39.95 (hardcover). Edited by two leading scholars and advocates for those ex-periencing homelessness, this book provides a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the complexities of the pervasive so-cial and economic problem of homelessness. In recent years, academic interest and scholarship from diverse fields have contributed substantially to our knowledge of homelessness by demonstrating who and how various groups of people be-come and stay homeless, and by exploring those who serve this group. Furthermore, various governmental and local programs that serve diverse individuals, families, and youth experiencing homelessness have increasingly implemented evidence-sup-ported best practices and have designed new funding mecha-nisms to engage other stakeholders in ending homelessness. Without awareness of the various intertwined elements in-volved in homelessness, how would one begin to understand this seemingly intractable social issue? Read this book for a start. It offers 17 cogent and thoughtful chapters on the mul-titude of factors contributing to homelessness. Divided into four sections—Where are we now? What have we done (or not done)? Why aren’t we further? and What do we do?—the chap-ters are written by experts in their respected areas, including someone who formerly experienced homelessness. In the sec-ond chapter, the author discusses how she went from serving those experiencing homelessness to becoming homeless herself. This chapter reinforces how societal “isms” create insidious bar-riers to leaving homelessness and gaining housing. Her chapter magnifies the problems in our broken system and with service providers who are truly looking at people as numbers and not human beings. By the end of the first section in this book, read-ers have gained a historical perspective on this issue and an un-derstanding of government efforts, including the Point-in-Time counts and the difficulty of defining homelessness, to recogniz-ing the breadth and reach of this growing human experience.  Section two presents current efforts to answer the question of what is being done. This section begins with a review of the implementation of permanent supportive housing, using a housing first philosophy, which is now a common approach to 166 Journal of Sociology & Social Welfarethe provision of services for those experiencing chronic home-lessness, as well as others. Those readers who are unfamiliar with this topic will likely appreciate the clarity with which this information is presented. It would be wise to take caution in repeating the statistics used, as more current data may be avail-able. (This care is recommended in regard to all statistics pre-sented in the book.) The remaining chapters read as case stud-ies to showcase how communities are working with housing subsidy programs and challenges inherent when organizations are working in silos on this complicated issue. In the third section, chapters 9–12 give an impressive pre-sentation of homelessness through the lens of housing, the law, and social policy. Dileo, who is also an editor of the book, ex-amined the value of our past and its weight in what has led to homelessness today. His section provides a strong foundation for Chapters 10–12, which individually focus on housing, the law, and then social policy. Chapter 10 speaks of Affordable Housing policies and their impact on the poorest of citizens. The author makes a case for changes that must be made in order for these individuals to ever reach the ability to end their own homelessness. Chapter 11, especially relevant given the current political climate, illustrates the need for changes to present eco-nomic policies for the well-being of those who are economical-ly disadvantaged. Chapter 12 primarily focuses on anti-home-lessness laws and neoliberal policies that leave unanswered the question as to who in the local, state, federal is responsible for helping people experiencing homelessness. Ultimately, these authors declare that we all bear a collective responsibility for this inhumane condition.  The final section of this book elucidates some of the mac-ro-oriented influences on decision-makers. For example, this section points to the role of big data, outcome studies, funders, and of course, political will as some of the unseen forces shap-ing macro decisions. These areas are all addressed to answer the question “what do we do?” Perhaps it is fitting that the final chapter is left to Donald Burns, one of the editors of this book and a tireless advocate for people experiencing homelessness and living in poverty, to summarize the material presented and offer guidance on the very important question of what do we do next.  This book is a valuable resource for professionals who work with people experiencing homelessness or anyone interested in 167Chapter TitleBook Reviewsthis topic. The contents are extremely useful for those new to the field or who may not have a strong foundation in the history behind the current state of homelessness issues, or in federal guidelines and intervention strategies that have been devel-oped in recent years geared to end homelessness. Each chapter can be read alone, and in any order. While a strength of this book, it also bears noting that some chapters repeat prior pre-sented information in order to set the context for their work. This is easily forgiven and is not uncommon in edited books. Overall, this excellent edited book makes the valuable contribu-tion of educating anybody who has an interest in what actions are being taken in order to “move the needle” towards ending homelessness, and that is extremely valuable.Sondra J. Fogel, Stephanie Duncan, and Heather LarkinSchool of Social WorkUniversity of South FloridaNaomi Glenn-Levin Rodriguez, Fragile Families: Foster Care, Im-migration, and Citizenship. University of Pennsylvania Press (2017), 222 pages, $59.95 (hardcover). The nationalist narrative of anti-immigration rhetoric has been heightened in the past few years, especially during the 2016 presidential election. Depicted among this narrative are Central American children crossing borders to gain economic advantage in achieving a brighter future. Latino unaccompa-nied minors and U.S. citizen children whose undocumented parents have been deported experience the immigration system and child welfare system in a drastically different way than the general child population within the child protection system. Rodriguez’s book reflects the complex systems in which key players, such as social workers, legal advocates, and the court, shape the trajectories of immigrant Latino children who have experienced maltreatment in the border space between San Di-ego and Tijuana.  This book addresses an important issue that crosses geo-graphical borders as well as different legal systems. Rodriguez explores how Latino immigrant families embody experiences of both the child protection and immigration systems in this 

https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4221&amp;context=jssw

Review of \u3ci\u3eEnding Homelessness:Why We Haven’t, How We Can\u3c/i\u3e. Donald W. Burnes and David L. DiLeo. Reviewed Sondra J. Fogel, Stephanie Duncan, and Heather Larkin.

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