"Christmas Eve at the homeless shelter looks the same as any other night: Kids running around. Volunteers serving coffee and Kool-Aid. People looking for a warm place to spend the night. Then something magical happens" --

"Homelessness is a problem that affects millions of people around the world. When discussing important issues such as homelessness, it is important to understand the pertinent facts in order to form a solid argument. Readers are presented with those pertinent facts through enlightening main text and helpful text features, including fact boxes and graphic organizers. Full-color photographs accompany this vital information. People approach social issues...

See howProject Homeless ConnectandWarm Up Americause dignity, compassion (and knitting needles) to help those who are experiencing homelessness in San Francisco and beyond.

"From the Ashes is a remarkable memoir about hope and resilience, and a revelatory look into the life of a Métis-Cree man who refused to give up. Abandoned by his parents as a toddler, Jesse Thistle briefly found himself in the foster-care system with his two brothers, cut off from all they had known. Eventually the children landed in the home of their paternal grandparents, but their tough-love attitudes meant conflicts became commonplace. And the...

For fans of A Street Cat Named Bob and Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, Strays is a compelling true story of a man who rescues a stray, injured cat and how they save each other. Homeless, alcoholic, and depressed, Michael King lives in a UPS loading bay on the wrong side of the tracks in Portland, Oregon. One rainy night, he stumbles upon a hurt, starving, scruffy cat and takes her in. Nursing her back to health, he names her...

"Abandoned as a toddler, Jesse Thistle and his two brothers were placed in foster care. Eventually placed with their paternal grandparents, the children often clashed with their tough-love attitude. Soon, Jesse succumbed to a self-destructive cycle of drug and alcohol addiction and petty crime, resulting in more than a decade living on and off the streets. Facing struggles many of us cannot even imagine, Jesse knew he would die unless he turned his...

A moving and scientific look at the curative powers—both physical and mental—of rescuing a shelter animal, by the president of Humane Society Silicon Valley.
MUTUAL RESCUE profiles the transformational impact that shelter pets have on humans, exploring the emotional, physical, and spiritual gifts that rescued animals provide. It explores through anecdote, observation, and scientific research, the complexity and depth of the role that...

Collection of linked stories about a group of women in working-class Boston.

"It's June's first day at Huey House, and as if losing her home weren't enough, she also can't bring her cherished viola inside. Before the accident last year, her dad saved tip money for a year to buy her viola, and she's not about to give it up now. Tyrell has been at Huey House for three years and gives June a glimpse of the good things about living there: friendship, hot meals, and a classical musician next door. Can he and June work together...

Ginny Carter was once a rising star in TV news, married to a top anchorman, with a three-year-old son and a full and happy life in Beverly Hills-until her whole world dissolved in a single instant on the freeway two days before Christmas. In the aftermath, she pieces her life back together and tries to find meaning in her existence as a human rights worker in the worst areas around the globe. Then, on the anniversary of the fateful accident-and wrestling...