This collection of articles deals with issues including the intense media and research focus on the homeless, as well as the effectiveness of available programs and services. Another author offers a first-hand look at a homeless shelter, comparing life there to asylums for the mentally ill prevalent in earlier years. Homelessness is not confined to mentally ill individuals; families with children are also among the casualties. In addition to the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill, insufficient low-income housing and the specter of persistent and severe poverty are two primary causes of homelessness. Single, black men seem to be particularly vulnerable to homelessness, a fact which one author attributes to racial exclusion and structural unemployment in urban areas. Their plight is exacerbated by the role played by State governments, several of which have abolished welfare benefits for single males. Several models to alleviate the problem of homelessness in various ways are presented: self-employment, political mobilization, and action research. Chapter references