What We Are Reading

Members of the Staff and Board of Family Promise are reading two books that delve into the economic factors contributing to the housing crises that families face and the human toll that these situations take.

Brian Goldstone’s There Is No Place for Us examines the growing crisis of homelessness in America, particularly among families and individuals who work multiple jobs yet still cannot afford stable housing. He follows several families in Atlanta who struggle with rising rents, job insecurity, and barriers that lead to homelessness. Goldstone argues that homelessness is not a personal failing but a consequence of economic policies and social systems that prioritize profit over people.

Pulitzer Prize winner Matthew Desmond’s Poverty, by America points out that levels of poverty have not improved for decades and argues that poverty in the U.S. is maintained through policies and economic systems that benefit the wealthy while exploiting the poor. He explores tax breaks, housing inequalities, predatory lending, and stagnant wages, emphasizing the need for systemic reform to address financial inequities. Desmond ultimately calls on all of us to become poverty abolitionists to dismantle these structures and ensure fair wages, affordable housing, and economic justice.