Taking a holistic approach to help you better understand the experience of homelessness within the context of your library community, this book offers new strategies and tools for meeting the needs of the entire community, including those who are unstably housed. With basic facts, statistics, and conversations about homelessness, it explains why libraries should provide support and exactly which needs they may be able (or unable) to meet and shows how to do that as part of library services you already provide. Topics include trauma-informed care, harm reduction, and mental and physical health challenges; stories and examples illustrate principles and guidelines discussed. Citing innovative services such as Dallas Public Library's coffee and conversation
and San Francisco Public Library's social worker program, the book offers both food for thought and tools for action as librarians strive to understand and meet the needs of a traditionally stereotyped and excluded population.