This month we will talk about \;Evicted: poverty and profit in the American city by Matthew Desmond.
\n"[The author] take s us into the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee to tell the story of eigh t families on the edge. Arleen is a single mother trying to raise her two sons on the 20 dollars a month she has left after paying for their rundown apartment. Scott is a gentle nurse consumed by a heroin addiction. Lamar\ , a man with no legs and a \;neighborhood full of boys to look after\, tries to work his way out of debt. Vanetta participates in a botched stic kup after her hours are cut. All are spending almost everything they have on rent\, and all have fallen behind. The fates of these families are in t he hands of two landlords: Sherrena Tarver\, a former schoolteacher turned inner-city entrepreneur\, and Tobin Charney\, who runs one of the worst t railer parks in Milwaukee. They loathe some of their tenants and are fond of others\, but as Sherrena puts it\, "Love don't pay the bills." She move s to evict Arleen and her boys a few days before Christmas. Even in the mo st desolate areas of American cities\, evictions used to be rare. But toda y\, most poor renting families are spending more than half of their income on housing\, and eviction has become ordinary\, especially for single mot hers. In vivid\, intimate prose\, Desmond provides a ground-level view of one of the most urgent issues facing America today. As we see families for ced into shelters\, squalid apartments\, or more dangerous neighborhoods\, we bear witness to the human cost of America's vast inequality-- and to p eople's determination and intelligence in the face of hardship. Based on y ears of embedded fieldwork and painstakingly gathered data\, this masterfu l book transforms our understanding of extreme poverty and economic exploi tation while providing fresh ideas for solving a devastating\, uniquely Am erican problem. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home\, without which nothing else is possible"--Amazon.com. \;
\nRegistration is encouraged but walk-ins are welcome!
\nHave questions? Email adultservices.dcpl@dc.gov for additional informat ion and we hope to see you there!
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