Join us for a book signing\, meet and gree t\, and special edition of our Heart &\; Hand Book Talk series with Dav id Ambroz\, sponsored by LA County Library Foundation and BIG Outdoor.
\nDavid Ambroz is a poverty &\; child welfare expert and advocate an d author of A Place Called Home - A Memoir. In a chat with Librar y Director Skye Patrick\, he will share his journey from growing up homele ss and navigating the foster care system to overcoming life's obstacles an d becoming an award-winning child welfare advocate. David's experiences an d insight on homelessness\, child poverty\, foster care\, and mental healt h are sure to inspire you to turn your empathy into action!
\nAbout A Place Called Home - A Memoir
\nThere are millions of homeless children in America today and in A Pla
ce Called Home - A Memoir award-winning child welfare advocate David
Ambroz writes about growing up homeless in New York for eleven years and h
is subsequent years in foster care\, offering a window into what so many k
ids living in poverty experience every day. When David and his siblings sh
ould be in elementary school\, they are instead walking the streets seekin
g shelter while their mother is battling mental illness. They rest in trai
n stations\, 24-hour diners\, anywhere that&rsquo\;s warm and dry\; they b
athe in public restrooms and steal food to quell their hunger. When David
is placed in foster care\, at first it feels like salvation but soon prove
s to be just as unsafe. He&rsquo\;s moved from home to home and\, in all b
ut one placement\, he&rsquo\;s abused. His burgeoning homosexuality makes
him an easy target for other&rsquo\;s cruelty.
David finds hope and o
pportunities in libraries\, schools\, and the occasional kind-hearted adul
t\; he harnesses an inner grit to escape the all-too-familiar outcome for
a kid like him. Through hard work and unwavering resolve\, he is able to g
et a scholarship to Vassar College\, his first significant step out of pov
erty. He later graduates from UCLA Law with a vision of using his degree t
o change the laws that affect children in poverty. Told with lyricism and
sparkling with warmth\, A Place Called Home depicts childhood pov
erty and homelessness as it is experienced by so many young people who hav
e been systematically overlooked and unprotected. It&rsquo\;s at once a gr
ipping personal account of deprivation&mdash\;how one boy survived it\, an
d ultimately thrived&mdash\;and a resounding call for readers to move from
empathy to action.
&ldquo\;It's impossible to read A Place Ca lled Home and not want to redouble your efforts to fight the systems of po verty that have plagued America for far too long. In this book\, David sha res his deeply personal story and issues a rousing call to make this a mor e humane and compassionate nation.&rdquo\; &mdash\;HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON< /em>
\n&ldquo\;A Place Called Home will take your breath away. I
t&rsquo\;s a must read for anyone who&rsquo\;s looked at a raggedy street
family and asked\, &lsquo\;Who are those people?&rsquo\; It&rsquo\;s also
for everyone who cares about &ldquo\;Those People.&rdquo\; You will fall i
n love with David Ambroz\, his beautifully told\, gut wrenching story\, an
d his great big heart.&rdquo\;
&mdash\;Jeannette Walls\, New
York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle
Ab out David Ambroz
\nDavid Ambroz is a national poverty and c hild welfare expert and advocate. He was recognized by President Obama as an American Champion of Change. He currently serves as the Head of Communi ty Engagement (West) for Amazon. Previously he led Corporate Social Respon sibility for Walt Disney Television\, and served as the President of the L os Angeles City Planning Commission\, and as a California Child Welfare Co uncilmember. After growing up homeless and then in foster care\, he gradua ted from Vassar and later from UCLA School of Law (J.D.). He is a foster d ad and lives in Los Angeles.
\nAbout LA County Library Found ation
\nLA County Library Foundation\, founded in 1982\, raises funds and create s partnerships to support LA County Library and the millions of children\, teens\, and adults whose lives it enriches with free programs\, services\ , and resources. The Library is a dynamic and unifying force for Los Angel es County\, with the Library Foundation a vital partner. Learn more.
\nAbout BIG Outdoor
\nBIG Outdoor is a privately held premier Out-Of-Home media company focused on the development\, marketing and sales of unique high-profile media assets in k ey media markets across the country\, with offices in New York\, Los Angel es\, and Dallas. BIG Outdoor has established itself as a major force in th e outdoor advertising industry at the same time\, our philosophy is to mai ntain the integrity of operating as a boutique firm with an emphasis on pr oviding world-class services to both our clients and real estate partners.
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