January 2024 MBR The Social Issues Shelf

The Social Issues Shelf

When We Walk By
Kevin F. Adler, author
Donald W. Burnes, author
Amanda Banh & Andrijana Bilbija, contributors
North Atlantic Books
www.northatlanticbooks.com
9781623178840, $19.95, PB, 328pp

https://www.amazon.com/When-We-Walk-Forgotten-Homelessness/dp/1623178843

Synopsis: Think about the last time that you saw or interacted with an unhoused person. What did you do? What did you say? Did you offer money or a smile, or did you avert your gaze?

With the publication of "When We Walk By: Forgotten Humanity, Broken Systems, and the Role We Can Each Play in Ending Homelessness in America", co-authors Kevin F. Adler and Donald W. Burnes (and with extensive contributions of Amanda Banh and Andrijana Bilbija) takes an urgent look at homelessness in America, showing us what we lose (in ourselves and as a society) when we choose to walk past and ignore our neighbors in shelters, insecure housing, or on the streets. And it brilliantly shows what we stand to gain when we embrace our humanity and move toward evidence-based people-first, community-driven solutions, offering social analysis, economic and political histories, and the real stories of unhoused people.

Collaboratively, Kevin F. Adler and Donald W. Burnes, with Amanda Banh and Andrijana Bilbija, recast chronic homelessness in the U.S. as a byproduct of twin crises: our social services systems are failing, and so is our humanity. With "When We Walk By", readers will learn:

Why our brains have been trained to overlook our unhoused neighbors

The social, economic, and political forces that shape myths like "all homeless people are addicts" and "they'd have a house if they got a job"

What conservative economics gets wrong about housing insecurity

What relational poverty is, and how to shift away from "us versus them" thinking

That for many Americans, housing insecurity is just one missed paycheck away

Who "the homeless" really are - and why that might surprise you

What you can do to help, starting today

Critique: With the rising rates of homelessness in our cities from coast to coast, "When We Walk By: Forgotten Humanity, Broken Systems, and the Role We Can Each Play in Ending Homelessness in America" is a necessary, timely, deeply humanizing read that goes beyond theory and policy analysis to offer 'engaged solutions with compassion and heart'. Articulate, eloquent, and a clarion call to both individual and collective action, "When We Walk By" is essential and ultimately inspiring reading for everyone who cares about the problem of homelessness, possible and successful housing solutions, as well as their own personal humanity. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community and college/university library Contemporary Social Issues collections, it should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, governmental policy makers, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "When We Walk By: Forgotten Humanity, Broken Systems, and the Role We Can Each Play in Ending Homelessness in America" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.99).

Editorial Note #1: Kevin F. Adler is the founder and CEO of the nonprofit Miracle Messages. He holds a Masters in Sociology from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelors in Politics from Occidental College. In his work on homelessness, he has pioneered the concept of "relational poverty" as an overlooked form of poverty severely affecting unhoused individuals. He previously authored Natural Disasters as a Catalyst for Social Capital.

Editorial Note #2: Donald W. Burns funds The Burnes Institute for Poverty Research at the Colorado Center on Law and Policy and teaches at Denver's Academy for Lifelong Learning. He was an adjunct professor and scholar-in-residence at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. He co-authored Journeys Out of Homelessness: The Voices of Lived Experience and A Nation in Denial: The Truth About Homelessness and co-edited Ending Homelessness: Why We Haven't, How We Can.

Venture Meets Mission
Arun Gupta, et al.
Stanford Business Books
c/o Stanford University Press
www.sup.org
9781503636286, $30.00, HC, 280pp

https://www.amazon.com/Venture-Meets-Mission-Aligning-Transform/dp/1503636283

Synopsis: The world today is facing dramatic geopolitical, environmental, and technological shifts. Co-authored by Arun Gupta, Gerard George, and Thomas J. Fewer, "Venture Meets Mission: Aligning People, Purpose, and Profit to Innovate and Transform Society" argues that if Business, Government, and Society come together, rebuild trust, and collaborate, we have a generational opportunity to address societal challenges -- climate change, cybersecurity, disease outbreaks, food insecurity, and education.

"Venture Meets Mission" also explains, with hope and passion, how our existing entrepreneurial ecosystem, with the ideals of democracy, can be the foundation for a new mission-driven capitalism.

The good news is the components of this problem-solving ecosystem already exist. The co-authors collaboratively explain what is required to join people, purpose, and profit together for world-changing impact -- starting with rebuilding trust among Business, Government, and Society.

The co-authors also draw on their combined leadership experience with Silicon Valley innovation, venture capital, and work at the highest levels of the federal government. "Venture Meets Mission" presents engaging and illustrative stories of successful entrepreneurs, with diverse perspectives and intersectional experiences, who combine mission and venture to solve critical societal problems.

"Venture Meets Mission" also seeks to inspire a generation of students, young professionals, and entrepreneurial executives to pursue mission-driven ventures that can make the world a better place. Of special note is the explanation of why and how forward-thinking government officials and policymakers can harness private sector entrepreneurship and innovation to solve society's problems.

Critique: With the inclusion of eight pages of Notes and a seven page Index, "Venture Meets Mission: Aligning People, Purpose, and Profit to Innovate and Transform Society" is a welcome and timely addition to personal, professional, community, corporate, and college/university library Contemporary Business Development & Entrepreneurship collections and supplemental MBA curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for MBA students, academia, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and governmental policy makers that "Venture Meets Mission" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $28.50).

Editorial Note #1: Arun Gupta is a venture capitalist, Lecturer at Stanford University, and Adjunct Entrepreneurship Professor at Georgetown University. He is CEO of NobleReach Foundation, which is focused on catalyzing and inspiring a renewed spirit of national service through innovation.

Editorial Note #2: Gerard (Gerry) George is the Tamsen and Michael Brown Family Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Georgetown University and Senior Advisor at TPG, a leading global alternative asset manager.

Editorial Note #3: Thomas J. Fewer is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative at Georgetown University and VP at NobleReach Foundation, focused on developing innovative talent programs to educate and inspire the next generation of mission-driven change makers.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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Midwest Book Review