Almost Home

Helping Kids Move from Homelessness to Hope

By: Kevin Ryan, Tina Kelley, Cory Booker - foreword

Narrated by: Kevin Ryan, Tina Kelley, Cory Booker, Karla Mosley, Capathia Jenkins, Stephanie J. Block

Inside the lives of homeless teens - moving stories of pain and hope from Covenant House.

Almost Home tells the stories of six remarkable young people from across the United States and Canada as they confront life alone on the streets. Each eventually finds his or her way to Covenant House, the largest charity serving homeless and runaway youth in North America. From the son of a crack addict who fights his own descent into drug addiction, to a teen mother reaching for a new life, their stories veer between devastating and inspiring as they each struggle to find a place called home. This book:

• Includes a foreword by Newark Mayor Cory Booker
• Shares the personal stories of six homeless youths grappling with issues such as drug addiction, family violence, prostitution, rejection based on sexual orientation, teen parenthood, and aging out of foster care into a future with limited skills and no support system
• Gives voice to the estimated 1.6 million young people in the United States and Canada who run away or are kicked out of their homes each year
• Includes stories of firsthand experiences mentoring and working with homeless and troubled youth, and practical suggestions on how to get involved
• Discusses the root causes of homelessness among young people - and policy recommendations to address them
• Provides action steps listeners can take to fight youth homelessness and assist individual homeless young people

Written by Kevin Ryan, president of Covenant House, and Pulitzer Prize nominee and former New York Times writer Tina Kelley, Almost Home invites us to get to know homeless teens as more than an accumulation of statistics and societal issues. This book gives a human face to a huge but largely invisible problem and offers practical insights into how to prevent homelessness and help homeless youth move to a hopeful future. For instance, one kid in the book goes on to become a college football player and counselor to at-risk adolescents; another becomes a state kickboxing champion. All the stories inspire us with victories of the human spirit, large and small.

©2012 Covenant House (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Enlightening..

Any additional comments?

This was a wonderfully written set of real stories about kids who have found themselves homeless. I particularly liked that they didn't taint it against family, or against the kids..just the true way these things come about. Some had terrible situations that brought them there, others made bad choices with good backgrounds. They didn't portray judgement, or happy endings..just stories so we understand how it really is. I saw that one reviewer noted about this book that it was too sad to read...I guess I wanted to say to the reader..."welcome to the real world outside of the bubble many of us live in."
This book has me looking into Covenant house, and how I can contribute for those children who need a place to figure out their lives, for those who will. For those who can.

Makes you truly appreciate Cov Love

Reading this book enables you to truly appreciate how some of the kids arrived at Covenant House and makes any judgement evaporate. You understand completely the need for the love, basic provisions and hope supplied by the selfless staff at CH. I highly recommend this book; the read will forever change your perspective of homeless youth.