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A review by labibliobecca
The Librarian's Guide to Homelessness: An Empathy-Driven Approach to Solving Problems, Preventing Conflict, and Serving Everyone by Ryan J. Dowd
4.0
An important book for public library employees, but more generally, Dowd’s message about choosing an empathy-driven approach (as opposed to punishment-driven) can benefit anyone in whose work involves serving others.
Dowd is undoubtedly qualified to offer insight. He has worked with people experiencing homelessness for decades. This book is a wealth of information, without being dense. There are lots of cross-references, showing how techniques relate and overlap.
Dowd describes homelessness (and those experiencing it) with nuance. He prepares you for what to do when a situation turns dangerous, but emphasizes that fear is often unfounded and due to stigma. It’s not too idealistic, though. It’s more like he’s saying, “When you do this, you’re making it worse. Do this instead.” The result is a lot of small ways to make any patron feel respected, even as you’re telling them they need to stop and/or leave.
Time for qualms. The constant references to pop culture and public figures are both grating and confusing. There are some points I wish he spent more time covering, and others that grew really redundant. His takes on gender and sex work were bad. I don’t know how else to put that. He was strangely dismissive for a book so focused on empathy (it is literally in the title).
In all, the meat of it is compelling, much more so than my recent read of [b:Crucial Conversations|15014|Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High|Kerry Patterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1497193248l/15014._SX50_.jpg|2051713].
Dowd is undoubtedly qualified to offer insight. He has worked with people experiencing homelessness for decades. This book is a wealth of information, without being dense. There are lots of cross-references, showing how techniques relate and overlap.
Dowd describes homelessness (and those experiencing it) with nuance. He prepares you for what to do when a situation turns dangerous, but emphasizes that fear is often unfounded and due to stigma. It’s not too idealistic, though. It’s more like he’s saying, “When you do this, you’re making it worse. Do this instead.” The result is a lot of small ways to make any patron feel respected, even as you’re telling them they need to stop and/or leave.
Time for qualms. The constant references to pop culture and public figures are both grating and confusing. There are some points I wish he spent more time covering, and others that grew really redundant. His takes on gender and sex work were bad. I don’t know how else to put that. He was strangely dismissive for a book so focused on empathy (it is literally in the title).
In all, the meat of it is compelling, much more so than my recent read of [b:Crucial Conversations|15014|Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High|Kerry Patterson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1497193248l/15014._SX50_.jpg|2051713].