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Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways: From Words to Housing
On any given night, there are over 643,000 homeless people residing in shelters and on the streets across America. What can we do to help?
"Levy crafts stories of characters who sear the Old Man Ray, the World War II veteran who resents the VA system and regards himself as the de facto night watchman at Port Authority; Ben who claims to be a prophet disowned in his own country, crucified by the government and enslaved by poverty finds a bridge to the mainstream services and a path to housing through the common language of religious metaphors, including redemption and forgiveness; and Andrew who has been 'mentally murdered' is helped to understand his own situation and gain disability benefits through the language of trauma; among others.
These stories are deftly interwoven with theory and practice as Levy constructs his developmental model of the engagement and pretreatment process. The outreach worker strives to understand the language and the culture of each homeless individual, builds a bridge to the mainstream services, and helps those providers to understand the special circumstances of these vulnerable people. Levy bears witness to the courage of these pilgrims who wander the streets of our cities, and his poignant book is a testament to the healing power of trusting and enduring relationships."
--Jim O'Connell, MD - President and Street Physician for Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program
The reader will... About the Author
Jay S. Levy, LICSW has spent the last 20 years working with individuals who experience homelessness. He has developed new programs and provided clinical staff supervision. Jay is one of the architects to the Regional Engagement and Assessment for Chronically Homeless Housing program (REACH). This was adopted by the Western Massachusetts Regional Network as an innovative approach toward reducing chronic homelessness.
Learn more at www.JaySLevy.com
From the New Horizons in Therapy Series at Loving Healing Press www.LovingHealing.com
SOC025000 Social Science : Social Work
PSY010000 Psychology : Psychotherapy - Counseling
POL002000 Political Science : Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Dev
"Levy crafts stories of characters who sear the Old Man Ray, the World War II veteran who resents the VA system and regards himself as the de facto night watchman at Port Authority; Ben who claims to be a prophet disowned in his own country, crucified by the government and enslaved by poverty finds a bridge to the mainstream services and a path to housing through the common language of religious metaphors, including redemption and forgiveness; and Andrew who has been 'mentally murdered' is helped to understand his own situation and gain disability benefits through the language of trauma; among others.
These stories are deftly interwoven with theory and practice as Levy constructs his developmental model of the engagement and pretreatment process. The outreach worker strives to understand the language and the culture of each homeless individual, builds a bridge to the mainstream services, and helps those providers to understand the special circumstances of these vulnerable people. Levy bears witness to the courage of these pilgrims who wander the streets of our cities, and his poignant book is a testament to the healing power of trusting and enduring relationships."
--Jim O'Connell, MD - President and Street Physician for Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program
The reader will... About the Author
Jay S. Levy, LICSW has spent the last 20 years working with individuals who experience homelessness. He has developed new programs and provided clinical staff supervision. Jay is one of the architects to the Regional Engagement and Assessment for Chronically Homeless Housing program (REACH). This was adopted by the Western Massachusetts Regional Network as an innovative approach toward reducing chronic homelessness.
Learn more at www.JaySLevy.com
From the New Horizons in Therapy Series at Loving Healing Press www.LovingHealing.com
SOC025000 Social Science : Social Work
PSY010000 Psychology : Psychotherapy - Counseling
POL002000 Political Science : Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Dev
168 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2010
About the author
Jay S. Levy
8 books7 followersJay S. Levy has spent more than 30 years working with individuals who experience homelessness. He is the author of the highly acclaimed books Pretreatment Guide for Homeless Outreach & Housing First and Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways. He has also published a monograph and several journal articles on Homelessness issues. His newest publication features multiple authors from both sides of the Atlantic and is entitled- Cross Cultural Dialogues on Homelessness: From Pretreatment Strategies to Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE).
Jay developed Pretreatment as an approach for helping people without homes and to promote inclusion. He has helped to create new Housing First programs such as the Regional Engagement and Assessment for Chronically Homeless program (REACH).
Jay is currently employed by Eliot CHS-Homeless Services as a Regional Manager for the statewide SAMHSA-PATH Homeless Outreach Team. He is also an adjunct teacher at Anna Maria College and recently taught a unique graduate psychology course on Outreach Counseling, which integrated Pretreatment and PIE perspectives with the clinical challenges of homeless services work.
Jay has achieved formal recognition from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Mental Health for his ongoing efforts to help under-served homeless individuals through his direct service, clinical supervision of staff, and program development. Jay received his MSW degree in clinical social work from Columbia University in 1988.
Jay lives in Western MA with his wife, Louise. His two children, Talia
and Sara, are off to college and beyond. He is an avid stargazer. Further Information at http://www.jayslevy.com/
Jay developed Pretreatment as an approach for helping people without homes and to promote inclusion. He has helped to create new Housing First programs such as the Regional Engagement and Assessment for Chronically Homeless program (REACH).
Jay is currently employed by Eliot CHS-Homeless Services as a Regional Manager for the statewide SAMHSA-PATH Homeless Outreach Team. He is also an adjunct teacher at Anna Maria College and recently taught a unique graduate psychology course on Outreach Counseling, which integrated Pretreatment and PIE perspectives with the clinical challenges of homeless services work.
Jay has achieved formal recognition from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Mental Health for his ongoing efforts to help under-served homeless individuals through his direct service, clinical supervision of staff, and program development. Jay received his MSW degree in clinical social work from Columbia University in 1988.
Jay lives in Western MA with his wife, Louise. His two children, Talia
and Sara, are off to college and beyond. He is an avid stargazer. Further Information at http://www.jayslevy.com/
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 7, 2014
I just finished reading “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways: From Words to Housing” by Jay S. Levy, MSW, LICSW. Overall I found it to be a wonderful book. It is extremely well thought out plus it is laid out in an easy-to-follow and easy-to-understand manner. I liked that it was written in such a way that even those of us who don’t have a degree in Social Work can still understand it. I definitely appreciated hearing the author’s perspective because he actually has extensive first-hand experience from working on the streets and with shelters in New York City, Boston and western Massachusetts. And finally, I liked the fact that he included real experiences and shared moving stories like Old Man Ray, Tracy or Andrew in “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways.”
“Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways” is a book that gives us a peek into the real world of homelessness. Throughout its pages Levy has deftly intertwined true story with theory and practice. He shows us how each individual person and his or her situation is different. He explains how some homeless people can, and do, suffer from untreated mental illness, addiction, and other medical conditions which ultimately lead to a steady deterioration of their health. Many of us have probably wondered at one time or another why homeless people would prefer to live on the street rather than seek help. In “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways” Levy uses his personal experiences and stories from homeless people he has worked with during the years to help answer that question. Needless to say while I found “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways” to be an eye-opening read; I also found its accompanying statistics to be very sobering.
All in all I would say that Levy did a fantastic job writing “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways.” Anyone who reads this will come away with a fresh perspective and hopefully a little more respect for those who are unfortunate enough to have to live on the street. A “must read” for everyone but especially for those looking to have a career in any type of social work or outreach program.
(Reviewed in association with Rebecca's Reads).
“Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways” is a book that gives us a peek into the real world of homelessness. Throughout its pages Levy has deftly intertwined true story with theory and practice. He shows us how each individual person and his or her situation is different. He explains how some homeless people can, and do, suffer from untreated mental illness, addiction, and other medical conditions which ultimately lead to a steady deterioration of their health. Many of us have probably wondered at one time or another why homeless people would prefer to live on the street rather than seek help. In “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways” Levy uses his personal experiences and stories from homeless people he has worked with during the years to help answer that question. Needless to say while I found “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways” to be an eye-opening read; I also found its accompanying statistics to be very sobering.
All in all I would say that Levy did a fantastic job writing “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways.” Anyone who reads this will come away with a fresh perspective and hopefully a little more respect for those who are unfortunate enough to have to live on the street. A “must read” for everyone but especially for those looking to have a career in any type of social work or outreach program.
(Reviewed in association with Rebecca's Reads).
November 8, 2013
This is a fantastic book with rich information and experience annotated in a applicable manner for those working in the field of homeless service delivery, but also for those looking to work with people with mental illness. It is very, very rich. I have my students read this and highly recommend this book to my coworkers and others in the field. It is a manual. A must read for every homeless service worker or anyone who comes in contact with homeless persons....which is nearly all people everywhere.
April 18, 2012
Wonderful, well written and insightful.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews