| "54 Ways You Can Help the Homelss," is, to be sure, a text of boundless optimism. It describes exactly that detailed in the title, along with real-life examples of how almost every suggestion has been applied. Some are sensible; some inspiring; some self-promoting; some unrealistic; some are stating the obvious, and some appear to take much, much, more time and commitment than the average person may be willing or able to give. Some of the fifty-four ways listed make so much sense, it's a wonder they're not more widespread practices. for instance, Mr. Kroloff suggests that citizens carry fast-food gift certificates with them to give to panhandling homeless people in lieu of bills or coins. When handing out cash, many people wonder if their money isn't going to be used to buy crack or booze. With gift certificates, this coubt can be eliminated. While the obvious repetition of suggestions in "54 Ways You Can Help the Homeless" tends to cause some ideas to lose their clout, the more personal stories accompanying some pieces can be haert-wrenching. A few go a long way towards encouraging readers to take action, such as the child who reported that he didn't eat breakfast because, as he said, "It wasn't my turn." These are not, however, the norm. Mr. Kroloff's book also has a tendency to engage in shameless self-promotion: two of the fifty-four ways to help the homeless are titled "Buy This Book," and "Give This Book." Personally, I think a foreword or just one self-dedicated category would have sufficed. Mr. Kroloff seems to believe that the average person's life revolves around helping the homeless, or would if only they knew how. He even goes as far as to suggest that instead of engaging in scavenger or treasure hunts at birthday parties, children should go door-to-door collecting food for the homeless, someething most people would realize to be an unlikely event. Furthermore, he showed himself to be a teensy bit out of touch with the state of public schools' funding when he suggested that proceeds from school fundraisers be routed towards homeless shelters. Several times, "54 Ways You Can Help the Homeless" urges readers to volunteer at shelters, soup kitchens, and other homeless organizations, but lists each as a separate category. This may not have been necessary, as in my experience, volunteering is the frist thing that comes to peoples' minds, along with donating money, when it occurs to them that they should do something to help the less fortunate. A single category might have done perfectly well, exept that subsequently it would not have been possible or at least honest to include "54" in the title of the book. "54" is important because it is a multiple of 18, a number representing life in Judaism. While many of Mr. Kroloff's fifty-four ways to help the homeless can be executed in mere seconds or minutes, maybe a few hours, some are completely unrealistic in that they would take days or months of work, more time than many people may be willing to give. While people who care very deeply about the issue of homelessness may indeed be ready to commit themselves so full, as they say, "everyone has their own agenda." Everyone cares passionately about different issues, be they education, abortion, gay rights, the WTO, medical marijuana, or homelessness, and a gay rights activist, for instance, is less likely to put an extreme amount of time into an issue he may not care as much about. An example is the idea Mr. Kroloff gives to start a thrift shop for the homeless, which would take a considerable amont of time. This is, however, truly the book of eternal optimism. Not only do the words seem to imply that ending homelessness is very possible, if only everyone would help them a bit more, the very tone of the book is positive and upbeat. Mr. Kroloff speaks of the great rewards of helping the less fortunate and of the compassion and motivation of the American people to aid the homeless, a concept very much contested in other articles I have read. His bright outlook also shines through whn, as mentioned above, he expects ordinary people to commit extraordinary amounts of time tohis cause. He never seems to doubt the likelihood of completing the task he seems to have set out to complete: eliminating homelessnesss altogether. Other sources have informed me that tis is probably not possible. Opinion? Absolutely--but opinion based on fact, nonetheless. while Mr. Kroloff seems to have the basics and more of writng conquered, his prose is nothing truly exceptional, and if the book wins any awards upon the subject matter alone they will be based. He is only one of the many, many people of this earth who feel free to write a book on whatever riles them and experience, however little their voiced needs to be added to the melee of authors clamoring for our attention and time. Not that "54 Ways You Can Help the Homeless" was not a useful and well-intentioned book; far from it. Charles Kroloff simply may not have been the person most qualified to write it. Then again, he may have been. It really is difficult to say. Often, just because one person can put pen to paper more dkillfully than the next does not mean that they have anything better to tell. "54 Ways You Can Help the Homeless" was a book that provided essentially good information and advice on a topic not well known by the general public. Although many areas could have been improved on, making it a hard read to continue at times, the spirit and optimism of the book is something to be appreciated. |
| This book is just a small one that packs a HUGE wallop to our conscience. I thought I had been doing all I could to help the homeless....until you have read this book, you have no idea how many more things that we could be doing. Painless methods of taking giant steps to solve a problem that touches all of us. Anyone who enjoys the "Chicken Soup For the Soul" books will LOVE this one. It would be the "Chicken Soup For the Homeless" alternative, literally. Each of the 54 methods of helping the Homeless includes a little heart warming story of how this method has worked. No soapbox, just the plain truth right up front. Please don't get the idea that this book has been written by Rabbi Kroloff just for the Jewish community, indeed, this is the most integrated effort I have ever seen to bring all of humanity into the effort to save ourselves! All religions and all efforts to bring our communities together on this issue have been addressed equally! This book has been written to be shared. In all ways possible this work of humanity needs to be passed around like a chain letter! There are simple methods and examples of each one provided to illustrate what has and is being done to provide a solution to the Earth shattering problem of homelessness. Simple and straight to the point, you will wonder why this hasn't been written before. "54 Ways You Can Help The Homeless" won't take long to read, and it may not change your life.....but I'll bet it WILL change someone's life! I just wish it were a little longer...and guess what? The proceeds of this book go to help support the Homeless foundations. I just COULD NOT put this book down. This is the book for those who want to do something, but don't know where to start..."There but for the Grace of God, go I" |
