There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America

Oct 30

In There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America, journalist Brian Goldstone delivers a deeply reported, urgent look at one of the most misunderstood crises in our country, the growing number of working families who, despite full-time employment, have no stable place to live.

Focusing on the lives of several families in Atlanta, Goldstone paints an unflinching portrait of parents who hold down jobs as home health aides, cashiers, and service workers, yet sleep in cars, extended-stay motels, or temporary shelters. His reporting dismantles persistent myths about homelessness as a condition only of joblessness or addiction. Instead, he reveals how rising rents, stagnant wages, and systemic inequities have created a class of “working homeless” Americans, people striving, contributing, and still unable to afford a home.

Goldstone’s storytelling is empathetic and human-centered. Through the daily experiences of his subjects, readers come to understand the structural barriers that perpetuate instability: the scarcity of affordable housing, the gaps in social support systems, and the lack of a safety net for families living paycheck to paycheck. His work challenges readers to reconsider what homelessness looks like and how our systems often fail those doing everything “right.”

A Mirror of HomeAid’s Mission

At HomeAid, our mission is to build new lives for individuals and families experiencing homelessness through housing and community outreach. Goldstone’s book underscores the urgency of this work and reflects the realities we see across the country.

The families profiled in There Is No Place for Us are the very people HomeAid and our network of 19 affiliates aim to serve: those caught in the gap between earning an income and being able to afford safe, stable housing. Through the generosity and expertise of the building industry, HomeAid constructs and renovates housing for service providers that help people on the path to self-sufficiency. Each project is a reminder that housing is not a privilege; it’s the foundation upon which stability and opportunity are built.

The Work of HomeAid Georgia

Goldstone’s focus on Atlanta makes this story especially resonant for HomeAid Georgia, which has been at the forefront of addressing housing insecurity in the region. Under the leadership of Executive Director Mandy Crater, HomeAid Georgia has completed hundreds of housing and facility projects that provide critical shelter and services for families, veterans, and youth experiencing homelessness.

“We did projects with many of the service providers mentioned in the book. My staff and I are all reading the book. It is especially resonant with me as I grew up just south of the city. I remember when they tore all the public housing down for the Olympics and to revitalize East Lake Golf Course. I live in a gentrified/gentrifying area on the once-neglected Westside of Atlanta. I know all the neighborhoods and streets the author is talking about, and I've heard similar stories to the ones relayed in the book from our nonprofit partners. It's at once disheartening and inspiring.”

The Drake House, the service provider we visited when Atlanta hosted the HomeAid Leadership Conference, hosted the author at a recent event. The book really brings to light the plight of the majority of the folks that our nonprofit partners house. We are currently looking at many opportunities to build affordable housing with partners like The Drake House, Habitat for Humanity of Georgia, HouseATL, and on faith-based land, working with our friends at the Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Institute. We even helped develop a toolkit for builders interested in providing attainable housing. It’s estimated that 700,000 housing units are needed to meet current demand in Georgia, and we want to do what we can to ensure that there are housing choices at all income levels. The math is not working for our neighbors, doing everything “right” and yet still finding themselves without options. This book is an excellent reminder of why we do what we do,” — Mandy Crater, Executive Director, HomeAid Georgia

Through partnerships with builders, trade professionals, and community service agencies, HomeAid Georgia is translating compassion into construction, turning hope into homes for those who need it most. Their work exemplifies how local collaboration can create lasting impact for working families at risk of homelessness.

Why This Book Matters

There Is No Place for Us challenges us all, policy makers, housing advocates, and community members to confront the structural roots of homelessness and to commit to sustainable, equitable solutions. It’s a call to action for anyone who believes that every person deserves the dignity of a home.

For HomeAid’s supporters and partners, this book offers a human-centered perspective that reinforces why our work matters and why collaboration with the building industry is so vital. It reminds us that the face of homelessness is not distant; it’s our neighbors, coworkers, and community members who are simply priced out of the American Dream.

In Closing

Brian Goldstone’s There Is No Place for Us is both sobering and motivating, a clear-eyed examination of a growing crisis and a testament to the resilience of those who endure it. It invites all of us to reimagine what it means to build community and to ensure that, through compassion and action, there truly is a place for everyone.