Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Homeless Children and Families in Small-Town America [Hardcover]

Yvonne Marie Vissing (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1996

"Homelessness in small towns and rural areas is on the rise. Drawing on interviews with and case studies of three hundred children and their families, with supporting statistics from federal, state, and private agencies, Vissing illustrates the impact this social problem has upon education, health, and the economy."

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In six years of research in New Hampshire, sociologist Vissing saw runaway teens, malnourished children, and upside-down family functioning in which child nurtures parent. Small-town homelessness, Vissing contends, is as bad as, and often worse than, urban. While the rural homeless "live in chaos, out of the chaos there results an orderly existence." Unfortunately, neither contention is well developed. Instead of a sharp focus, Vissing offers a sprawling literature review with snippets from her own findings woven throughout. Vissing prefers the terms housing distress and displacement to homelessness, and these bring within her purview not only people on the streets but families living in trailer parks and campgrounds, and those unfortunates doubling up with relatives. Interview quotes have the ring of truth, but jargon, overly elastic categories and subjective reporting muddy the discussion. Frequently, Vissing crosses the line from analyzing to sermonizing: "Imagine how much better and more appropriate poor, distressed parents would be if they had the same resources as other parents!" "Many heroic students were interviewed." However, she offers sensible advice to social workers and community activists, and the 679-item bibliography will give sociology students something to mull over. Photos by the author.

Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

Vissing (sociology, Salem State Coll.), who has worked extensively with social service agencies, draws on six years of study to inform us that homelessness is no longer just an urban problem. She further contends that in rural areas it has assumed a different character; children and families are being stricken in large numbers, with peculiarly rural factors such as the lack of jobs, housing, and social services exacerbating the situation. Vissing examines the causes and offers steps toward solutions. Throughout her book, she allows the homeless to speak for themselves. Recommended for public and academic libraries.?Jim G. Burns, Ottumwa, Ia.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 271 pages
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Kentucky (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081311943X
• ISBN-13: 978-0813119434
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,303,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond myths and beyond statistics, December 23, 2000

By 

Anitra L. Freeman (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: Homeless Children and Families in Small-Town America (Paperback)

This is the product of six years of research and work with homeless rural children and families. But while Vissing does her homework and musters the facts, the book goes beyond the statistics. This is not a scientific study of a problem -- this is a person talking about people.

The book is full of photos: of children hungry; children playing; a pregnant young woman on a park bench; a mother in a homeless shelter cradling two toddlers close to her, with a determined look on her face; a teenage girl nodding off to sleep at a coffeeshop table with dawn lightening the window. Fourteen University of New Hampshire photography students worked with homeless children and families for six months in 1991. The results are incorporated into this book. Also available is a twenty minute, award-winning, videotape, "I Want to Go Home"

Just as the book goes beyond the statistics to show human beings suffering, it goes beyond the suffering to show solutions. Vissing spoke, in her initial study, with about three hundred people from school and community groups about programs to help the homeless. The first results were discouraging; for example, "Almost none of the communities had special summer programs for homeless children. I became convinced that 'homelessness' was not a term that most agencies used when serving children." But by the end of the book, Vissing has a program for rural communities to "'take the bull by the horns' and rely upon themselves to address the causes and consequences of homelessness." In the back of the book is a lengthy personal story -- fourteen pages -- of a child who grew up in poverty, abuse, violence and a rootless existence. Her story is searing and heartbreaking. But it has a very short postscript. ".. employed full-time and planned to attend college the following fall. Each member of the family seemed emotionally, financially, and socially secure, because of their own determination and because they had found help when they needed it."

This book vividly illustrates how our families and our communities have been shattered. It also vividly illustrates how they can be mended.

4.0 out of 5 stars Creative and informative book., January 17, 2012

By 

Laurel Giammarino (Goffstown, NH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: Homeless Children and Families in Small-Town America (Paperback)

The main idea of the book is to explain the extent of homeless children and their families in the U.S. Although this book was written in 1996, the information that is in the book is still relevant today. Vissing discuses eye-popping statics that really make the reader wonder why they were not aware of this problem before they read the book. After the author provides the statistics, she follows up with a story of something she has seen or investigated or researched. Having a story that follows the shocking statistics helps to make the statistics even more realistic than before. Another good part of the book that makes it more interesting to read is the insertion of photographs of the homeless children and families in America. Vissing did a very good job by using different tactics to get her point across in her book.
All in all, the book was very well written and very easy to read. All the supporting facts that Vissing provided the reader with really helped make the book as exceptional as it was. One downside to the book is that the author incorporated so many statistics into the story that at times, it seemed to be repetitive and boring. Even with that said it was still an extraordinary book that really influenced me to make a difference and change the way I live. After reading this book, I decided to do a service project that involves working with Habitat for Humanity to build homes for homeless people. This book is definitely a book that is a worth reading and can really change your perspective on life.