A Place Called Home
-
-
4.9 • 16 Ratings
-
-
- $22.99
-
- $22.99
Publisher Description
There are millions of homeless children in America today and in A Place Called Home, award-winning child welfare advocate David Ambroz writes about growing up homeless in New York for eleven years and his subsequent years in foster care, offering a window into what so many kids living in poverty experience every day.
When David and his siblings should be in elementary school, they are instead walking the streets seeking shelter while their mother is battling mental illness. They rest in train stations, 24-hour diners, anywhere that’s warm and dry; they bathe in public restrooms and steal food to quell their hunger. When David is placed in foster care, at first it feels like salvation but soon proves to be just as unsafe. He’s moved from home to home and, in all but one placement, he’s abused. His burgeoning homosexuality makes him an easy target for other’s cruelty.
David finds hope and opportunities in libraries, schools, and the occasional kind-hearted adult; he harnesses an inner grit to escape the all-too-familiar outcome for a kid like him. Through hard work and unwavering resolve, he is able to get a scholarship to Vassar College, his first significant step out of poverty. He later graduates from UCLA Law with a vision of using his degree to change the laws that affect children in poverty.
Told with lyricism and sparkling with warmth, A Place Called Home depicts childhood poverty and homelessness as it is experienced by so many young people who have been systematically overlooked and unprotected. It’s at once a gripping personal account of deprivation—how one boy survived it, and ultimately thrived—and a resounding call for readers to move from empathy to action.
Customer Reviews
Beautifully impacting so many!
I am in awe after listening to this audiobook. I am excitedly amazed how brave David was to be so vulnerable with his experiences. I have worked in many social service positions for 10+ years and I feel I have made a few impacts in many lives but not to the extent of David. I have been inspired and encouraged to work that much more to be a part of the improvement for OUR LGBTQIA+ youth. I appreciate you David and hope to one day have the honor of meeting you!
A Place Called Home
Dear author,
I am intrigued to listen to your story and your thoughts regarding the foster care system. I also have strong feelings about how the system is run and improvements that are crucial for the children who have the unfortunate experience of becoming a product of the system. My personal experience is not the typical story you hear and has provided me with a unique perspective on flaws in the system that may be invisible to others. Despite not having any previous encounters with CPS, my son was removed from my home at age 15. Like many families with teenagers this age, my son’s teenage years were challenging, and our once peaceful home felt more like the operation headquarters for terrorist negotiations. I should have handled things differently and will not claim to be a perfect parent. However, the manner in which CPS handled our case was a tragedy in itself, and in the end, my son got exactly what he wanted. He was placed in the home of a very close family member, but not actual family. Our case worker lied and filled out all documents stating he had been placed with an actual family member. I was unfamiliar with the system and thought nothing of it at the time. At some point during the case, this “family member” went through the necessary requirements to become a foster parent. -which btw were an absolute joke in my opinion
Thus, my son was “in the foster care system” when he turned 16 and therefore qualified for all kinds of financial benefits- including college tuition. I strongly felt that the financial assistance set in place for children who have grown up in the foster care system was meant for exactly that. -children who have spent the majority of their life in and out of the system, who didn’t have parents that were financially capable of paying for their child’s college education, and for children who never dreamed they would have the opportunity- My son did not face any of these challenges, and yet “the system” is currently paying his college tuition along with many other expenses. I tried to bring this to his attention, as well as the attention of our case worker, his foster mom (aka “family member”) he was placed with, and our family therapist. Our family therapist was the only person I spoke to about my feelings that showed any type of concern herself that the there was a flaw in the system that was obviously being exploited. She encouraged me to try talking to my son and his “foster mom” about it. She said just because he “qualifies” for the financial benefits available, did not mean he HAD to use them. This made me feel somewhat better- until I was told by my son’s “foster mom” that she thought he “deserved it.” I tried to raise my son with a sense of strong moral values, and this goes against everything I hoped to instill in him. The exploitation of the allocation of the funds available for children who are true products of the foster care system is no different than stealing food stamps. I hope this review will reach someone who has the appropriate platform to bring this to the attention of those necessary in order for change to happen.
Powerful and a must read!!
David Ambroz has written a moving book about his life, shedding light on the issues of poverty, mental health, the foster system and how being a member of the LGBTQ+ community exacerbated them all. This memoir is a wonderful balance of critical analysis of systems that fail children struggling in the US, while educating the reader as to ways these systems could realistically change and be made better. This is not a political rant but a touching story challenging us to re-examine how we treat the poor and those placed in the foster system. As a teacher it has given me a lot to think about regarding both how students and parents are treated. Highly recommend it to everyone.