Down and Out: Surviving the Homelessness Crisis

Down and Out is a powerful memoir, unfiltered polemic, and in-depth investigation into modern homelessness in the UK, written by award-winning investigative journalist Daniel Lavelle. It sheds light on the experiences of individuals who have been shunned or forgotten by the state and explores the significance, precursors, and causes of this crisis. The book aims to question how society can change its practices and attitudes to end this injustice.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 02 February 2023
Publisher: Headline Publishing Group

Winner of the 2023 Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness, Daniel Lavelle's Down and Out is a powerful memoir, an unflinching polemic, and a probing investigation into modern homelessness in the UK. Lavelle, who left care at nineteen and experienced homelessness for the first time soon after, draws on his own experiences and those of the witty, complex, and hopeful individuals he has encountered who have been shunned or forgotten by the state that is supposed to provide for them.

Down and Out is a true state-of-the-nation examination of modern homelessness, assessing its significance, its precursors and causes, as well as the role played by government, austerity, charities, and other systems in perpetuating this crisis. Ultimately, it seeks to ask how we as a society might change our practices and attitudes so that, one day, we can bring this injustice to an end.

Praise for Down and Out has been pouring in, with David Lammy calling it "ruthless and raw," Frances Ryan describing it as a "vital voice," and Simon Hat calling it a "book for every politician, policy maker, and reader who wants a fairer and kinder country."

In conclusion, Down and Out is a must-read for anyone interested in homelessness, and a powerful testament to the human cost of a bureaucratic system that is failing to meet the needs of its most vulnerable citizens.

Weight: 216g
Dimension: 197 x 130 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781472279125