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Blogs by Patrick Joesph Schnerch
Book Review / Melissa Levine
3/7/2009 9:25:26 PM
Non-fiction
City of Gardens: The Other Side of the Fence
Patrick J. Schnerch
Trafford Publishing
2008
ISBN: 978-1-4251-8792-7
Soft cover
304 pages
Patrick J. Schnerch, the author of the Peaceful Warrior, a memoir about his struggles with mental illness and addiction, has written a new book about the plight of the homeless in Victoria, British Columbia. In City of Gardens: The Other Side of the Fence, Schnerch discusses the lifestyles of the homeless and delves into the mental illness and addiction that runs rampant among this population. The author describes the lack of assistance available to the homeless in Victoria and the action that has been taken and that is still needed to solve the problem of housing and treatment.
Schnerch reports that there are over 1200 homeless living in Victoria’s Capital Regional District, the seat of government. “With the Winter Olympic Games coming to Vancouver in 2010, it seems that all three levels of government are in a big huff to clean up the streets for the tourists and visitors (5).” According to the author, the solution for the homeless problem proposed by the mayor of Victoria is to provide housing for a significant number of the homeless before the games occur.
The life of the homeless in Victoria is thoroughly described. Profiles of four people with unstable housing or no housing at all are included to put flesh on the statistics that are presented throughout the book. Schnerch discusses various housing options used by the homeless including temporary housing, couch-surfing, and tent cities. Drug use due to addiction and the self-medicating of mental illness are also addressed.
While the author includes valuable information from experts in the field such as the CEO of a pending residential addiction program, a journalist who reports on the marginal members of the Victoria community, and an activist who runs a local newspaper, the book does have some deficiencies. Schnerch has filled the pages with statistics about the percentage of homeless people who are mentally ill and/or addicted to drugs and alcohol, the availability of affordable housing and treatment, and how large and quickly the homeless population will grow; but there are no bibliographical references included in the book. The inclusion of references would have added considerably to the credibility of the book.
City of Gardens is an enlightening text on a problem that is growing in all parts of North America. Schnerch’s effort to bring light to the issue in his corner of the world displays a passion for people who have suffered with mental illness and addiction as he has. It is an honorable attempt to inform and educate his community and society at-large.
Melissa Levine
for
Independent Professional Book Reviewers
www.bookreviewers.org
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More Blogs by Patrick Joesph Schnerch
• Book Rights for Sale - Wednesday, October 27, 2010
• Book Review / The Peaceful Warrior - Wednesday, September 22, 2010
• Book review / City of Gardens: The Other Side of the Fence - Tuesday, September 21, 2010
• Now you know - Sunday, September 19, 2010
• Facts that contribute to social degeneration - Monday, September 06, 2010
• Not enough - Monday, September 06, 2010
• Book Network - Saturday, September 04, 2010
• The Other Side of the Fence - Tuesday, December 22, 2009
• City of Gardens: Book review - Thursday, November 19, 2009
• City of Gardens: Victoria's Dirty Little Secret - Wednesday, November 18, 2009
• Link Exchange - Wednesday, November 04, 2009
• The Invisible Society / Edit - Sunday, October 25, 2009
• The Invisible Society / Excerpt - Tuesday, October 06, 2009
• The Invisible Society / October 19, 2009 - Monday, September 28, 2009
• New book / AWSOME!!! - Sunday, September 13, 2009
• Life is Good! - Tuesday, September 01, 2009
• Forum and Chat - Monday, August 24, 2009
• I Double Dog Gone Dare You to Read This! - Friday, August 21, 2009
• The Motive Behind West Coast Literary Productions - Wednesday, July 22, 2009
• Bipolar Babe / Inspiration - Monday, July 20, 2009
• Andrea Paquette / Bipolar Babe - Saturday, July 11, 2009
• The Invisible Society Interviews - Saturday, July 11, 2009
• Bipolar Babe - Saturday, July 04, 2009
• Marketing "The City of Gardens Collection" - Saturday, June 27, 2009
• Field Work / Research / Victoria, BC - Wednesday, June 24, 2009
• The City of Gardens Collection is Making its Mark - Friday, June 12, 2009
• Business is business... - Thursday, June 11, 2009
• Mental illness / Addiction/ Homelessness/ Victoria BC - Tuesday, June 02, 2009
• Book Series Going Political - Monday, June 01, 2009
• Book Research / The Invisible Society - Friday, May 29, 2009
• Book Research - Friday, May 22, 2009
• Mental illness, addiction and homelessness (Victoria, BC) - Friday, May 15, 2009
• Social Deterioration - Monday, May 11, 2009
• Show Time - Thursday, April 30, 2009
• The Forgotton, Lost and Neglected - Wednesday, April 22, 2009
• Faith In Action - Tuesday, April 21, 2009
• 2009 - 2014 - Sunday, April 19, 2009
• Marketing City of Gardens - Thursday, April 16, 2009
• Freedom Fighters Inc. - Monday, April 06, 2009
• Let There be Light / City of Gardens - Saturday, April 04, 2009
• Allbooks Review City of Gardens - Saturday, April 04, 2009
• Human Nature - Thursday, March 26, 2009
• The City of Gardens Collection / Publicity Campaign - Monday, March 23, 2009
• Breaking the Silence - Saturday, March 21, 2009
• The Invisible Society - Victoria, BC - Monday, March 16, 2009
• City of Gardens: The Invisible Society - Wednesday, March 11, 2009
• Book Review / Melissa Levine - Saturday, March 07, 2009
• Phase II / Publicity Campain - Friday, March 06, 2009
• Book Relase Up-date - Monday, March 02, 2009
• I Believe in Love! - Thursday, February 26, 2009
• Special Request for Book From Mayor's Office - Thursday, February 26, 2009
• Book Release / VHES Fundraiser - Wednesday, February 25, 2009
• The Key to Success! - Tuesday, February 17, 2009
• City of Gardens Sparking Interest From the Media - Monday, February 16, 2009
• Victoria Human Exchange Society (VHES) - Wednesday, February 11, 2009
• Schnerch / March 1st, 2009 - Friday, February 06, 2009
• City of Gardens on the Fast Track - Saturday, January 31, 2009
• City of Gardens is Generating a Lot of Interest in Greater Victoria. - Tuesday, January 27, 2009
• All or Nothing! - Thursday, January 15, 2009
• City of Gardens / VHES / The Facts - Sunday, January 11, 2009
• January / February 500 Book Drive - Friday, January 02, 2009
• Mental illness, Addiction and Homelessness. - Monday, December 29, 2008
• Communtity Support / Local and Beyond - Tuesday, December 23, 2008
• B-POTSC 2009-2014 - Thursday, December 18, 2008
• Welcome Readers and Authors - Wednesday, December 17, 2008
• Book Series Designed for Charity - Tuesday, December 16, 2008
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