Super Short Summary

Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People follows Dr. Jim O’Connell’s work with Boston’s unhoused population through the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tracy Kidder accompanies Dr. O’Connell as he treats patients and provides essential services, while exploring how class and houselessness influence health care in the Northeastern United States. This book mentions instances of extreme violence such as rape, domestic violence, and childhood sexual assault, as well as depictions of grievous injury, illness, and substance abuse. It also addresses extreme injustices like racism, classism, and anti-gay bias.