If You See Them

Young, Unhoused, and Alone in America.

De: Vicki Sokolik

Narrado por: Yinka Ladeinde, Jose Nateras, Wendy Tremont King

A moving exploration of the crisis of homeless youth—told through the inspiring stories of a woman on the frontlines and the kids themselves.

They hide in plain sight. They survive on free school breakfasts and lunches, join school sports teams in order to shower, sleep on friends’ couches, in parks, or on the streets. Their official designation is “unaccompanied homeless youth”—they are not "runaways" breaking free from strict parenting; these are kids seeking safety. They have escaped abusive parents, have been abandoned, or have never had a home to begin with.

When Vicki Sokolik’s son brought home a classmate who was living on her own and was dropping out of school to support herself, Vicki stepped in to help. As she learned more about the invisible population of young people navigating life alone, she discovered the countless ways they are overlooked and impeded by the system. She founded a nonprofit and worked to change legislation in her home state of Florida to give these kids agency over their lives.

If You See Them wakes us up to the issue of youth homelessness in America, through Sokolik’s own story of advocacy and through the voices of the kids themselves. Her grassroots action demonstrates the world-shifting power of compassion, acceptance, belonging, and self-determination, and the capacity each of us has to change our communities for the better.

©2024 Vicki Sokolik (P)2024 Spiegel & Grau by Spotify Audiobooks

The storytelling

I loved the format in which the stories were told and how it all came together. The insights into the hard parts of helping regain the trust of children who had been let down and are homeless is valuable. This is because the reality she shares through those experiences aren’t what everyone expects, but it happens and knowing is half the battle so you aren’t offended when it comes up.

Not what I thought it would be

I thought this book was going to focus more on the lives and struggles of homeless youth. Instead, it focused more on the author and her life and tooting her own horn about all the good that she does. I made it over two hours in and gave up.

Patronizing tone

The author is clearly a very caring and devoted person doing great work. There is a patronizing tone to the book that I couldn’t get past and ended up calling it quits less than halfway through. How the stories are told screams white savior, even if it’s not a true representation of the work she is doing to aid youth homelessness.