If You See Them: Young, Unhoused, and Alone in America

Part memoir and part treatise on a widespread, systemic social ill, this compilation of memories and interviews lends itself to audio. Lead narrator Wendy Tremont King combines a reflective tone and clear enunciation for a listen with no barriers to understanding as Sokolik relates early lessons in barriers to housing that led her to found Starting Right, Now (SRN). The organization provides long-term housing and mentorship for youths ages 15–19 in Hillsborough and Pinellas high school districts in Florida. It helps to bridge the service gap that allows young people ineligible for the foster system to become homeless. Drawing from her personal history, Sokolik is candid about the biases she had to first unlearn to be an effective support without compromising her students’ self-determination. The most compelling sections of this audiobook pull in the voices of former students who’ve found a measure of stability after both resisting and receiving help from SRN. These interviews are narrated by authentically youthful-sounding Yinka Ladeinde and Jose Nateras, who capture the teens’ distinct personalities and vocal affect with palpable empathy.