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Mayor of the Tenderloin
Del Seymour's Journey from Living on the Streets to Fighting Homelessness in San Francisco
1 of 1 copy available
In Mayor of the Tenderloin, journalist Alison Owings slips behind the cold statistics and sensationalism surrounding San Francisco’s Tenderloin to reveal a harrowing and life-affirming account of Del Seymour—whose addiction led him into eighteen years of homelessness, pimping, and drug dealing. Once sober, he started Tenderloin Walking Tours and later Code Tenderloin, the remarkable organization teaching homeless, recovering addicts, sex workers, dealers, ex-felons, and other marginalized people how to get and keep a job.
Owings traces Del’s story and those in his orbit: from his daughters, sobriety buddy, and ex-girlfriend, to a police captain and a psychiatric social worker, housing activists and corporate philanthropists, and Del’s Code Tenderloin students. In the Tenderloin, in a city known for its beauty and currently infamous for its divide between haves and have-nots, Owings highlights how Del gives back to people struggling with the same daunting setbacks—including a criminal record—he once faced.
Honest and compelling, Mayor of the Tenderloin follows homelessness in one of America’s toughest neighborhoods as it was lived—in the words of someone who lived it and is now fighting to solve it.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
September 10, 2024 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780807020586
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780807020586
- File size: 899 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 1, 2024
The Tenderloin district is an area in San Francisco often noted for its homeless population along with an astronomical crime rate. Del Seymour was a denizen of the Tenderloin for decades and was familiar enough to provide guided tours to visitors. Before the scourge of substance abuse took over his life in the 1980s, Del had served in the military as a helicopter medic in southeast Asia, then worked as an electrician, plumber, and fireman. He would go on to overcome homelessness and substance abuse disorder and become a respected civic leader. During Del's ups and downs, he was often picked up by those willing to give him a second chance. This inspired him to found a job training program to help the homeless, Code Tenderloin. In this impressive book, author Alison Owings brings colorful anecdotes of Del's life and of his continued advocacy for the downtrodden in San Francisco. This is a memorable biography that proves to be both entertaining and life-affirming.COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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