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Mar 15, 2008

"A book is not only a friend, it makes friends for you. When you have possessed a book with mind and spirit, you are enriched. But when you pass it on you are enriched threefold." --Henry Miller

A Book Club for the Homeless

At a time when book-reading is declining and is especially low among poorer people, the book club at 2100 Lakeside seems ill-fated. But, while 1 in 4 people polled admitted to having read no books in 2006, homeless men here are reading two a month. The books are supplied by the Cleveland Public Library in partnership with Care Alliance, a health care provider for the homeless. Donna Kelly, an outreach nurse, began the club last fall after noticing how many homeless men brought books to the health clinic she helped run in the shelter's cafeteria.