How many of them are there? What are their socioeconomic and biographical profiles? What are their pasts like, their daily lives? How can we help them? Such talking points and other clichés lead to a schematic approach to the problem that this book tries to deconstruct. The result of an ambitious study combining research and field work, this book shines a spotlight on the reality of life on the street. By examining what the label "homeless" conceals, we can modify social work to address poverty's contemporary transformations.