In most downtown areas, there are sections that are scary for the average person. "Street communities" — people "living rough" or spending their nights in shelters; many addicted to drugs or are mentally ill, or both. The has led to a "two solitudes" scenario: people who are well-off versus people who are not; US versus THEM. Looser attitudes towards drugs have led to an increase in criminal activity, some of it covering a group of countries, meeting the demand. One way to reduce the demand is for one of these "solitudes" to reach out to the other, and this book seeks to put a human face on THEM. There are real stories of real people, with real names, showing both how un-different we all are, and how simple — though not easy — it is to break through the barrier.

This book also describes an ambitious project by one small ministry in Vancouver, BC, which, with its miraculous success, shows just how much God loves His people, especially those in poverty.