Don Stannard-Friel Books

Focusing on the interplay of sociological, biological, and psychological factors, the book delves into the journeys of individuals navigating street deviance. Through in-depth case studies, it highlights the life stories of City Baby and Star, two women who fell into drug addiction, while also exploring the cultural context of San Francisco's Tenderloin District. The narrative reveals how inherited traits and societal influences contribute to their experiences and the broader implications of social judgment.

Focusing on the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, this ethnographic account explores the complex social issues such as homelessness, drug use, and violence. Through storytelling, it highlights the diverse residents and the impact of dedicated service providers on community needs and social change. The narrative emphasizes the transformative lessons learned by university students engaged in service learning, fostering understanding and compassion. Additionally, it examines the evolving dynamics of the area and the surprising affection many youth have for their community.

This book is an ethnographic account of San Francisco’s most inner city neighborhood, the Tenderloin. Using its streets as campus and its people as teachers, Stannard-Friel uses storytelling as a way of explaining why inner city social problems, such as homelessness, drugs, prostitution, untreated mental illness, and death of young people by murders and suicides, exist and persist there. The work delves into who lives in the Tenderloin and why, the role of dedicated service providers in meeting people’s needs and encouraging social change, and what lessons university students, many coming from their own challenging backgrounds, learn through community engagement and service learning that encourage understanding, compassion, and meaningful contributions to society. The work also explores how life in the area is changing, and why so many youth report that they “love living in the Tenderloin.”