Long before their time in shelters, Jennifer and her two children, Kaitlin and Cole, lived with family in a pleasant neighborhood on Chicago’s Southwest Side. The small family occupied a one-bedroom unit owned by Jennifer’s aunt Isabelle.

Aunt Isabelle, her daughter Andrea, and Andrea’s boyfriend, Carlos, lived in the same building. However, things were far from peaceful at home. Andrea and Carlos often engaged in violent fights. Things took a turn for the worse after Andrea’s car accident. Suffering extensive physical injuries, Andrea couldn’t work her shifts at Catalina Spa & Salon. Since Jennifer also worked there, she agreed to cover both her and Andrea’s shifts. The work, however, took a physical and mental toll on Jennifer, and her long absences from home affected her children negatively.

The little family eventually moved to Abilene, Texas, to stay with an aunt. However, domestic conflicts arose there as well. This time, Jennifer and her children moved into her uncle Jose’s home.

Unfortunately, peace continued to elude the little family there. After catching Jose in the act of molesting Kaitlin, Jennifer again found herself and her children on the move.

The authors contend that housing instability is a hallmark of life among the $2-a-day poor. Many of the poorest families are forced to live with kin or friends when insufficient earnings make it impossible to maintain a place of their own. However, toxic relationships there expose them to physical, sexual, and verbal abuse. This type of trauma can exacerbate the suffering of families in extreme poverty.

The authors acknowledge that the Great Recession (2007–2009) led to a spike in foreclosures. However, they argue that the economic crisis isn’t the sole reason the poor can’t find stable homes. Instead, the lack of affordable housing is a huge factor. As of 2011, seventy percent of low-income earners spent more than half their income on housing, leaving little for other necessities.

Quality rentals often come with higher price tags and thus are usually occupied by higher-income renters. The most affordable units are older—and often missing necessary upgrades conducive to health and safety.

In short, the lack of affordable housing, a fall in the earnings of renters, and high rental costs have all led to a housing crisis among the $2-a-day poor.

That said, the authors maintain that landlords can’t be wholly blamed for the housing crisis, either. Landlords who rent to low-income earners contend that they have difficulties breaking even because their tenants often lose work hours or their jobs altogether.

While HUD’s Section 8 vouchers have reduced housing instability greatly, investment in government housing programs hasn’t kept pace with demand. In the summer of 2012, when Modonna and Brianna Harris were living in shelters, Chicago’s waiting list for a Section 8 voucher included 85,000 families.

Thus, the lack of housing has caused the poorest members of society to double up with kin or relatives. In turn, this has led to another crisis, as evidenced by the experience of Jennifer’s daughter, Kaitlin, who was molested by her uncle Jose.

Similarly, Rae experienced childhood issues that have contributed to her “toxic stress” levels today. After her father died, her mother had a string of boyfriends and eventually abandoned her. Rae lived alone in a violent neighborhood until her sister Mary Lou took her in. There, she was forced to share living space with an ex-convict who had served time for murder and another man who may have suffered from schizophrenia.

Rae’s mother eventually signed over custody of Rae to a woman who took Rae’s Social Security checks. At twenty-one, Rae conceived Azara with a man named Donny....