Author John Shedler brings to us the absorbing story of a unique emergency response team in a unique setting: the frozen streets of Alaska. Chronicling his time with the Anchorage Community Service Patrol, Shedler relates a series of compelling actual episodes, from life-or-death medical emergencies to dangerous police situations, set against a backdrop of kindness and empathy as the CSP carries on their humanitarian mission to aid the city’s indigent and often inebriated street population.
As it pays tribute to the CSP’s compassionate and dedicated men and women, always forced to do more with less and rarely given the respect or support they deserved, A Slow Death in the Streets also raises important moral and public policy questions regarding how we think about and care for our homeless.