At the beginning of the novel, it was mentioned that if Ian passed his civics class by volunteering somewhere, his parents would buy him a car. As Ian learned more about homelessness, his views on his volunteering job at The Club changed. Rather than solely volunteering to benefit himself, he started to volunteer for the sake of others who are in need. Mac and Jacques played a prominent role in the way Ian perceived homelessness at the end of the book.

Ignorance can be the cause of a relationship that has ended, and it can cause more harm than good. Furthermore, ignorance among people can cause inner conflicts within an individual or cause hate crimes against marginalized communities.

Jacques's struggles with an addiction to alcohol, homelessness, PTSD from the Rwandan genocide. Laslty, society’s views on the circumstances in which he’s living in contributed to his struggles with mental health.

When Jacques and Ian had a conversation about Jacques's issues with addiction and mental health, Jacques realized and began to understand that his actions weren’t beneficial to him. Contrarily, the lack of understanding in most situations jeopardized the relationship between Ian and his mother.

Mac was once a homeless individual and an alcoholic, but after he saw his friend die of alcohol poisoning, he knew it was time to acquire the help he needed. Consequently, he opened his soup kitchen, The Club, after becoming sober, and made it his goal in life to help the community he was once a part of.

Miscommunication and the lack of awareness cause most people to be oblivious of the less fortunate.

Berta’s past experiences have shaped her into becoming a conscious person who’s considerate of others and the decisions she makes.

Misconceptions of homeless people are the root cause of why they are commonly frowned upon by society. Oftentimes, they’re viewed as lazy drug addicts with mental; health problems, though that may not always be the case.

Ian had realized that homeless people and veterans were ignored, and viewed as failures and/or lazy people. As he spent more time volunteering, he realized this was not the case, and that society wasn’t aware of the struggles these community members face with themselves and their vicinity every day. Now, Ian is more conscious of other people and his surroundings.

Spreading falsen information is a reacurring issue in the world that leads to common misconceptions, and may afflict negative views on certain topics. Additionally, current issues in the world may not be well-known to most people, similar to how the Rwandan genocide was an unsearched topic in the book.