Accessibility links
'A Place Called Home' : Up First David Ambroz doesn't remember a time before he was homeless. He, his mother and two siblings spent much of his childhood surviving on the streets of New York City. As a teenager he entered the world of state custody, which came with its own uncertainty. In Ambroz's memoir "A Place Called Home" he tells a vivid story of hunger, welfare, his mother's mental illness and abuse, and how he overcame all of that to build a new life.

Up First

'A Place Called Home'

'A Place Called Home'

Listen · 20:23
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1126174975/1126202458" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

David Ambroz doesn't remember a time before he was homeless. He, his mother and two siblings spent much of his childhood surviving on the streets of New York City. As a teenager he entered the world of state custody, which came with its own uncertainty. In Ambroz's memoir "A Place Called Home" he tells a vivid story of hunger, welfare, his mother's mental illness and abuse, and how he overcame all of that to build a new life.