Health and social characteristics of homeless adults in Manhattan who were chronically or not chronically unsheltered.
OBJECTIVE
This study compared health and social characteristics of two groups of homeless adults in Manhattan--those who were chronically unsheltered and those who were not.


METHODS
Outreach workers conducted brief, structured interviews with 1,093 unsheltered homeless adults. Respondents were later categorized as being chronically unsheltered on the basis of New York City criteria (sleeping without shelter at least nine of the previous 24 months).


RESULTS
The sample had high rates of substance abuse (65%), serious medical issues (42%), and repeated trauma (51%) and low rates of medical insurance (47%) and income entitlements (26%) entitlements. Sixty-seven percent were chronically unsheltered, and these respondents had significantly higher rates on several measures, including military service, incarceration, and mental illness.


CONCLUSIONS
The sick and aged nature of this population suggests that more aggressive efforts are needed to enroll unsheltered homeless people in income and health benefits and to create adequate housing opportunities with appropriate support services.
Levitt
Aaron J
AJ
Center for Urban Community Services, 198 E. 121st St., 5th Flr., New York, NY 10035, USA. alevitt@cucs.org
Culhane
Dennis P
DP
DeGenova
Joe
J
O'Quinn
Patrick
P
Bainbridge
Jay
J
D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City; D011632:Public Assistance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011638:Public Housing; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology