Facts and Figures
It is estimated that 2.3 to 3.5 million people are homeless at some point during an average year. 13.5 million of us have experienced "literal homelessness" at least once in our lifetimes.
1.2 million American families on waiting lists for subsidized housing are at particular risk of homelessness today. Any crisis could cause them to lose their precarious housing and wind up on the streets.
Like 45 million other Americans, homeless people typically do not have health insurance; 73% of HCH clients nationally have no health care resources. The federal Medicaid program has provided coverage for many homeless women and children and some disabled men, but Medicaid policy changes are causing loss of health coverage for many people without homes.
Homeless people are particular victims of certain diseases. Approximately one-third have mental illnesses. Perhaps one-half have a current or past drug or alcohol addiction. Communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, ravage the homeless population. Infections of every sort are prominent among homeless people. Trauma resulting from violence and conditions caused by exposure to the elements are common among homeless people.
Homeless people also have all the same health problems as people with homes, but at rates three to six times greater than housed people. Without a home, there is no place to recuperate from an illness or to treat an injury, and health problems tend to get far worse before they get better.
A large segment of the homeless population is families with children, in a survey of 25 cities, accounting for 36% of the homeless population.
Each year, more than 1.35 million children and youth experience life without a home - living in shelters, vehicles, and parks.
One out of seven of those treated by homeless health care projects is a child under age 15.Two out of five Health Care for the Homeless patients are females.
30% of homeless persons are over the age of 45.
Forty percent of homeless men are veterans, although veterans comprise only 34% of the adult male population.
64 percent of Health Care for the Homeless clients are from racial or ethnic minorities.
Data from National Health Care for the Homless Council