Homelessness: Reducing Health Disparities
Description:
Homelessness, a phenomenon with complex causes and potential for tragic consequences, is a public health and societal problem in cities, towns and rural areas worldwide. Men, women and children — be they refugees in Eastern Europe, street children in Uganda or what the developed world thinks of as "the homeless" — make up a growing vulnerable population that is at an unacceptably high risk for preventable disease, progressive morbidity and premature death.
In the developed world homelessness and poverty are inextricably linked:
The working poor live on a precipice that can tumble them into homelessness any time. An illness, or an unexpected layoff, brings missed paychecks, which leads to skipped utility or rent payments, which snowballs into penalties, which ends in shutoffs or eviction. That leaves a Hobson's choice between no place at all or city-run homeless shelters, which often are dirty, noisy and unsafe. (abstract from http://www.cmaj.ca)
Type of Resource:
Journal
Publication Date:
2000
Volume:
163
Issue:
2
Pages:
172-173
Location:
Ottawa