April 2, show retraction (our guest was not with NHCHC.org, nor --    claimed to be so there was no partnership with the exception of 2 people trying to help.-and mis processing-

A major blunder on my part, in many ways our homeless quest was not affiliated with nhchc which I did not get till the show was almost over, and she did not represent the views of the organization, I apologize to my listeners,  and my board which I misinformed as well.  Not sure what we can do with in our mission to help anyone homeless, but those with a brain injury and veterans we will provide what resources and support are available and welcome them into our groups as a new family member..

I just caught up with her emails and voice mails, folks don’t realize how busy we are, there are only a few of us and we get millions of visits on our web pages, hundreds of thousands of phone calls and emails.  It may take us a couple of days or more to catch up on things.  But we do the best we can with what we have for as many people we can but I do Appologize

Kind of thrown off on the show, and our guest did not say they did represent the health care collation, it was assumed by me, and everyone ran with it, and our guest  with best intentions gave her perspective which I am sure is very accurate,  I am sorry for labeling anyone that might be experiencing homelessness, and my experience of homelessness was a product of my choices and I really do realize that bad circumstances and choice is very different and apologize if I offended anyone. 

And as well people do know I have a brain injury before they know my name, it is that important to me that that be the message from me and my kids hate it.  But that is what I do, and not comparing homeless with persons with disabilities , I was raised in poverty went from foster home to foster home in my first 7 years, and  I have been in poverty since my injury which is the greatest part of who I am now, and I embrace it as an asset as well my couple of years of homelessness in California, I had a scholarship to go to college their but could not afford housing, I lived in my car, for a long time, and I remember those times as some of my best and the people who surrounded my were close to me.  Again just my experience and that experience was a choice for me.  As our show guest tonight had her opinion

Reports of financial disability predict functional decline and death

Source

Veterans Affairs National Quality Scholars Fellowship Program, San Francisco, CA, USA.

BACKGROUND:

The financial ability to pay for food and medical care is needed to maintain health persons following a serious illness. Therefore, we hypothesize that the inability to pay for basic needs, which we call financial disability, predicts adverse health outcomes in   patients discharged from the hospital.

OBJECTIVES:

To determine the frequency of reported financial disability in  adults being discharged from a hospital, to determine patient characteristics associated with financial disability, and to examine the relationship between financial disability and functional decline and mortality.

Just to clear up any more miss information here are the current facts of homelessness and ways to help and the current said causes. 

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/want_to_help/index.html

What are the greatest causes of homelessness?

For persons in families, the three most commonly cited causes, according to a 2008 U.S. Conference of Mayors study (pdf) are:

• Lack of affordable housing
• Poverty
• Unemployment

For singles, the three most commonly cited causes of homelessness are:

• Substance abuse
• Lack of affordable housing
• Mental illness

Are veterans more likely than other populations to be homeless?

Yes. About 40% of homeless men are veterans, although veterans comprise only 34 percent of the general adult male population, according to research on veterans by the National Coalition for Homeless. On any given night, 200,000 veterans are homeless.

What are some other demographics of homeless people?

Racial and ethnic minorities, particularly African-Americans, are overrepresented.

• 39% are non-Hispanic whites (compared to 76% of the general population)
• 42% are African-Americans (compared to 11% of the general population)
• 13% are Hispanic (compared to 9% of the general population)
• 4% are Native-American (compared to 1% of the general population)
• 2% were Asian

Note: The above figures are based on a 2006 study (pdf) by the US Conference of Mayors.

Homelessness continues to be a largely urban phenomenon.

• 71% are in central cities
• 21% are in suburbs
• 9% are in rural areas

Note: The above figures are based on 1996 data from Samhsha's National Mental Health Information Center.

People who are homeless frequently report health problems.

• 38% report alcohol use problems
• 26% report other drug use problems
• 39% report some form of mental health problems (20-25% meet criteria for serious mental illness)
• 66% report either substance use and/or mental health problems
• 3% report having HIV/AIDS
• 26% report acute health problems other than HIV/AIDS such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, or sexually transmitted diseases
• 46% report chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or cancer