InBite

Medical Concerns

Cancer and heart disease account for 16 percent of deaths and are the leading causes of mortality for those over 45. This is followed by 6 percent of individuals who die of HIV.

 

Drug Addiction

Drug addiction is the largest source of death for homeless individuals accounting for over one third of all deaths for those between the ages of 25 and 44.

 

Finances

35 percent of homelessness is caused by job loss while 15 percent are caused by inability to pay bills.

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Mental Illness

83,170 individuals, or 15 percent of the homeless population, are considered “chronically homeless”; they are the most vulnerable as they have high rates of behavioral health problems, including severe mental illness and substance use disorders, exacerbated by physical illness, injury, or trauma.

 

LGBT

110,000 LGBTQ youth in the U.S. are homeless. LGBTQ youths make up 20 percent of runaway kids across the country. Family rejection, abuse, and neglect are major reasons LGBTQ youth end up on the streets. Additionally, homeless LGBTQ youth are substantially more likely than heterosexual homeless youth to be victims of sexual assault and abuse. LGBTQ homeless youth are twice as likely to commit suicide compared to heterosexual homeless youth.
 

Youth

Internationally, 550,000 unaccompanied, single youth and young adults under the age of 24 experience a homelessness episode of longer than one week. Approximately 380,000 of that total are under the age of 18. Accurately counting homeless children and youth is particularly difficult because they are often less willing to disclose that they’re experiencing homelessness or may not even identify as homeless and work harder to try to blend in with peers who aren’t homeless.

 

And many more.