Order #: 14652

Authors:

National Coalition for the Homeless.

Title:

Hate, Violence, and Death on Main Street USA: A Report on Hate Crimes and Violence Against People Experiencing Homelessness 2004.

Source:

Washington, DC: National Coalition for the Homeless, 2005. (Report: 57 Pages)

Abstract:

This report's objective is to educate lawmakers, advocates, and the general public about the problem of hate crimes and violence against people who are homeless in order to instigate change and ensure protection of civil rights for everyone, regardless of their economic circumstances or housing status. Over the past six years (1999-2004), advocates and homeless shelter workers from around the country have seen an alarming increase in reports of homeless men, women and even children being killed, beaten, and harassed. This sixth annual report continues to maintain the same goals and objectives as the previous five reports: to compile incidents of hate crimes and violence in order to document this alarming trend against people who are homeless; to make lawmakers and the public aware of this serious issue; and to recommend proactive measures to be taken (authors). Available From: National Coalition for the Homeless, 2201 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, (202) 462-4822, info@nationalhomeless.org, www.nationalhomeless.org/hatecrimes/index.html

Order #: 14902

Authors:

O’Connell, J.J., Mattison, S., Judge, C.M., Allen, J.S., Koh,. H.K.

Title:

A Public Health Approach to Reducing Morbidity and Mortality Among Homeless People in Boston.

Source:

Journal of Public Health Management Practice 11(4): 311-316, 2005. (Journal Article: 6 Pages)

Abstract:

This case study exemplifies a public health practice response to the vexing health care challenges confronting homeless people who must struggle to survive on the streets and in shelters.  Urban homeless populations suffer disproportionately high rates of premature death.  In response to a wave of highly publicized deaths on the streets of Boston during the winter of 1998-1999, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) convened a task force to investigate these deaths and implement an integrated response to this public health crisis.  Comprised of a broad coalition of public and private agencies as well as homeless persons and advocacy groups, the MDPH Task Force reviewed the circumstances surrounding the 13 deaths, monitored subsequent deaths among homeless persons in Boston, and implemented a comprehensive plan to address critical needs and prevent further deaths.  Contrary to the task force’s initial assumption, the 13 decedents had multiple contacts with the medical, psychiatric, and substance abuse systems.  In response to this finding, the MDPH Task Force sought to improve continuity of care and prevent future deaths among Boston's street population.  Coordination of needed services was achieved through the creation of new, and often unconventional, partnerships (authors). 

Order #: 14520

Authors:

Riley, E.D., Bangsberg, D.R., Guzman, D., Perry, S., Moss, A.R.

Title:

Antiretroviral Therapy, Hepatitis C Virus, and AIDS Mortality Among San Francisco's Homeless and Marginally Housed.

Source:

Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 38(2): 191-195, 2005. (Journal Article: 5 Pages)

Abstract:

This article discusses mortality remains high among those with barriers to accessing antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, despite having declined in most HIV-infected populations. The authors sought to determine predictors of death in a group of HIV-infected persons who are homeless in San Francisco. Between 1996 and 2002, quarterly interviews and blood draws were conducted. Hazards of death were compared by number of months of the prior 6 months that an individual took any ARV, drug use, hepatitis C virus (HCV) status, and housing status. Among 330 participants, 65% were HCV-seropositive at baseline, 85% received ARV during the study period, and there were 57 deaths. Compared with 0 of the prior 6 months on therapy, the risk of death was not significantly reduced for individuals on 1 to 5 months of therapy, but the risk of death was reduced 62% for those on ARV therapy for 6 months. Housing status and HCV status were not significant predictors of death. HIV is the major cause of death in this population, whereas the impact of HCV infection seems to be minimal. Sustained ARV treatment significantly reduces the risk of death among the homeless. 

Order #: 14889

Authors:

Wright, N., Oldham, N., Jones, L.

Title:

Exploring the Relationship Between Homelessness and Risk Factors for Heroin-Related Death- A Qualitative Study.

Source:

Drug and Alcohol Review 24(3) :245-251, 2005. (Journal Article: 7 Pages)

Abstract:

This study's objective was to explore the relationship between housing status, associated social networks and risk factors for heroin-related death.  The authors used semi-structured face-to-face qualitative interviews, recorded, transcribed and analyzed thematically by framework techniques at three centers providing services to homeless people in a large cosmopolitan city.  Different types of accommodation for homeless people have differing social cultures which have an impact upon the amount of heroin used, likelihood of injecting alone or likelihood of achieving abstinence.  Hostel accommodation appeared to be linked with a culture of group injecting, which tends to increase the amount of heroin taken.  Those with experience of rough sleeping described heroin use to ameliorate the uncomfortable realities of outdoor sleeping, although the overall amount used tended to be less due to having less money to spend on drugs.  The prison setting was described as a setting where heroin use was reduced or stopped.  Moving away from homelessness towards sustaining an independent tenancy appeared to be associated with a move towards solitary use.  The authors postulate that a progression towards solitary use in a housed environment is one explanation for previous research findings showing the average age of heroin-related death to be increasing despite a decrease in the average age of initiation into heroin use.  Hostel accommodation should form a priority setting for future health promotion interventions aimed to reduce heroin-related death.  They appear to be linked with an increase in heroin use in the presence of a third party.  Drug users sleeping rough in cold climates need to be made aware of the dangers of medicating with heroin to address problems of insomnia due to cold weather (authors).