Distinguished contributors analyze the problem of homelessness from a clinical perspective, focusing on the major health problems found among the homeless, special populations within the homeless, and strategies for improvement and change.

Inhalt
I. Background.- 1. Causes of Homelessness.- 2. Homelessness and the Housing Crisis.- 3. The Modern Pauper: The Homeless in Welfare History.- 4. Deinstitutionalization and Reinstitutionalization of the Mentally Ill.- 5. The Criminalization of Homelessness.- II. Mental Health.- 6. Homelessness and the Chronically Mentally Ill.- 7. Problems in the Assessment of Mental Illness among the Homeless: An Empirical Approach.- 8. Mental Health Services for Homeless People.- 9. Mental Health and Homelessness: The Clinician's View.- 10. Mental Health and Other Human Service Needs of Homeless People.- III. Health.- 11. Health and Health Care of Homeless People.- 12. Strategies for the Delivery of Medical Care: Focus on Tuberculosis and Hypertension.- IV. Alcohol.- 13. The Homeless Alcoholic: Past and Present.- 14. Public Policy and the Homeless Alcoholic: Rethinking Our Priorities for Treatment Programs.- V. Special Populations.- 15. Gender, Racial, and Age Variations among Homeless Persons.- 16. Homeless Veterans: Comparisons with Other Homeless Men.- 17. The Elderly Homeless.- VI. Homeless Women.- 18. Homeless Women: Beyond the Bag Lady Myth.- 19. Homeless Families: Four Patterns of Poverty.- 20. Women and Children without Shelter: The Characteristics of Homeless Families.- 21. Domestic Violence Survivors.- VII. Homeless Children and Adolescents.- 22. To Be Young and Homeless: Implications of Homelessness for Children.- 23. Homeless and Runaway Youths: A Review of the Literature.- 24. Stepping Stone: A Haven for Displaced Youths.- VIII. Strategies for Change.- 25. Litigation on Behalf of the Homeless.- 26. Homeless but Not Helpless: Squatters Take Care of Themselves and Each Other.- IX. Conclusion.- 27. Homelessness: A National Perspective.