UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 17, Page 4
January 21, 1993
Homelessness; Two studies examine national problem at state level

     Being homeless in more than being without shelter. A home implies
space of your own with basic necessities, without the threat of domestic
violence."
     The speaker is Steven Peuquet, director of the Urban Agent Division of
the College of Urban Affairs and Public Policy and an authority on the
homeless in the state, after conducting extensive research and surveys over
the last six years.
     Peuquet has written two studies of the homeless-Homelessness in
Delaware, published in 1988, and No Home, Poor Health, published in 1992.
     "What we have discovered," Peuquet said, "is the number of homeless
people is constantly increasing and a large segment (one-third) of the
homeless population consists of families with children, almost all headed
by single women.
     "Sometimes women and children are in shelters to escape domestic
violence, or sometimes a divorce was financially ruinous for women," he
said.
     "People go to shelters as a last resort, when all other resources are
exhausted and the welcome mat is no longer out with friends and relatives,"
Peuquet said, noting that more than 62 percent of those interviewed were
homeless for the first time.
     The first study, Homelessness in Delaware, also reveals that:

       * The homeless are poor with no or little income, and homeless
         adults have low levels of formal education.
       * Poverty or some kind of catastrophe-combined with a lack of
         affordable rentals-contributes to homelessness for those whose
         economic situation is fragile to begin with.
       * A history of mental-health-related problems, including substance
         abuse, was reported by 41 percent of the surveyed heads of
         households, although a low percentage had received treatment.
       * Two out of five homeless households in Delaware are
         African-American, although one of every five households in the
         state is African-American.

     For the recent study, No Home, Poor Health, 135 homeless adults were
surveyed. They were predominantely male, aged 25-44, never married,
non-veterans and African Americans with no education beyond high school.
Information also was provided by parents or guardians about 46 young
children.
     According to Peuquet, this survey revealed that the homeless are
subject to more health risks than the general population because of greater
exposure to the elements and contagious diseases, inadequate nutrition and
higher levels of stress.
     A high percentage of them suffers from acute or chronic respiratory
conditions. Of those interviewed, more than one-third rated their overall
health as poor or fair, although the children's health was rated as good or
excellent by parents and guardians.
     A larger proportion of smokers is found in the homeless population, in
comparison to the society-at-large. Drinking is only slightly more
prevalent among the homeless, but there are more chronic and binge
drinkers, particularly among men.
     Almost half of the homeless adults surveyed had received treatment for
alcohol problems, and more than one-third had been treated for drug abuse.
     While most had seen a doctor in the past year, the adults tended to
use emergency rooms, while children went to clinics. For dental visits, the
average time since the last visit was four years. Very few of the homeless
had any kind of medical insurance, and the cost of health care service was
a deterrent to seeking it.
     Peuquet's report concludes that "the homeless are very unhealthy, and
are in need of a variety of health care services which they are not
presently able to obtain....The extensive use of emergency rooms by adults
is a particularly clear indicator of the need for health care alternatives
which are affordable and easily accessible."
      Peuquet said, "Although most shelter programs in Delaware provide
some training and counseling, the problems of the homeless cannot be solved
by any one group, but by different agencies working together. Although
Delaware is a small state, it has not escaped from the economic and social
problems found across the rest of the nation, and one of these is the
plight of the homeless population."
     A graduate of the State University of New York at Cortland, Peuquet
has a master's degree in urban and regional planning from the University of
Pittsburgh and a master's degree in regional science from the University of
Pennsylvania. He is working on his doctorate at the University of
Pennsylvania, and his dissertation topic is homelessness.
     Homelessness in Delaware,  co-authored with Pamela Leland, was
primarily funded by the Salvation Army.
     No Home, Poor Health  was co-authored with Anne Mooney. Shin-Ho Kim
and Anne Axel also assisted with this study, which was commissioned by the
Wilmington City Council.
                                        -Sue Swyers Moncure