Mental Illness

• In a 2009 report published by the National Coalition for the Homeless, 20 to 25 percent of homeless persons were diagnosed with a form of severe mental illness. Currently, mental illness is the third leading cause of homelessness.
  
  A mental illness does not automatically lead to life on the streets; it does play a vital role, however, in the lives of those who are suddenly forced to live alone without the daily supervision of a health professional or family member.
  
  Because cognitive disorders prohibit thoughts of everyday self-care, household management and social responsibility, a person who has this sickness is not only susceptible to losing her home but her physical health will also deteriorate.
  
  

Substance Abuse

• Despite the correlation between homeless people and substance abuse, it has not been proven that habitually using drugs or alcoholism will cause one to become homeless. It is notable, however, that once a homeless person experiences an addiction, help and treatment for his condition is unaffordable and therefore unavailable to him.
  
  

Pneumonia

• Pneumonia is a respiratory infection that is caused by an infection to the lungs. The infection is caused by exposure to bacteria and germs that are breathed in through the mouth or nose. A person who is homeless is highly susceptible to pneumonia; her very living environment is plagued with unsanitized bedding, surfaces and eating utensils.
  
  Her contracted pneumonia is then made worse when it goes untreated, which is a likely situation due to the fact that a homeless person is unable to afford and attain health insurance.
  
  Generally, with proper medication, pneumonia is treated and cured within a two-week time frame. For the untreated homeless woman, the illness is compounded with other serious health conditions that may lead to her death.
  
  

Skin Infections

• Scabies and body louse infections plague the homeless community because it is a spreadable disease that travels by person-to-person contact as well as poor hygienic habits. Because homeless persons are forced to sleep in shared beds with others who may have not had access to bathing ammenties, scabies are developed along the body. Untreated, the affected areas begin to itch and grow superinfectious.
  
  Although public shelters work diligently to keep a sanitized environment and offer vaccinations against such infections when available, the condition is hard to control amongst the homeless.