Homeless Shelters In Alabama: A Study Of Women's Health Services

The growing rate of homelessness has reached crisis levels in many cities in the United States (U.S.). The economic crisis has caused many industrial companies to close or transfer overseas, leaving numerous workers unemployed and contributing to the continuous increase in the number of uninsured. Homelessness is considered a state of deprivation in which existing social supports fail to provide essential resources in a crisis.There are many factors contributing to homelessness that can be as diverse as the population affected. Domestic violence was identified as a primary cause of homelessness. Studies show that battered women who live in poverty are often forced to choose between abusive relationships and homelessness. Homeless people are admitted to the hospital up to five times more often than the general population. Unfortunately, homeless patients are sometimes discharged to shelters, even when their ability to cope in such settings is marginal at best. Most of the homeless patients do not make their follow-up appointments and do not fill prescriptions they have received because they lack health care insurance benefits and have an inability to pay the cost of the medication.