WHY IS THE HOMELESS OUTREACH PROGRAM A FIT FOR SOSBIS?

We have had some people ask "Why is the Homeless Outreach Program a Fit for SOSBIS?"

The reason is many homeless people are very likely to have experienced a brain injury. How likely you may ask? We looked into it and found a paper submitted in the October 2008 publication of the "Canadian Medical Association Journal" by Canadian researchers in Toronto Ontario entitled "The effect of traumatic brain injury on the health of homeless people".

This group of researchers did face-to-face interviews with 904 homeless people (601 men and 303 women) in Toronto in 2004-2005. They spoke to people who were using shelter as well as people who chose not to use shelter but used free food sendees. The overall response showed that 53% of the people interviewed had sustained a brain injury.

Some of the other interesting facts learned in this project included:

• 70% reported their injury occurred before they became homeless
• The mean age at first traumatic brain injury was 17.8 years
• 20% of these people reported 5 or more brain injuries
• 58% of the homeless people with brain injuries were men
• 42% of the homeless people with brain injuries were women
• Poor physical health is also associated with homeless people with prior brain injury

We could only find 2 previous studies that reported the prevalence of traumatic brain injury among homeless people. Both studies were small and did not include women or people who chose not to enter a shelter.

SOSBIS has found that helping people who are homeless is a good fit for us as a society. We can provide help understanding and hope which leads to progress in dealing with challenges.