HOMELESS IN CINCINNATI
A study of the causes and conditions of homelessness
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
March 2001
Previous work – This is the third major study of homelessness in Cincinnati since 1986. A consistent, increasingly refined data gathering and analysis methodology has been supported by the growing sophistication of the service providers. Additionally, the “Continuum of Care” work provides increasing detail on the subject.
Study purpose, partners, design –
v The purpose of the study is provide an in depth view of the homeless, the factors which impact their lives, the burdens they carry and the challenges which service providers and the community face if there is to be a change.
v The study was made possible by the resource investments of the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. The Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless served as the primary client for the work and the staff as well as the member agencies of coalition made essential contributions to the management and data gathering of the work. Applied Information Resources [AIR,Inc.], a non-profit community information and public policy organization, prepared the study. However, the primary data gathering portion of the study was entirely dependent on the cooperation and participation of homeless men and women.
v There are four major components to the study design:
¨ Key informant interviews with service providers
¨ Other research studies and data sources
¨ A point in time count intended to parallel and evaluate the Census effort
¨ Two separate survey instruments of homeless persons; one general survey which incorporated questions for studies conducted in 1986 and 1993 and a survey targeting health matters which incorporated standardized questions previously administered to general populations in local and national studies. Each survey was administered to approximately 200 respondents, which incorporated almost one thousand persons including family members.
A Sample of the Findings
v General – The 2000 study revealed a number of changes in the homeless population. Between the 1986 study and the 1993 study, there was almost a 100% increase in the estimated number of persons homeless during the course of a year. Although between 1993 and 2000, there has been a more than 20% increase from the 1993 number, what is most significant in the 2000 Study, are the changes in the characteristics of those who are homeless and the composition of the homeless population.
¨ The percentage of men in the population has declined, and the percentages and children have increased.
¨ In reviewing the ages of children in shelters, it appears that teenage boys are disappearing from the shelter population. There are a number of reasons for this, but among them according to key informants is the likelihood that boys are being pushed or run away from their homes and a certain number of them are ending up incarcerated.
¨ The racial composition of the homeless is becoming increasingly African-American. Further, this trend shows its greatest impact in single parent females where the population is approaching 75% African-American.
¨ The age of homeless persons continues to become younger.
¨ The primary reasons for homelessness for women are housing problems compounded by domestic abuse and welfare problems/loss of income.
¨ For men, the principal reason is loss of job and income compounded by loss of housing and substance abuse. The loss of income is particularly critical since almost 60% of the men are actively engaged in work.
¨ Another striking change is the diminished level of educational attainment for women compared both to men and to previous studies.
v Health – This is the first study to have a major component dealing with health status and the related issues. It has provided new insights into the challenges faced by homeless persons. One part of the survey contains questions drawn from the SF-12, an internationally used and validated questions designed to assess a person’s health status. We were fortunate to be able to make comparisons to national numbers and those gathered in a separate piece of work locally. Further, for some of the items, we had a breakdown of persons who were below poverty. This latter group was drawn from across a 20-county region surrounding Cincinnati. The following a few of the many interesting findings:
¨ As expected, the homeless population viewed their health as being not as good as either national or community standards. This pattern continued throughout a series of questions dealing with daily activity, physical functioning and the degree to which pain impacted day-to-day activities.
¨ A similar relationship existed in areas of mental health. The response to some questions were particularly striking where homeless persons when compared to the community were four times as apt to describe themselves as “downhearted” and “blue” at least a good bit of the time.
¨ In examining the prevalence of a selected set of health conditions compared to community and national levels, it was determined that the homeless population was more than three times likely to evidence depression. When the subject is drug addiction, the homeless population is thirteen more times likely to identify this problem and two and a half times as likely concerning alcoholism.
¨ Throughout the complete set of physical activities, the homeless population has consistently higher than the community at large except for some of those who require medical diagnoses such as high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes and heart disease.
¨ One item in particular, which stood out and was confirmed by the key informants, were serious levels of asthma particularly among children in shelter settings.
1. The health data reveals significant physical and mental health problems facing the homeless. In particular, depression and asthma require an immediate, coordinated response.
2. The surveys reveal an increasing prevalence of substance abuse and addictive behavior among the homeless. A particular consequence of this is the devastating effect on the children of homeless persons suffering from addictions. This coupled with a direct link between children entering foster care and homelessness, demands exploring alternatives that allow families dealing with addiction to remain together, while meeting the needs of the children.
3. The fact that almost 60% of homeless men are employed in one form or another raises serious questions concerning living wages.
4. The educational levels of women, particularly single parents, have been declining to a point where significant remedial response is required.
5. Identifying persons who are doubled-up remains a serious dilemma as well as a possible opportunity for intercepting people prior to their entering homelessness.
6. The growing numbers and proportion of Africa-Americans who are homeless represents a tragic and serious challenge to the community.
7. The stage prior to homelessness is poverty. The concentration of wealth in particular neighborhoods, disallowing any sort of affordable development, insures the continued concentration of poverty which is the largest determinant of the continuation of poverty.
Study availability –In addition to the web site previously noted, the entire study will soon be posted on a number of sites including the Coalition’s. In addition, the Coalition is preparing to take the full report to the printer. Finally the report is available via e-mail from AIR, Inc. at airinc@juno.com. Persons seeking additional information should contact Susan Knight, Homeless Coalition [513-421-2701], Shiloh Turner, The Health Foundation [513-241-1400] and Edward Burdell AIR,Inc. [513-381-4994].
rev042401