Brain Injury Linked to Homelessness

More than half of Toronto's homeless population experienced a traumatic brain injury prior to ending up on the streets, according to a new study released today by the Canadian Medical Association Journal. 

This is the first major study (over 900 people were surveyed) linking brain injury to homelessness. According to Dr. Stephen Hwang, coauthor of the report:

This study is the first to show that the roots of homelessness may sometimes lie in a serious head injury that occurred in the person's past. We need to explore the possibility that providing better rehabilitation and services for vulnerable people with head trauma may help prevent them from becoming homeless in the future.

Brain injury can occur during a car accident, fall, or assault and can cause varying degrees of cognitive impairment, emotional instability, attention deficits, or substance abuse. 

Although the study didn't look at veterans specifically (it was, after all, a Canadian study), these findings may help explain the disproportionate incidence of veterans who are homeless in America. 14 to 18 percent of veterans from the Vietnam War suffered a brain injury (40 percent of homeless veterans surveyed in 1997 had fought in Vietnam). And, according to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 31 percent of service men and women admitted between January 2003 and May 2005 had some kind of brain injury. Could this mean an influx of homeless veterans from the Iraq War is imminent? 

In any case, this study is very significant for those providing case management and health care services to homeless people. Since it establishes a strong causal link between brain injury and homelessness, they'll be able to ask the right questions and provide referrals to the appropriate health services. Hopefully, this will decrease the length of time homeless individuals are forced to endure life on the streets or in shelters.