Parasites vs. Homeless People

by Dominic Mapstone · 2010-01-28 13:30:00 UTC
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As a social worker, I get head lice a lot. Usually I catch lice working on the streets because it's not uncommon for me to hug homeless friends hello (plus I have long hair). But I can afford the treatment and getting rid of them is no big deal for me.

For my homeless friends who live on the streets or sleep in shelters, lice, scabies and bedbugs are hard to avoid and harder to get rid of.

When a kid gets lice, his whole class is advised to get treated. But on the streets it's not possible to organize a similar insect shakedown. Many homeless people just don't have the cash to spend at a drugstore for treatment, plus access to a shower and the time to treat their hair and wash their bedding. So the lice colony wins out pretty easily. It's the same in prison in many cases, where the insects infest prisoners and their belongings and can't be gotten rid of, so the cycle continues.

It's pretty easy for people sleeping in abandoned houses and buildings to pick up the trifecta -- lice, scabies and bedbugs. It's not like they have linen service, after all. Even though only five or six people at a time can sleep in a space, over the course of a month, 50 people might stay there. As long as the mattresses are the same, they are all at risk.

Do you have any experience with bugs? Do you know of any services that do a great job offering treatment or preventing infestation in the first place? If you are currently or formerly homeless, join thousands of others online at the World Homeless Forum to discuss your experiences.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Dominic Mapstone is the director of Rebeccas Community, an Australian non-profit, and admin at the International Homeless Forum.
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