UCLA study claims health problems, trauma rates high for unsheltered homeless

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A study released Monday by UCLA and UC Berkeley concludes mental and physical health care needs and traumatic experiences are "major factors'' afflicting unsheltered homeless people, especially women. "People experiencing homelessness face a number of challenges related to their health and well-being, but this new analysis suggests that people who are unsheltered are far more likely to encounter these problems and that the problems are exacerbated the longer they are unsheltered,'' said Janey Rountree, executive director of the California Policy Lab at UCLA. "These issues were the most profound for unsheltered women, especially experiences with abuse and trauma.'' The California Policy Lab analyzed survey responses from more than 64,000 people ages 25 and older who we