Since the start of the millennium, the hospice industry in the US has quadrupled in size. Today, more than 65% of Americans spend their final days in comfort, thanks to organizations that offer hospice care.

1. Hospice of the Calumet Area
600 Superior Avenue, Munster, Indiana 46321
(219) 922-2732
Studies Say Homeless
People Lack Access to
Health, Hospice Care

2. Since the start of the millennium, the hospice industry in the US has
quadrupled in size. Today, more than 65% of Americans spend their final
days in comfort, thanks to organizations that offer hospice care.
For homeless Americans, however, mere health care can be difficult to
acquire; more so, hospice care.
More Risks, Little Help
According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, people who
live in shelters are twice more prone to risks of having a disability, compared
with the general population. The organization National Alliance to End
Homelessness further revealed that heart disease and diabetes are rampant
among the homeless population, on top of injury and physical ailments that
they are likely to get from living outdoors.
Take Dwane Allen Foreman from California, for instance. At 68 years old,
Foreman is without a home and suffers from HIV, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, hepatitis C, and recently, lung cancer. Without access to
proper health care and without a home where he can rest and regain his
health, Foreman fears he might die on the street.

3. According to researchers from the University of California, cases such as
Foreman’s are now, sadly, becoming commonplace as the homeless
population ages. Only 11% of the homeless were over 50 years old in the
1990s. Today, more than half of the population is 50 or older. According to
one of the researchers, professor of medicine Dr. Margot Kushel, the US is
seeing a significant number of seniors dying homeless.
Hope for the Homeless
Fortunately, however, more volunteers recognize the need for better health
and hospice care for the homeless.
In Wisconsin, for example, organizations such as the Madison-area Urban
Ministries, for instance, are starting to raise funds to create a Healing House
to respond to the respite needs of homeless families with a member who
requires recuperative state.

4. Sources:
 http://www.hospicecalumet.org/get-involved/volunteers/hospice-
program-volunteering/
 http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/mental_physical_health
 http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/health.html
 http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/special/homeless/from-the-hospital-
to-the-streets-madison-s-homeless-need/article_92a3c9e6-cced-5252-
8d09-d7e4228c0e4f.html
 http://www.uptodate.com/contents/healthcare-of-homeless-persons-in-
the-united-states
Welcome Home, on the other hand, is a group that aims to provide the
homeless with a hospice care facility that can house up to four people at a
time. People are moving to overcome barriers faced when providing care for
people with insecure housing. As Helping Educate and Link the Homeless
(HEALTH), social worker Matthew Julian points out, more is needed.