The remainder of this report presents information about people who use homeless assistance programs included in NSHAPC, referred to throughout as clients, and programs and service locations. Chapter 2 presents an overview of homeless clients for the most general findings within each of the study's topic areas. Chapter 3 looks at the same findings, asking whether currently homeless clients differ in important ways from those who were once but are not now homeless, and other users of homeless assistance programs who do not report any episode of homelessness. Chapter 4 describes homeless assistance programs, including program type, size, auspices (nonprofit, government, private), funding, population groups for which the programs have a special focus, and services offered. It also examines the availability of shelter/housing services and soup kitchen meals in relation to the total population and population in poverty in 1990 of each of the study's 76 primary sampling areas. A brief conclusion is provided in the Postscript. Appendix A provides a list of the 76 sampling areas used in the study. Appendix B provides the NSHAPC definition of a "homeless assistance program" and full descriptions of the 16 types of homeless assistance programs included in the study.

Additional Information May Be Found in the Technical Report

Readers who would like to examine more detailed information about the topics summarized in this report or who would like to review study methods, survey instruments, and other technical details should review the companion technical volume to this report, Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve—Technical Report. After an introductory chapter and a chapter summarizing methods, chapters 3 through 13 present information about clients and chapters 14 through 17 cover topics related to homeless assistance programs. Chapter topics are

• Chapter 3: demographic characteristics.

• Chapter 4: history of homelessness among currently and formerly homeless clients.

• Chapter 5: income, income sources, employment and unemployment, and participation in government programs.

• Chapter 6: physical health conditions and access to medical and dental treatment.

• Chapter 7: food situation of clients, including food problems and food access.

• Chapter 8: special needs, including past month, past year, and lifetime alcohol, drug, and mental health problems; treatment experiences related to these problems; incarceration history; and victimization while homeless.

• Chapter 9: service needs from the client's perspective.

• Chapter 10: adverse childhood experiences, including out-of-home placement, victimization, runaway and homeless experiences, and early involvement with drugs and alcohol.

• Chapter 11: veterans.

• Chapter 12: children in homeless families.

• Chapter 13: characteristics of homeless clients in central city, suburban, and rural locations.

• Chapter 14: basic characteristics of homeless assistance programs.

• Chapter 15: population focuses of homeless assistance programs.

• Chapter 16: service offerings of homeless assistance programs.

• Chapter 17: variations in service availability among NSHAPC's 76 sampling areas.

Five appendices are attached to the Technical Report: Appendix A: NSHAPC's 76 sampling areas.
Appendix B: NSHAPC program definitions.
Appendix C: explanation of the NSHAPC study and sampling design.
Appendix D: explanation of weighting.
Appendix E: NSHAPC data collection instruments.

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