Discusses the economic implications of the recommendations of "Health Care for the Homeless," the controversial supplementary statement to the Institute of Medicine's report, "Homelessness, Health and Human Needs." Concludes that the original report presents a more politically realistic approach to the problems of the homeless…

The homeless are becoming increasingly female, non-White, and youthful. The problem is a housing shortage complicated by poverty as shown in data from 12 cities where declines in low-income housing accompanied increases in the number of poor people. More housing must be provided even before other social ills are addressed. (VM)

While homelessness results from a variety of factors, ultimately its cause is an insufficient supply of suitable housing. The Federal government must massively intervene to halt the loss of additional low-income housing units, and benefits paid to the welfare-dependent population must approximately double. (MW)

Studies firearms behaviors among 835 criminally active male, mostly urban, youth and 1,653 male and female innercity high school students in 4 states. It is evident that the large urban environment encourages youth to be armed and that enforcement activities alone will not be enough to alleviate the problem. (SLD)