He is 24 years old, educated through the 11th grade, and says he left his rural surroundings because there was no opportunity to work, ". Samuel Anderson arrived in New York City in 1985 from his native Oklahoma. Although such programs as Workers' Compensation were designed to prevent economic devastation as a result of workplace casualties, they often fall far short of what is optimal for many reasons, including lack of knowledge of the program by the employee, low levels of benefits under the program, and lack of benefits for "off the books" work and migrant farm labor. One type of health problem in this category-about which the committee heard much during several site visits-is accidental injury, especially jobrelated accidents. Other health problems contributing to homelessness include alcoholism and drug dependence, disabling conditions that cause a person to become unemployed, or any major illness that results in massive health care expenses. As the disease progresses and leads to repeated and more serious bouts with opportunistic infections, the individual becomes unable to work and may be unable to afford to continue paying rent. Another contemporary example of illness leading to homelessness is AIDS. In the absence of appropriate therapeutic interventions and supportive alternative housing arrangements, many wind up on the streets. As mentally ill people's disabilities worsen, their ability to cope with their surroundings-or the ability of those around them to cope with their behavior-becomes severely strained. The most common of these are the major mental illnesses, especially chronic schizophrenia. Certain illnesses and health problems are frequent antecedents of homelessness.
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