About the Indicator: Participants in the Statewide Homeless Study were asked, "In the past 2 years, have you been told by a doctor or nurse that you have dual diagnosis--mental health AND chemical dependency?" Chemical dependency includes alcohol abuse disorder and/or drug abuse disorder. Mental health disorders can include any of the following: schizophrenia, paranoid or delusional disorder, manic episodes or manic depression, major depression, anti-social, obsessive-compulsive, or other personality disorder, and/or post traumatic stress disorder.

For more data from the Statewide Homeless Study visit the Wilder Research website.

Data Source: Statewide Homeless Study

Description: The Statewide Homeless Study includes counts and estimates of the number of people who are homeless, and face-to-face interviews with homeless people to better understand the causes and circumstances of homelessness. Data on adults and youth are available, by region and by shelter type, on history of homelessness, housing history, employment, veteran status, history of abuse, physical, mental, and chemical health, and more topics.

Sponsored by: Wilder Research

Geographic Level: State and regions

Frequency: Data collected and reported every three years

Characteristics: Counts underrepresent the actual homeless population, since many homeless people outside the shelter system are not found.