It's been known for a long time that mental illness and addiction are correlated with homelessness, but brain injury is a less obviously visible correlation.

Is a large part of it that people with brain injuries are less likely to remember things?

And he's hardly alone when it comes to homeless dealing with undiagnosed cognitive problems. The Valley Homeless Healthcare Program screened several dozen patients and found that 71 percent suffered from some type of impairment such as a traumatic brain injury.

The findings, although from a relatively small sample size, suggest that brain issues may be a hidden factor in why people end up living along creeks or in parks.

I have been studying traumatic brain injury (TBI) for more than 35 years. Until more recent interest by the broader scientific and clinical communities, TBI was a "silent epidemic". Its potentially enduring and devastating consequences went unnoticed. We are just beginning to understand TBI as a disease rather than an acute insult.... These consequences can even include strong predispositions to criminal behavior and the early onset of dementias like Alzheimer's disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.  

Ron, thank you for your insights into TBI.

It's frustrating that there is so much we do not know. I want to learn more!

By the way you can change your profile picture here: http://pandawhale.com/about/settings

Almost half of homeless men had traumatic brain injury in their lifetime, 87% of which occured before they lost their home.

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140425104714.htm

https://reddit.com/r/science/comments/23ympx/almost_half_of_homeless_men_had_traumatic_brain/