[JoeT]

I want you all to know that I am very grateful to be alive. I am really very very lucky that I was not killed in the accident or even more so falling off a ladder after that.

And I know that there are many people who have it a lot worse also. I used to help out at homelss shelters in chicago many years ago and even in every day life know people even today that I do not envy their life. I was just thinking about the homeless shelters and some of the people. I know some of them were definately alcoholics or addicts but I would bet any thing that if you could go back and look at the life of ever homeless person that there would be very many of them if not most that had a head injury. Acutally I guarantee that if it were not for my family and even my ex girl friend that I would be one of them today if I were even still alive.

[Mark in Idaho]

There was a study done in British Columbia of the incarcerated population. They found over 60% showed signs of a prior brain trauma.

The homeless are often in the TBI group for two reasons. They may have suffered a TBI that resulted in their homelessness or their homelessness has put them in dangerous living situations where they have suffered mTBI or TBI.

Many with addiction problems use the addictive substance to self-medicate for their neurological, psychological and psychiatric problems.

Consider how difficult it is to maintain family and social relationships after suffering a TBI. As support is withdrawn do to the personality and employment struggles, the subject is left without resources. Living the homeless life may actually do a better job as many in the homeless population know to give each other plenty of relational space. The diagnostic term is schizoid disorder.

The judgement that can come from family and friends of "just buck up and get over it" is no longer beating the TBI subject up.

This is why we need more Brain Injury Trust Funds and better diagnostic procedures to identify the TBI and mTBI subjects.