Families Help Homeless and Disabled Relatives Providing Support is More Stressful with "Double Troubles"

People provide help and support to disabled homeless relatives as part of a system of care for homeless adults. This family support is stronger, and stress on relatives is greater, when people who are homeless experience difficulties or disorders related to a disability. Research analyzes data from a study ofpeople with homeless re1atives.l Results show that people spend more time and money caring for a homeless relative who is disabled. Results also show that helping a relative living with a disability is associated with significantly more stress on family caregivers. This relationship varies somewhat depending on the nature of the disability. Since research shows that family caregiving supplements community services for homeless adults, and since results support hypotheses to show how family support is more stressful in the context of disability, social service systems can help by encouraging and providing community support for both disabled homeless adults and for their family caregivers.