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Alameda Countywide Homeless and Special Needs Housing Plan 53 · Employment. The survey also included people who utilize homeless and/or food services but had housing. Homeless respondents were slightly more likely to report having worked in the past 30 days than housed service users (35 versus 31 percent), but homeless people were more likely to have temporary or marginal work, and to work 15 or fewer hours weekly. 34 · Income. 88 percent of homeless people had an income; the average homeless family income was just $727 per month.35 · Health insurance. Three-quarters of homeless adults reported having "health insurance or access to publicly-supported treatment services" at that point in time. Homeless people averaged one hospitalization every two years, which is more than double that of housed extremely low- income service users.36 · Medical care. About one-third of homeless respondents reported an emergency room as the location of their most recent medical care, and 36 percent delayed or did not receive medical care they thought they needed.37 · Food security. Almost half of homeless respondents reported having gone hungry in the past 30 days, and 18 percent of adults with children reported that their children go hungry. 38 · Domestic violence. The survey found that more than 600 people who met the community definition ofhomelessness had been injured or threatened by a family member within the 12 months prior to the survey.39 · Veterans. Almost 1 in 5 homeless adults had served in the United States military (at least 853 people at a point in time); just 17 percent of those reporting military service history also reported a Veterans Administration benefit or pension.4o Homelessness in Combination with HIV/AIDS, Mental Illness, and Substance Use Local and national data indicate that HIV/AIDS, mental illness, and substance use are common among people who are homeless, and that each of these issues affects a person's experience while homeless and the duration they remain homeless. For example: · HIV/AIDS. According to Dr. Dennis Culhane, a researcher who has worked extensively on homelessness, apgroximately 3 percent of the adult homeless population nationally is living with HIV/AIDS. J Applied to the 4,460 adults homeless at a point in time in Alameda County, this would yield an estimate of 134 people living with HIV / AIDS who are homeless at a point in time. · Mental illness. Data from the Alameda Countywide Shelter and Services Survey: County Report (ACSSS) and BHCS indicates that there are close to 1,000 people with a mental illness who are homeless in Alameda County at a point in time. lJ Ibid, p. 4-7. 34 Ibid, p. 7-1 35 Ibid, p. 7.3. 36 Ibid, p. 10-3. 37 Ibid, pp. 10-6, 10-16. 38 Ibid, p. 6-3. 39 Ibid, p. 9-3. 40 Ibid, pp. 4-16, 7.9. 41 Dr. Dennis Culhane, personal communication with AIDS Housing of Washington staff, October 14,2004.