Working with Homeless Women and Children: Opportunities for Training

The diversity of the homeless population allows for unique training opportunities in psychiatry, especially for child and adolescent psychiatry fellows. The prevalence of psychopathology both existing in and as a result of displacement and disenfranchisement requires a specialized knowledge of this population and provides an extraordinary education in community outreach, emergency psychiatry and social service delivery systems. The authors review their experience of working with homeless women and children in the community. Possibilities for more comprehensive training and research are also presented