ced by circumstance to rummage through garbage cans for food, urinate in the streets, or wear mismatched clothing. What may seem bizarre to the mainstream individual, however, is behavior based on necessity for the homeless person. Alcohol and drug problems are also prevalent among homeless people. These substances cause impairment in behavior that resemble mental illness. Likewise, a homeless person suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, or an untreated physical illness such as diabetes will exhibit behavior that appears outside the norm. Thus, the conditions of homelessness can easily be misinterpreted and psychiatric deviance: "Many of the apparently crazy, bizarre, or abnormal behavioral patterns observed among the homeless are adaptations to the rigors and dangers of street or shelter existence" (Wright, 1989, p. 105).
Although hard statistics are difficult to come by, a significant portion of the homeless are mentally ill. Estimates vary from 15 percent to 90 percent, depending on the geographic area. However, a generally accepted overa
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