Introduction
Homelessness has become a major problem in Egypt. estimates of the numbers of homeless people vary between 800,000 and  million.
Today, the fastest growing segment of the homeless is families. During 1960-1980 the average number of homeless families in the New York City temporary shelter system was approximately 600 per month. By July 1987, however, this number had risen to 5,020 families containing 12,303 children. These figures reflect only those children in the New York City temporary shelter system. The number of children living in the streets, in abandoned buildings, or on the subways, who do not seek publicly funded shelter, is not known.
It is well known that children of low socioeconomic status (SES) have medical problems in excess of those with high SES. Little is known of the health status and medical problems of children less than 5 years of age who, in addition to being poor, are also homeless. The present study emerged from our contact with this homeless population in the Pediatric Clinic of St. Luke's - Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York City.