Homelessness and Health

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    (Credit: GettyImages)



Homelessness can take many forms, with people living on the streets, in encampments or shelters, in transitional housing programs, or doubled up with family and friends. The federal government reports that an estimated 1.5 million people a year experience homelessness. Others estimate that twice this number of people are actually living without housing in any given year. The connection between housing and homelessness is generally intuitive, but the strong link between health and homelessness is often overlooked.


An injury or illness can lead to unforeseen challenges such as losing employment due to missing too much time from work or exhausting sick leave or not being able to maintain a regular schedule. This can be especially true for physically demanding jobs such as construction, manufacturing, and other labor-intensive industries. The loss of employment due to poor health can bring many issues. With the loss of income, one cannot afford to pay for health care (treatment, medications, surgery, etc.) and that leads to one not being able to heal and work again. And if one remains ill, it is difficult to regain employment. This then brings a housing problem. In these unexpected situations, people’s savings are quickly exhausted, and relying on help from family and friends can only get you so far. Once every financial option is used, there are usually very few options available to help with health care or housing. Ultimately, poor health can lead to unemployment, poverty, and homelessness. 


The solution to this homelessness problem would be to provide health care with housing. Health care services are more effective when a patient has some sort of housing and maintaining housing is more likely if proper health care services are delivered. Stable housing is a key “social determinant of health” that directly impacts health outcomes. While some people only need short-term assistance to recover and reconnect to some sort of employment and housing on their own, others may be seriously ill and or disables that they will need long-term support services in order to maintain housing. Either way, homeless housing is necessary for a healthier society. Communities that invest in affordable housing incur lower public costs, achieve better health outcomes, and work to prevent and end homelessness altogether. It all starts by putting the health of others first.




For more information about this topic please visit: 


https://endhomelessness.org/homelessness-in-america/what-causes-homelessness/health/



Written by: 

Marco Leon

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