The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Health Care for the Homeless Council, and the National Low Income Housing Coalition provide ongoing recommendations to support health and safety for people experiencing homelessness or housing instability in 2025. These recommendations focus on reducing risks from infectious and chronic diseases, mental illness, disaster and housing recovery, and the many other health threats that homelessness creates.
According to The Journal of Infectious Diseases, over 1.4 million people access homeless services annually in the US, but in doing so, face elevated infectious disease risks due to:
- Limited access to handwashing facilities, bathrooms, and showers
- Limited ability to isolate when sick
- Overcrowding in shelters increasing disease transmission
Additionally, people experiencing homelessness may have underlying medical conditions or substance abuse disorders that can increase their risk of complications or infection, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis, and hepatitis C.
Solutions to reduce health risks include:
- Routine meningococcal vaccination for people experiencing homelessness
- Coordinated messaging between healthcare providers and public health agencies
- Peer health communications led by people with lived experience of homelessness
- Walk-in access clinics (e.g., pop-up HIV primary care clinics)
- Permanent housing as healthcare
According to one study, permanent supportive housing reduced the number of liver-related hospital admissions, emergency department visits, and mortality among persons infected with hepatitis C.
Healthcare interventions that reach people where they live improve disease management, reduce disease burden, and prevent transmission.
