The health of the homeless

Studies of homelessness and health date back to at least the 1970s. The current paper presents a summary on the state of the literature on homelessness and health since the onset of Housing First initiatives. Housing First initiatives represent a change in the previously used model used by social services providers and government agencies from recovery first to housing first, a recognition that homeless people should be housed before contending with other issues such as mental health treatment. Since this time, researchers have pushed research inquiry into areas that were only touched on lightly before. These new areas of research fall generally into that categories of access and utilization, newer demographics, and emerging health concerns. Each of these areas is thoroughly reviewed in the paper. Despite Housing First legislation, homelessness continues to threaten the health of the urban population and will continue to do so as long as it is allowed to persist.