In a recent article in Public Health Reports, Dr. Ann Elizabeth Montgomery, at the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Public Health; Dr. Dorota Szymkowiak, and Mr. Dennis P. Culhane, of the National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans; and Ms. Jessica Marcus and Mr. Paul Howard of 4Data and Performance Management, discuss the impact on people living in unsheltered situations having poorer health and more symptoms of physical illness than their sheltered counterparts. Although their needs are high, they tend to receive acute rather than preventive care and less frequent outpatient encounters.

These findings highlight the need to assertively reach out to vulnerable populations and provide interventions to assist them during their transition—for example, as they exit incarceration or age out of foster care. Such a response could prevent unsheltered homelessness and thereby address increased mortality risk. Connecting people with resources to increase their access to employment, benefits, and other sources of income is especially important.

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