Title: 
Headings: Homelessness & Health:  What’s the Connection?
Homelessness
 
&
 
Health:
  
What’s
 
the
 
Connection?
 

FACT
 
SHEET
 

February
 
2019
 

Poor
 
heath
 
is
 
a
 
major
 
cause
 
of
 
homelessness
 

Simply
 
being
 
without
 
a
 
home
 
is
 
a
 
dangerous
 
health
 
condition.
 

Homelessness
 
creates
 
new
 
health
 
problems
 
and
 
exacerbates
 
existing
 
ones
 

Recovery
 
and
 
healing
 
are
 
more
 
difficult
 
without
 
housing
  

The
 
Solution:
 
Housing
 
is
 
Health
 
Care
 

Learn
 
more:
  

VISIT
 
OUR
 
WEBSITE
 
AT
 
WWW.NHCHC.ORG
 


Content: one
 
cannot
 
heal
 
to
 
work
 
again,
 
and
 
if
 
one
 
remains
 
ill,
 
it
 
is
 
difficult
 
to
 
regain
 
employment. Without
 
income
 
from
 
work,
 
an
 
injury
 
or
 
illness
 
quickly
 
becomes
 
a
 
housing
 
problem. In
 
these
 
situations,
 
any
 
available
 
savings
 
are
 
quickly
 
exhausted,
 
and
 
relying
 
on
 
friends
 
and
 
family
 
for
 
assistance
 
to
 
help
 
maintain
 
rent/mortgage
 
payments,
 
food,
 
medical
 
care,
 
and
 
other
 
basic
 
needs
 
can
 
be
 
short-lived. Once
 
these
 
personal
 
safety
 
nets
 
are
 
exhausted,
 
there
 
are
 
usually
 
very
 
few
 
options
 
available
 
to
 
help
 
with
 
health
 
care
 
or
 
housing. Ultimately,
 
poor
 
health
 
can
 
lead
 
to
 
unemployment,
 
poverty,
 
and
 
homelessness. Simply
 
being
 
without
 
a
 
home
 
is
 
a
 
dangerous
 
health
 
condition. Homelessness
 
creates
 
new
 
health
 
problems
 
and
 
exacerbates
 
existing
 
ones
 
Living
 
on
 
the
 
street
 
or
 
in
 
crowded
 
homeless
 
shelters
 
is
 
extremely
 
stressful
 
and
 
made
 
worse
 
by
 
being
 
exposed
 
to
 
communicable
 
disease
 
(e.g.
 
TB,
 
respiratory
 
illnesses,
 
flu,
 
hepatitis,
 
etc.), violence,
 
malnutrition,
 
and
 
harmful
 
weather
 
exposure. Chronic
 
health
 
conditions
 
such
 
as
 
high
 
blood
 
pressure,
 
diabetes,
 
and
 
asthma
 
become
 
worse
 
because
 
there
 
is
 
no
 
safe
 
place
 
to
 
store
 
medications
 
properly. Maintaining
 
a
 
healthy
 
diet
 
is
 
difficult
 
in
 
soup
 
kitchens
 
and
 
shelters
 
as
 
the
 
meals
 
are
 
usually
 
high
 
in
 
salt,
 
sugars,
 
and
 
starch
 
(making
 
for
 
cheap,
 
filling
 
meals
 
but
 
lacking
 
nutritional
 
content).