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Investing in Public Health Infrastructure to Address the Complexities of Homelessness

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  • John P. Allegrante

    (Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
    Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA)

  • David A. Sleet

    (School of Public Health, College of Health and Human Services, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182-4124, USA
    Veritas Management Group, Inc., Atlanta, GA 30318-0655, USA)

Abstract

Homelessness is now recognized as a significant public health problem in North America and throughout advanced economies of the world. The causes of homelessness are complex but the lack of affordable housing, unemployment, poverty, addiction, and mental illness all contribute to the risk for homelessness. We argue that homelessness is increasingly exacerbated by system-wide infrastructure failures occurring at the municipal, state, and federal government levels and whose catastrophic impacts on population health and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic are the consequence of the decades-long devolution of government and neglect to invest in public infrastructure, including a modern public health system.

Suggested Citation

  • John P. Allegrante & David A. Sleet, 2021. "Investing in Public Health Infrastructure to Address the Complexities of Homelessness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-8, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:16:p:8887-:d:620065
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Saegert, S.C. & Klitzman, S. & Freudenberg, N. & Cooperman-Mroczek, J. & Nassar, S., 2003. "Healthy Housing: A Structured Review of Published Evaluations of US Interventions to Improve Health by Modifying Housing in the United States, 1990-2001," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 93(9), pages 1471-1477.
    2. Hopper, K. & Shinn, M. & Laska, E. & Meisner, M. & Wanderling, J., 2008. "Estimating numbers of unsheltered homeless people through plant-capture and postcount survey methods," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 98(8), pages 1438-1442.
    3. Congressional Budget Office, 2018. "Public Spending on Transportation and Water Infrastructure, 1956 to 2017," Reports 54539, Congressional Budget Office.
    4. Keuntae Kim & Ivis Garcia, 2019. "Why Do Homeless Families Exit and Return the Homeless Shelter? Factors Affecting the Risk of Family Homelessness in Salt Lake County (Utah, United States) as a Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-23, November.
    5. Anson Wong & Jerry Chen & Renée Dicipulo & Danielle Weiss & David A. Sleet & Louis Hugo Francescutti, 2020. "Combatting Homelessness in Canada: Applying Lessons Learned from Six Tiny Villages to the Edmonton Bridge Healing Program," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-19, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nayara Gonçalves Barbosa & Hellen Aparecida de Azevedo Pereira & Marcelo Vinicius Domingos Rodrigues dos Santos & Lise Maria Carvalho Mendes & Flávia Azevedo Gomes-Sponholz & Juliana Cristina dos Sant, 2023. "Assisting Homeless Women in a City in Brazil during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Context of a Street Outreach Office: The Perceptions of Health Professionals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-10, January.
    2. Lauren Willner & Sara M. Heller, 2024. "The Impact of Managerialism on Nonprofit Organizations Serving People Experiencing Houselessness in the United States," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-19, August.
    3. Sonika Bhatnagar & John Lovelace & Ray Prushnok & Justin Kanter & Joan Eichner & Dan LaVallee & James Schuster, 2023. "A Novel Framework to Address the Complexities of Housing Insecurity and Its Associated Health Outcomes and Inequities: “Give, Partner, Invest”," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(14), pages 1-11, July.
    4. David A. Sleet & Louis Hugo Francescutti, 2021. "Homelessness and Public Health: A Focus on Strategies and Solutions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-6, November.

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