Homelessness and health: individual impacts

The impact of homelessness on mental and physical health is well documented and homelessness increases the risk for all-cause mortality, including acute and chronic health conditions and communicable diseases. A focus for much of this research has been on the experiences of people who live on the streets, and this can mask the multiple and complex ways that homelessness impacts on the health and wellbeing of different people in diverse ways. This chapter highlights the variable experiences of sub-populations, such as women, young people and migrants, the members of whom are often described as hidden homeless and explores their experiences within a health inequalities lens.