Limited Access to Healthcare and Other Voluntary Services

Barriers to healthcare access often trigger cascading crises that can lead to homelessness. When people can’t access or afford necessary medical care, they face impossible choices between paying for treatment or rent. Medical debt, job loss due to untreated health conditions, and the draining of savings for emergency care can quickly destabilize housing security. These risks are especially severe for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities, who face compounded barriers including provider discrimination, lack of culturally competent care, and higher rates of being uninsured. Without adequate healthcare access, a single medical emergency or chronic condition can overwhelm financial resources and force people from their homes.

High Healthcare Costs Leave Many Without Care

With rising healthcare costs, many low-income Americans are unable to afford the care they need. This can result in people not getting the care they want and need, and financial constraints resulting from the cost of healthcare services. For people on the brink of homelessness, a single medical bill can send them into a financial crisis. Healthcare costs are prohibitive even for those with insurance. This can result in people not seeking the help they want and need and/or financial constraints resulting from healthcare services.

Workforce Challenges and Insurance Gaps Limit Treatment Options

Critical shortages of healthcare providers, especially those offering culturally responsive care, create dangerous gaps in treatment access. Many communities lack sufficient mental health professionals, addiction specialists, and primary care providers who understand the needs of diverse populations. These workforce gaps are particularly severe in areas serving people at risk of homelessness. Even when insurance coverage exists, provider shortages mean long wait times for appointments, limited treatment options, and difficulty finding care that accounts for cultural, linguistic, and gender identity needs. Without access to appropriate healthcare providers, treatable conditions can escalate into crises that threaten housing stability.

Marginalized Populations Face Healthcare Discrimination 

Healthcare discrimination and geographic isolation combine to create severe access barriers for marginalized communities. People of color face both interpersonal and institutional bias in healthcare settings – from dismissal of symptoms and inadequate pain management to lack of language access and culturally inappropriate care. These challenges are amplified in rural areas, where hospital closures and provider shortages have created healthcare deserts that disproportionately impact communities of color. The compounded effect of discrimination, provider scarcity, and geographic barriers means that treatable health conditions often go unaddressed until they become crises that can destabilize housing security. For rural BIPOC communities in particular, the intersection of racial bias and geographic isolation creates nearly insurmountable obstacles to accessing timely, appropriate care.

Solving homelessness means addressing the lack of access to appropriate and affordable healthcare. By expanding healthcare coverage, increasing culturally competent care, and removing administrative barriers, we can help people stay housed and healthy.

Expanding Medicaid Access

Expanding Medicaid coverage and other insurance options for low-income households can dramatically improve outcomes for people experiencing homelessness by reducing healthcare costs and providing access to critical care.

Culturally Competent Care for Better Health

  There is no substitute for quality healthcare. It is essential that healthcare and supportive services are rooted in evidence, and that there are culturally appropriate options within the community to meet the needs of all, especially those at disproportionate risk of homelessness.

Removing Barriers to Behavioral Health Services

Access to mental health and addiction treatment is critical for all people, especially for those who are economically vulnerable and at risk of homelessness. Expanding behavioral health services is a crucial step toward preventing homelessness.

Expanding Access to Community Based Healthcare

Healthcare and supportive services provided at home and in a patient’s local community can improve health and make it easier to expand treatment options. Unfortunately, this type of care is not available in many underserved areas, due to workforce shortages, financial pressures, and insufficient healthcare infrastructure in rural areas. As a result, significant portions of the country do not have access to quality community-based care and services. 

Addressing the Staffing Crisis

A severe workforce crisis is broadly impacting human services, including healthcare, homeless services, and other related sectors. Addressing this crisis is critical to the health and well-being of vulnerable populations at risk of homelessness. This is crucial to ensuring high-quality and culturally appropriate healthcare and services that can be tailored to meet individual needs and scaled to meet the demand.