Check this out! The Illinois Department of Public Health makes it clear homelessness is bad for your health and can get you injured—or killed!
An ongoing problem as long as people are not housed
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has had to admit that not having housing leads to bad outcomes indeed. A recent online article shares this reality. In “New Report Outlines the Health Toll of Homelessness,” IDPH gives details on the kinds of illnesses and the dangers of being unhoused.
The article draws on a 2024 report called: “Illinois Homelessness Mortality and Morbidity Report 2017 - 2022.” Interesting to note is the reminder that “Health both affects and is affected by homelessness.” It is a complicated relationship. However, the solution is easy: Get homeless people some housing!
The article reminds us that “People experiencing homelessness are likely to have a significantly reduced life expectancy and are more likely to be the victim of a violent assault or homicide…” Not investing in housing is a dangerous and expensive proposition indeed.
“Housing is an important social and structural determinant of health,” says the IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra, who adds that “the State of Illinois will move forward to design new and improve our current programs and policies to address disparities and achieve optimal health for” those unhoused persons facing bad health, dangerous situations, and even death.
As a society, a city, a state, a neighborhood, we insist on trying to help. Informing others is essential.
We at StreetSense embrace the “Housing First” model and want to get people indoors. Pretty simple.
Illinois is in fact devoted to the use of Housing First and has various programs and models being explored. (https://www.stateregstoday.com/living/affordable-housing/housing-first-initiatives-in-illinois#google_vignette). There are different protocols in assorted programs making use of mental health agencies and other means to get people housed.
We keep talking about it—seven days a week. Still, people are living outdoors, in vans, in dumpsters, in shelters, and on the train. We scratch our head and talk about this problem for hours at a time, but the solution is easy: Get homeless people some housing!
.
.
For further information:
.
Read the article here;
.
Read the executive summary of the report cited in the article:
.
Read up on the “Housing First” model of helping the unkeyed:
https://www.jayslevy.com/books/homeless-outreach-housing-first