URBAN HOMELESSNESS: Housing and health equity during health emergencies

Urban homelessness presents public health challenges for individuals, communities and societies. In the United States, discrimination, criminalisation, and trauma contribute to the health disparities that unhoused people experience, including heightened vulnerability to COVID-19. We begin by defining homelessness and illustrating key factors that render homelessness and COVID-19 as mutually reinforcing problems. Next, we describe and analyse the US response to COVID-19 and homelessness, a patchwork effort of federal, state, and local government policies and programming. In our discussion, we present directions for long-term solutions to addressing homelessness and advancing health equity, emphasising housing and health care as human rights.