The cost of creating affordable housing continues to grow due to a record housing market in nearly every community across the country. Housing and Health Care Homelessness is hazardous to your health. Lack of housing often is an insurmountable barrier to improving the health of persons with acute or chronic ailments, including addiction and mental illness. Homelessness itself causes medical problems, greatly exacerbates existing illness, and seriously complicates treatment. Conditions such as frostbite, leg ulcers, and respiratory infections are a direct result of living on the street.
Homelessness precludes good nutrition, good personal hygiene, and basic first aid.
Persons without a regular place to stay are also at greater risk of physical and emotional trauma resulting from muggings, beatings, and rape. Conditions that require regular, uninterrupted treatment, such as tuberculosis, HIV, diabetes, hypertension, addiction, and mental illness, are extremely difficult to treat or manage in the absence of a stable residence. The likelihood of effective medical treatment is greatly increased by residential stability. Not only do housed individuals recover more quickly from acute illness or injury, they also are better able to manage the treatment of chronic medical conditions. Most striking are recent research findings on the provision of housing for individuals dually diagnosed with major mental illness and active addiction.