The Open Health Services and Policy Journal

2010, 3 : 27-29
Published online 2010 March 22. DOI: 10.2174/1874924001003010027
Publisher ID: TOHSPJ-3-27

Homeless Services in the U.S.: Looking Back, Looking Forward: An Open Letter to Policymakers, Advocates, and Providers

Martha Fleetwood
HomeBase/The Center for Common Concerns, 870 Market Street, Suite 1228 San Francisco, CA 94102, USA.

ABSTRACT

Homeless services as we know them today-including housing, health care, and social service systems-emerged at the end of the 20th century. These services developed separately from mainstream systems of care, further marginalizing people who were displaced by homelessness and poverty. In this editorial, the author proposes strategies for developing comprehensive, inclusive, and targeted responses to end homelessness.

Keywords:

Homelessness, Federal housing policy, poverty, social services.