Work Matters: Employment as a Tool for Preventing Homelessness and Improving Health

Poor health, unemployment, and homelessness are interconnected conditions that can exacerbate and reinforce each other. A physical or mental health condition that results in loss of employment can, in turn, lead to homelessness if an individual exhausts savings. Lack of housing increases an individual's exposure to disease and can worsen preexisting medical conditions. Poor health only makes it more difficult to secure and maintain employment to pay for housing. In short, employment is a significant social determinant of health. Employment-related services may be provided as part of a health center's case management activities. This guide supports integration of employment-related interventions with the already robust primary care and housing services being provided by health care for the homeless projects and related service providers.