How Social Workers Help the Homeless
Homelessness is a pervasive issue that plagues communities across the country, both urban and rural.
Social workers can support individuals experiencing homelessness in several ways. They can provide counseling, housing, rent assistance, health care services and employment search assistance to a variety of clients, including those facing eviction or job loss. Advocacy is important in social work pertaining to homelessness as those experiencing it may also be a part of minority or high-risk populations. Social workers are key to helping build frameworks to protect and sustain the long-term needs and interests of people experiencing homelessness.
Why Social Work Is Important to Ending Homelessness
As of January 2026, 771,480 Americans were experiencing homelessness, according to HUD’s Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) Point-in-Time estimates that were completed in 2024.
Homelessness can have a ripple effect on society by intensifying social barriers and creating public health risks. People experiencing homelessness often face major obstacles to getting routine primary (ambulatory) care, including cost, transportation challenges, insurance-related hurdles, and stigma or discrimination in health care settings. Even when coverage is available, many still report unmet health needs, and urgent, day-to-day priorities, like finding food and a safe place to sleep, can take precedence over seeking medical care.
Contributing factors to homelessness may include poverty, chronic health problems, mental illness, substance abuse and addiction, domestic violence, lack of affordable housing, evictions, deinstitutionalization, decarceration, hospital and armed services discharges, youths who are unaccompanied, trafficking, and trauma. Furthermore, NAEH reported that people experiencing homelessness who have mental health and substance use disorders are more likely to have life-threatening physical illnesses and live in dangerous conditions. It’s important for social workers to play a role in helping individuals facing homelessness by minimizing the effects of homelessness on society. Social workers can advocate for policy change related to housing insecurity, social justice and homelessness, while working on the micro level of case management for vulnerable homeless populations. Social workers can help their clients obtain housing, even if temporary. Becoming a licensed clinical social worker can allow you to counsel clients experiencing homelessness for trauma and care for their overall mental health.
Advocating For People Experiencing Homelessness: What Social Workers Do
On the journey to becoming a social worker, you may ask yourself how to combat homelessness. There are many ways for social workers to advocate for those facing homelessness, ranging from providing therapy services to promoting social justice. Here are some common steps social workers can take to combat homelessness:
- Provide affordable housing. Social workers can connect clients experiencing homelessness to temporary housing and transitional shelters to provide shelter and support for rehabilitation.
- Prevent eviction and assist with rent. Social workers can assist clients with government programs focused on rent assistance and eviction prevention by screening applicants to determine eligibility, interviewing and assessment, and counseling.
- Provide healthcare and mental health services. Social workers can help their clients find access to health services and help them get Medicaid.
- Develop employment programs. Social workers can help clients experiencing homelessness to find transitional jobs, individualized placement support and adult education.
It’s important to note that, in some cases, counseling and psychotherapy alone may not be sufficient for social workers to fully support their clients. Social workers have a responsibility to address homelessness by navigating systemic barriers of social, political, and economic structures that can help stabilize homeless clients.
Resources for Social Workers Working to End Homelessness
By joining or volunteering with homeless organizations or by reading about social justice, social workers and allies can become well equipped to support people facing homelessness in their communities. Explore the resources below.
Scholarly Articles and Case Studies Addressing Homelessness
- Social work’s role in both direct practice and advocacy to sustain tenancies and prevent homelessness (The British Journal of Social Work, 2025).
This article argues that preventing homelessness requires both direct practice (e.g., tenancy-sustaining supports, problem-solving, service navigation) and advocacy to change the systems that drive housing precarity. It’s a helpful “big picture + practice” framing for social work students. - Do Homelessness Prevention Programs Prevent Homelessness? Experimental Evidence from Temporary Financial Assistance (Review of Economics and Statistics, 2025).
A randomized study evaluating short-term financial help for at-risk households; results indicate that temporary cash assistance can measurably reduce subsequent homelessness, strengthening the case for prevention-first approaches (rent help, arrears support, and rapid stabilization). - Health care access and experiences among people experiencing homelessness (California Statewide Study data) (JAMA Health Forum, 2025).
Using large-scale survey data from Californians experiencing homelessness, this research documents persistent access barriers (including gaps in preventive/primary care) and explains why “survival needs first” is a rational response when housing and safety are unstable—useful context for micro and mezzo practice. - Housing First and mortality outcomes among adults experiencing homelessness and mental illness (At Home/Chez Soi secondary analysis) (JAMA Network Open, 2025).
A long-run analysis examining mortality outcomes in a major Housing First study population, providing evidence on how housing interventions intersect with health risks over time—especially important for students thinking about SMI/SUD, case management intensity, and continuity of care. - Homelessness Following Jail Exit Among Previously Housed Individuals (Journal of Urban Health, 2025).
This study finds that housing loss after jail exit can occur even after short jail stays, and that people who became unhoused had higher pre-incarceration behavioral health needs and higher odds of reincarceration—supporting housing-focused reentry planning and “housing loss mitigation” strategies. - What are youth refuge practice models and how effective are they in improving outcomes for youth experiencing homelessness? A systematic narrative review (Children and Youth Services Review, 2025).
A review of youth refuge/shelter models finds short- to medium-term improvements in outcomes in the available studies, but also notes that evidence quality is often limited—useful for explaining what we know (and don’t yet know) about shelter-based interventions for youth. - Perspectives on the Low Demand Transitional Model in Engaging and Housing hard-to-reach Veterans Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness (Community Mental Health Journal, 2025).
Qualitative findings from providers working in a low-barrier transitional housing model for unsheltered veterans highlight common barriers (retention, transition to permanent housing) and practical supports (life skills, financial planning, onsite services, aftercare/case management). - Encampment “sweeps,” supportive housing, and health/economic outcomes for people with opioid use disorder (simulation analysis) (JAMA Network Open, 2025).
- A modeling study comparing policy/intervention approaches suggests that housing-focused strategies can avert more harm than displacement-focused approaches, and it gives concrete estimates that help students understand why policy choices can shift both health outcomes and system costs.
Online Resources Addressing Homelessness
Closing the Gap: Integrating Services for Survivors of Domestic Violence Experiencing Homelessness. A 2025 toolkit that helps providers support survivors at the intersection of domestic violence and homelessness, with practical guidance for trauma-informed engagement and improving coordination between DV and homeless service systems.
Audience: Homeless and Service Providers to the Homeless. Compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor, this list of resources, programs and important links related to homelessness is targeted at providers and social workers.
Local Homeless Assistance. This list of resources and homeless assistance by state can be found on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s website.
National Runaway Safeline. A crisis hotline number (1-800-RUNAWAY) for runaway youth who are at risk for homelessness.
National Center for Homeless Education. An organization providing resources on homelessness and education for homeless children and youth.
National Coalition for the Homeless (Fact Sheets). A series of fact sheets on how many people experience homelessness, healthcare and homelessness, LGBTQ and minorities homelessness, hunger and food insecurity, rural homelessness and more.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Homelessness Programs and Resources. A list of SAMHSA programs and resources dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness among individuals with mental and/or substance use issues.
National Organizations Addressing Homelessness in the United States
- The National Alliance to End Homelessness. A nonpartisan organization dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
- National Coalition for the Homeless. A national network of people who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness, as well as advocates that aim to end and prevent homelessness.
- United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). A federal agency focused on preventing and ending homelessness in the United States by coordinating with local governments and engaging in private sector partnerships.
- Veterans of America – Homeless People. An organization that helps provide emergency shelter, drop-in centers, permanent supportive housing and transitional housing for homeless veterans, among other support services.
- National Center on Family Homelessness. A project from the American Institutes for Research designed to respond to homelessness, trauma, poverty and the need for social services. The project is aimed at helping children, youth and families experiencing homelessness navigate complex life situations.
Information last updated: January 2026