Advancing effective street outreach to people experiencing unsheltered homelessness: Concepts for public health nursing

Homelessness, particularly unsheltered homelessness is a public health emergency in the U.S. Street outreach programs have demonstrated efficacy in connecting people to housing, initiating or retaining people in primary care, improving access to mental health services, and increasing treatment for substance use disorder. Effective outreach is generally characterized by trained, multidisciplinary teams that visit clients where they are, forming trusting relationships over time. Public health nurses working on outreach teams have opportunities to exercise their full scope and standards of practice and advance street outreach to the benefit of a distinctly marginalized group.