A COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY APPROACH TO HOMELESS CARE

Homelessness is a social, economic, and public health problem of incre asing magnitude in the United States. The past methods and approaches to delivering health care to those without homes have been inadequate because of the many complex problems faced by homeless persons today. To facilitate a discussion of a collaborative community approach to ho meless care, it is helpful to include a definition of homelessness, de scribe the homeless population and the health status of homeless indiv iduals, and explain what is meant by health care for the homeless.