Housing is a Health Issue

There has been a clear and continuous rise in the number of people experiencing homelessness throughout Washington state. As a group of healthcare professionals and advocates, we recognize the adverse mental and physical health outcomes that are rooted in insecure housing and homelessness. Homelessness can cause extreme trauma, and is a risk factor for many chronic illnesses.

Join us in advocating for housing justice

We work to address the root causes of homelessness. Surging rent, rising cost of living, low vacancy rates, stagnant wage growth, and eroded social safety net programs are all concrete reasons why homelessness persists in our society. The centuries of oppressive policies that create homelessness disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and low-income people. Addressing housing and homelessness is essential if we want to live in a healthy and equitable state.

Homelessness: Myth vs. Fact

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Myths & Facts

Housing First

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The Health Costs of Encampment Sweeps

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What are they? Interactive Infographic

Hidden Health Barriers

Please join WPSR today as we fight on all fronts for the rights, safety, and health of our unhoused neighbors and friends.

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Voices from the Frontlines

Healthcare professionals share how housing instability and homelessness impact health and care access through interviews led by WPSR Intern, Alice.

  • "Everyone is one bad accident or one genetic disease away from being in the same position."

    —Isabella, Care Coordinator

  • "They want to provide for their children, they want to be healthy, they want to be able to pursue their interests. They want to be able to make a living."

    —Esther, Pediatrician

  • "When you're in a fight or flight mode, when you're anxious, realistically, you can't really work on other issues. You are always in survival mode."

    —Nancy, Doctor of Internal Medicine

  • "Things that would normally be handled easily if somebody had a home to live in become a greater problem. Instead, things get worse and they wind up in the hospital."

    —Colin, Retired Family Doctor

  • "Every day that we deliberate over what the best housing solutions are, and whether or not we have the money to spend to do it, is negatively impacting the health of thousands of Washingtonians."

    —Kishanee, Medical Student