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Homelessness


Homelessness is a significant and growing problem in the United States. A recent study estimates that over 700,000 people are homeless on any given night and up to 2 million people experience homelessness during a year. Through nearly two decades of work with families and individuals who are homeless, we have learned that effective services are available and that persons who are homeless will use those services. Nearly every one of these services can be supported by traditional mainstream insurance, entitlement, and assistance programs funded by Federal agencies.

Tools And Resources:

  • First Step - A tool for assisting individuals who are homeless with accessing Federal mainstream benefit programs. Useful information is provided on each benefit program to make enrolling individuals into these programs a more efficient process.  Download First Step

  • Improving Medicaid Access for People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness: State Examples- A technical assistance report for states designed to highlight several initiatives that increase Medicaid access for people who are chronically homeless. (PDF 2.6MB)

  • Letter to State Medicaid Directors - In this letter CMS encourages States to "suspend" and not "terminate" Medicaid benefits while a person is in a public institution or Institute for Mental Disease. (PDF 123KB)

  • Homeless Policy Academies - CMS and other HHS agencies, with the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, and Labor, sponsors a series of homeless policy academies. The academies assist States to explore new policies and collaborations across multiple programs that will improve access to housing and treatment resources and contribute to ending homelessness.

  • Related Sites - To pursue the goal of ensuring that persons who are homeless have access to services, we have formed a partnership within DHHS agencies, as well as with other Federal agencies, to work together to achieve this end.

  • Background Information
Last Modified on Thursday, September 16, 2004