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<p>The ministerial working group on homelessness report ‘Addressing complex needs
– improving services for vulnerable people’ (2015) highlighted significant levels
of substance misuse among the homeless population. Homeless people often have multiple
health needs, and the report showed how vulnerable people can become trapped in a
cycle of homelessness because of their overlapping and complex problems.</p><p><strong></strong></p><p>Improving
access to specialist substance misuse services for homeless people can also help to
facilitate access to the help they need to find accommodation. This includes both
in-house services and onward referral routes to external organisations, such as local
authority housing services or other housing support services.</p><br /><p>Public Health
England (PHE) supports local authorities to help them understand better the needs
of homeless people with addictions, in addition to working with key stakeholders such
as the Faculty for Homeless and Inclusion Health and membership organisation Homeless
Link. PHE commissioned Homeless Link to carry out a rapid evidence assessment of homelessness
prevention. PHE has also supported Homeless Link to update the Homeless Health Needs
Audit toolkit, an important tool that can help areas understand the scale and nature
of homelessness, the health inequalities experienced by single homeless people, and
to monitor any changes in the health of this population. It is designed to be used
by anyone with responsibility for carrying out needs assessments, designing and commissioning
services, or delivering services within a health or homelessness setting.</p><p><strong></strong></p>
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