This chapter examines the opportunities to improve the health of homeless people and the challenge for the National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland, working with its partners, to play a full role in the prevention of homelessness. It first considers why homelessness is a public health and health equity issue before discussing the Scottish government's emphasis on the prevention of homelessness through housing. It then explains how public services, through a better understanding of the diverse causes of homelessness and routes into and out of homelessness, can lead a collaborative approach to creating the right conditions for people to flourish. This can be summed up by the ‘5Rs’: Rafters, Relationships, Resources, Restoration and Resilience in the prevention and mitigation of homelessness.
Ignoring our elders: tobacco control’s forgotten health equity issue
