Initiative on Health and Homelessness
The Initiative on Health and Homelessness (IHH) fosters a network of researchers and practitioners dedicated to inspiring and supporting emerging public health professionals in addressing health and homelessness, providing resources to drive real-world change to improve the health and lives of unhoused individuals.
677 Huntington Avenue
Kresge 4th Floor
Boston, MA 02115
Our Mission
Homelessness is among the most egregious public health failures of our society. Research and education focused on health and homelessness have been profoundly inadequate, overlooked, and underfunded in the US. Because of this, the academic community has fallen short of systematically studying and quantifying the root causes, health impacts, and potential solutions for the homelessness crisis. This leaves practitioners lacking an adequate evidence base on which to build systems, policies, and interventions to address this pressing and highly visible health equity challenge.
In recognition of the critical need to address these academic gaps, the pilot Initiative on Health and Homelessness (IHH) was founded at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Harvard Chan School) in October 2019 with Dr. Howard Koh as its inaugural faculty chair.
The Initiative has set out to build a community of researchers and practitioners to support and inspire fledgling public health professionals to address issues at the intersection of health and homelessness. Through this work, IHH can provide the resources to influence real-world change to improve the lives and health of the unhoused.
We do this work through three primary strategies:
Community Engagement
IHH builds a community of practice by engaging partners, fostering collaboration, sharing insights via newsletters and seminars, and publishing research to guide informed, scalable policy and practice.
Education
IHH engages Harvard students in coursework, providing case studies, research, and fieldwork on homelessness and health to equip future leaders with practical tools to address this issue.
Research
IHH fosters a research pipeline by building an equity-focused academic agenda, connecting researchers to funding, offering pilot grants, facilitating mentorship, and pairing faculty with students.
Who we are
Our team is comprised of dedicated professionals and experts who bring diverse perspectives and deep expertise in health, homelessness, and social equity to guide our mission.
Homelessness is undermining the very fabric our society. In response, we must urgently rally new generations of young leaders who are ready, willing, and able to tackle the crisis head on with commitment, courage, and compassion.
Dr. Howard K. Koh
Faculty Chair, Initiative on Health and Homelessness