St Mungo's Opening doors for homeless people

Giving homeless people a healthy hand

It's no surprise that the health of homeless people isn't good. But what is shocking is the fact that 86% of residents who come to St Mungo's projects have untreated health conditions.

Years of sleeping rough does take its toll. Many of our residents suffer from several serious health conditions at once. These problems become much worse when untreated, to the point where they become very difficult to manage. As a result GPs and health clinics are unable to provide the support that homeless people desperately need.

Because of bad experiences of public health services in the past, homeless people themselves avoid seeking treatment, until absolutely necessary. There is a significantly higher rate of hospital admission and calls to the Ambulance Service amongst homeless people than the general population.

Over the last year and a half we have been working to improve the health of homeless people. We have seen a lot of progress but there is even more that needs to be done. We now need to expand our Intermediate Care to all of our projects. This cannot be done without more funding. We will continue to lobby the Government to take responsibility for the wellbeing of homeless people.

But we need your support as well. Just £15 will pay for a health check with a nurse, visit our online shop to purchase this virtual gift.

Read about how we've been takling health and homelessness over the last 18 months:

• St Mungo's health strategy - September 2008
• St Mungo's Intermediate Care Pilot - January 2009
• St Mungo's mental health work