Social Work and Housing Insecurity

This course explores the root causes of homelessness and housing insecurity. It focuses on individual and macro evidence-based approaches to preventing homelessness and to intervening on behalf of and with individuals/families and their communities. The course uses a person-in-environment conceptual framework and responds to the one of the social work grand challenges. It is relevant to social work practice in a variety of settings and populations, including persons with serious mental illness, substance abuse problems, co-occurring disorders, adverse childhood experiences, trauma, or aging. This course will demonstrate our responsibility and capacity as social workers to reach out and provide services to individuals and families who are homeless, and to advocate for social policies and programs that will best respond to the needs of people who are homeless.