Grand Challenges: Homelessness (James Lachaud)

The College of Social Work is proud to be home to distinguished faculty conducting noteworthy, groundbreaking research. CSW faculty scholarship addresses Grand Challenges for Social Work, tackling the nation’s toughest social problems, with homelessness being among them. The Grand Challenges initiative for social work is led by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare to champion social progress powered by science.

In a recently released policy brief titled “2024 Policy Recommendations for Meeting Grand Challenges for Social Work,” the initiative identified key suggestions for addressing the Grand Challenge to End Homelessness, one of the 13 identified target areas. According to the brief, homelessness and housing instability are significant problems that adversely affect diverse groups in the United States, impacting personal development, health and well-being. The next 10 years will involve researchers, practitioners and policymakers participating in directed activities that will move the Grand Challenge forward and result in social work accomplishments.

Lachaud explores how housing precarity and homelessness contribute to eroding mental, cognitive and physical health and create a poverty trap and community disconnectedness and isolation. He also explores how systematic biases and social and housing policies contribute to housing crises, homelessness and health inequities. Lachaud is looking to engage and contribute to policy and programs for transformational changes to address housing, environmental injustice and health inequities.

“Housing is more than a basic physical necessity; it is a critical pillar for health, stability and access to opportunity,” says Lachaud. “The lack of stable and decent housing undermines dignity, health and a person’s sense of belonging.”

Lachaud has co-authored several recent publications about the housing and health inequities, and social work including:

• Housing First and Severe Mental Disorders: The Challenge of Exiting Homelessness
• Health and social outcomes in the Housing First model: Testing the theory of change
• Social isolation and loneliness among people living with experience of homelessness

His study advocates for systemic changes that address the root causes of poverty and health inequities, with a particular focus on individuals experiencing housing instability and homelessness.