“Homelessness is caused by a lack of housing, full stop.”
It really is that simple, Dr. Margot Kushel, a professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, told an audience Friday morning at the Oregon Health Forum.
Society expects health professionals, government officials and lawmakers to take action to reduce public health risks from communicable diseases. Safety regulations also aim to prevent vehicle deaths.
Industrial nations worldwide offer universal health care in several forms, while the United States lags and may — on a federal level — lack the political will or capability to make a significant change, according to panelists who spoke Wednesday at the Oregon Health Forum.
Mental health services have fallen short for the people who need them most in Oregon — the Portland area especially — but a panel of authorities offered hope Thursday that the system can be improved through collaboration among multiple service providers.
