For anyone seeking employment, there’s a shortage of good, quality jobs that meet workers’ needs and support their well-being, including their economic security. This shortage is the result of multiple factors, including decades of offshoring, wage stagnation, lack of benefits, and increasingly aggressive antiunion activity. But people experiencing homelessness also face their own barriers.

Studies have shown that poor health is associated with a higher risk of homelessness (PDF) and job loss, and conversely, homelessness can exacerbate poor health, as housing is a social determinant of health. With that said, many people with health conditions and disabilities can and do work but may need additional targeted supports.

Racial discrimination (PDF) can also pose a barrier to employment and economic mobility for people experiencing homelessness. In a recent study, people of color experiencing homelessness reported discrimination across education, employment, housing, health care, and criminal justice. When asked about employment, study participants discussed experiencing racial discrimination (PDF) most acutely when searching for jobs.

Basic requirements such as having an address, an ID, a birth certificate, and professional clothing are often out of reach or not easily obtainable for people experiencing homelessness. Lack of access to transportation and child care can also pose barriers to economic mobility for people with low incomes but disproportionately hinders those experiencing homelessness.

Addressing barriers to employment for those experiencing homelessness

Many federal, philanthropic, and social enterprise initiatives have invested funds to address these systemic barriers to employment.

The US Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Labor have encouraged communities to strengthen pathways to employment (PDF).

Communities across the US have integrated employment assistance into their rapid re-housing programs (PDF) to help people secure permanent housing and develop or increase employment income.

Read the full article about barriers to employment by Maureen Sarver at Urban Institute.