Michael is 37 years old and was released from prison 7 months ago. He had been imprisoned for 5 years after he was found to be in possession of heroin. Upon his release his wife refused to let him move back into the family\u00a0home. He has since spent time staying between various forms of temporary\u00a0accommodation,\u00a0including hostels run by the council, friends’ sofas and unoccupied buildings. He has also spent the occasional night sleeping outside when he had nowhere else to go. He has continued to inject heroin and smokes cigarettes, and will occasionally use benzodiazepines. He has also started to drink heavily throughout the day, and says the drugs and alcohol “help him cope”. After having some of his\u00a0few possessions stolen by a fellow resident in\u00a0a hostel,\u00a0he has found it\u00a0difficult to sleep\u00a0at night since\u00a0he finds\u00a0it\u00a0difficult to trust\u00a0people. As a result, he often feels stressed and anxious and occasionally\u00a0experiences\u00a0panic attacks. When cash is running really low, he is forced to\u00a0beg in the city centre\u00a0but feels ashamed when\u00a0doing so. He has experienced verbal abuse and taunts from passers-by, as well as threats from others staying in his accommodation. Fort he past few\u00a0weeks, he has begun to have thoughts about killing himself. He has also been\u00a0experiencing severe\u00a0toothache\u00a0during the night. Others have advised\u00a0him to seek\u00a0help from health professionals b u t\u00a0he has heard of other homeless people having bad experiences when doing so. He is afraid of being stigmatised.<\/p>\n
How might we remove some of the barriers to healthcare encountered\u00a0by Michael and others experiencing homelessness?<\/p>\n
Dr Fernando Fernandes, School of Education and Social Work<\/span><\/p>\n Homeless Link – Links to homeless health research<\/a><\/p>\nFurther reading<\/h3>\n