These past months of the pandemic have driven home the point that we can and need to do much better as a society for people who are homeless and living in deep poverty. We understand better than ever that housing, food and a basic income are essential health interventions that keep people alive while avoiding expensive medical procedures and medical settings like the emergency room. We realize that the people who work in shelters and emergency housing facilities across this state play a vital role in medical prevention, medical care and public health, but this is something that the medical community and most of society by and large neglect to acknowledge.
