Briefing: Street-Based Services for Homeless Individuals with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders

Research Focus

This program supports comprehensive service delivery models that engage individuals experiencing homelessness directly in community settings—particularly those with serious mental illness (SMI), serious emotional disturbance (SED), substance use disorders (SUD), or co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. The initiative targets street-based outreach, treatment initiation, and recovery support services designed to meet people where they are rather than requiring them to access traditional clinical settings. Research and demonstration projects should generate evidence on effective engagement strategies, treatment models, and recovery support pathways that improve outcomes for this vulnerable population across the continuum from acute intervention through sustained recovery.

The program emphasizes practical implementation science: understanding what service configurations, staffing models, and community partnerships enable sustained contact, treatment engagement, and recovery support among individuals with complex, co-occurring conditions who face significant barriers to traditional care access.

At-a-Glance

• Who can apply: Not stated
• Funding & project length: Not stated
• Award / mechanism: Not stated
• Key dates: Not stated
• Best fit for: Public health, social work, and clinical research teams designing or evaluating community-based mental health and substance use interventions for homeless populations