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Most vulnerable individuals are particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study takes place in a large city in France. The aim of this study is to describe the mobility of the homeless population at the beginning of the health crisis and to analyze its impact in terms of COVID-19 prevalence. From June to August 2020 and September to December 2020, 1272 homeless people were invited to be tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and virus and complete questionnaires. Our data show that homeless populations are sociologically different depending on where they live. We show that people that were living on the street were most likely to be relocated to emergency shelters than other inhabitants. Some neighborhoods are points of attraction for homeless people in the city while others emptied during the health crisis, which had consequences for virus circulation. People with a greater number of different dwellings reported became more infected. This first study of the mobility and epidemiology of homeless people in the time of the pandemic provides unique information about mobility mapping, sociological factors of this mobility, mobility at different scales, and epidemiological consequences. We suggest that homeless policies need to be radically transformed since the actual model exposes people to infection in emergency.

Introduction: Homeless people are particularly at risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 because their precarious living conditions make prevention measure difficult., Objective: We describe an innovative approach with the aim of implementing testing and monitoring adapted to the needs of the homeless people of Marseille (inhabitants of slums, squats or those living on the street)., Results: The intervention included 1) the coordination of 18 support organizations for homeless people, 2) the training and the provision of rapid serological and antigenic tests, 3) a mobile outreach team with community mediators in order to provide tests, including COVID-19 PCR on point of care, prevention and monitoring of positive cases. Acceptability of the intervention by participants, field organization was good. The lack of adapted places of accommodation was an important restricting factor for optimal care and support., Conclusion: The emergence of COVID-19 has highlighted discontinuities in health care among homeless people. Specific mobile outreach teams could limit the impact on this high-risk population.

Background: Overcrowded housing, as well as inadequate sanitary conditions, contribute to making homeless people particularly vulnerable to the SARS-CoV-2 infection. We aimed to assess the seroprevalence of the SARS-CoV-2 infection among people experiencing homelessness on a large city-wide scale in Marseille, France, taking into account different types of accommodation., Methods: A consortium of outreach teams in 48 different locations including streets, slums, squats, emergency or transitional shelters and drop-in centres participated in the inclusion process. All participants consented to have a validated rapid antibody assay for immunoglobulins M (IgM) and G (IgG) and to answer a questionnaire on medical health conditions, comorbidities, and previous COVID-19 symptoms. Information on their housing conditions since the COVID-19 crisis was also collected from the participants., Results: From June 01 to August 05, 2020, 1,156 homeless participants were enrolled in the study and tested. The overall seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM antibodies was 5.6% (95%CI 2.3-7.0), ranging from 2.2% in people living on the streets to 8.1% in people living in emergency shelters (P = 0.009). Around one third of the seropositive participants reported COVID-19 symptoms. Compared to the general population in Marseille (3.6%), the homeless population living in the same urban area experienced a significantly increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (|z| = 3.65 > 1.96)., Conclusion: These findings highlight the need for regular screening among the homeless to prevent clustering in overcrowded or inadequate accommodations. It is also necessary to provide essential resources to keep homeless people healthy, the vast majority of whom have cumulative risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

This paper addresses the working practices of a mobile mental health outreach team in a large French city, one that 'targets' homeless people with severe psychiatric disorders who are considered 'hard to reach' by the public health authorities and medical services. Analysis of the team's work--where acts of curing and caring are closely tied--reveals the importance of moving beyond a polarized vision of cure and care. The paper departs from much of the literature on the medicalization of social problems by arguing that medicalization is not only a means of social control, but has ethical value as well. In examining the practices of frontline health workers, it aims to show that integrating the methods and theoretical approaches of social work in medical practice is necessary to address the specific problems of homeless people, to enable health professionals to pursue medical cures, and to challenge the shortcomings of public policy.