Low-Barrier Buprenorphine Treatment for People Experiencing Homelessness

What is it about?

Opioid-related deaths are overrepresented in homeless communities. Our outreach-based street psychiatry service aimed to increase access to buprenorphine, a lifesaving medication for opioid use disorder. Across two years, six patients facing homelessness underwent buprenorphine inductions. Half the patients engaged with the street psychiatry team for at least 3 months, and one-third engaged for at least 6 months. These rates are similar to other street-based buprenorphine treatment services and demonstrate that a street outreach service can successfully treat patients with opioid use disorder.

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Photo by Matt Collamer on Unsplash

Photo by Matt Collamer on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This street outreach program’s success in prescribing buprenorphine to individuals experiencing homelessness suggests that similar programs can be developed in other street-based mental health treatment settings.