Benjamin F. Henwood,
PhD, MSW

About

Benjamin Henwood is the Feldman Professor of Social Policy and Health at USC's Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and Sol Price School of Public Policy. He directs the Homelessness Policy Research Institute (HPRI) and the Center for Homelessness, Housing and Health Equity Research (H3E). His research focuses on Housing First, permanent supportive housing, aging and homelessness, and the integration of health services for people experiencing homelessness.

He is co-author of Housing First: Ending Homelessness, Transforming Systems, and Changing Lives (Oxford University Press, 2015) with Deborah Padgett and Sam Tsemberis, and has served as the methodological lead for the Greater Los Angeles County Homeless Count since 2017. He served as lead author and national co-lead of the Grand Challenge to End Homelessness — one of twelve Grand Challenges for Social Work — from its launch in 2015 through 2025.

Dr. Henwood is Co-Principal Investigator of the Periodic Assessment of Trajectories of Housing, Homelessness, and Health (PATHS) study — with Co-PI Randall Kuhn (UCLA) — a longitudinal cohort of unhoused Angelenos that has produced rapid-response reports on encampment sweeps, the January 2025 wildfires, and ICE raids.

His work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, totaling more than $20 million in research grants.

Before entering academia, Henwood trained as a clinical social worker at NYU Silver School of Social Work and was licensed in New York and Pennsylvania. He served as Clinical Director of Pathways to Housing Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and currently serves on the board of Pathways Housing First, one of the pioneering Housing First programs in the country serving people with serious mental illness experiencing homelessness.

Research

Publications organized by research area. Asterisk (*) denotes student-mentored papers. Items marked in press are accepted and forthcoming.

Books

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Housing First & Permanent Supportive Housing (selected)

Henwood, B. F., Kuhn, R., Gonzalez, A. L., Chien, J., Tu, Y., Bluthenthal, R., ... & Gelberg, L. (2024).
Placement into Scattered-Site or Place-Based Permanent Supportive Housing in Los Angeles County.
Psychiatric Services.

Henwood, B. F., Kuhn, R., Padwa, H., Ijadi-Maghsoodi, R., Corletto, G., Lawton, A., ... & Gelberg, L. (2023).
Investigating the Comparative Effectiveness of Place-Based and Scatter-Site Permanent Supportive Housing.
Psychiatric Services.

Henwood, B. F., Coutin, J., Nobari, T. Z., George, K., & Panangadan, A. (2024).
Examining the potential use of technology in permanent supportive housing.
Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness.

Kerman, N., Kidd, S. A., Mutschler, C., Sylvestre, J., Henwood, B. F., Oudshoorn, A., Marshall, C. A., Aubry, T., & Stergiopoulos, V. (2023).
Managing high-risk behaviours and challenges to prevent housing loss in supportive housing.
Psychiatric Services.

Kerman, N., de Pass, T., Kidd, S. A., Mutschler, C., Oudshoorn, A., Sylvestre, J., Aubry, T., Henwood, B. F., Sirotich, F., & Stergiopoulos, V. (2025).
Programmatic and organizational barriers and facilitators to preventing housing loss in supportive housing.
Psychiatric Services.

Kriegel, L. S., Henwood, B. F., McDonell, M. G., Amram, O., Bellamy, C., Collins, S., & Salzer, M. (2025).
Risk environments of permanent supportive housing for formerly incarcerated people with serious mental illness.
Psychiatric Services.

Henwood, B. F., Rhoades, H., & others (2018).
Understanding risk environments in permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless adults.
Qualitative Health Research, 28(10).

Gilmer, T., Stefancic, A., Henwood, B. F., & Ettner, S. (2015).
Fidelity to the Housing First model and variation in health service use within permanent supportive housing.
Psychiatric Services, 66(12).

Henwood, B. F., Byrne, T., & Scriber, B. (2015).
Examining mortality among formerly homeless adults enrolled in Housing First: An observational study.
BMC Public Health, 15(1), 1209.

Padgett, D. K., Stanhope, V., Henwood, B. F., & Stefancic, A. (2011).
Substance use outcomes among homeless clients with serious mental illness: Comparing Housing First with treatment first programs.
Community Mental Health Journal, 47(2).

Henwood, B. F., Stefancic, A., Petering, R., Schreiber, S., Abrams, C., & Padgett, D. K. (2015).
Social relationships of dually diagnosed homeless adults following enrollment in Housing First or traditional programs.
Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research.

Fenwick, K.,* Henwood, B., Lengnick-Hall, R., Stefancic, A., & Gilmer, T. (2019).
Exploring variation in Housing First implementation: The role of fit.
Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance. ★ Student-mentored · Slavin-Patti Award Winner

Henwood, B. F., Derejko, K., Couture, J., & Padgett, D. K. (2015).
Maslow and mental health recovery: A comparative study of homeless programs for adults with serious mental illness.
Administration and Policy in Mental Health.

Byrne, T. H., Henwood, B. F., & Orlando, A. W. (2021).
A rising tide drowns unstable boats: How inequality creates homelessness.
The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 693.

Padwa, H., Tran Smith, B., Harris, T., Ijadi-Maghsoodi, R., Cooper, M., Loya, C., Kuhn, R., Henwood, B. F., & Gelberg, L. (2024).
Service Provider Perspectives on the Differences between Place-Based and Scattered-Site Permanent Supportive Housing.
Psychiatric Services.

Homelessness Count & PATHS (selected)

Kuhn, R., Chien, J., Guzman Hernandez, N., Mobley, T., Paulazzo, D., Corletto, G., & Henwood, B. F. (2025).
Periodic Assessment of Trajectories of Housing, Homelessness, and Health Study (PATHS): Protocol.
BMC Public Health.

Chien, J., Henwood, B. F., St. Clair, P., & Kuhn, R. (2024).
Predicting hotspots of unsheltered homelessness using geospatial administrative data and volunteered geographic information.
Health and Place.

Nicholas, W., Greenwell, L., Henwood, B., & Simon, P. (2021).
Using Point-in-Time Homeless Counts to Monitor Mortality Trends among People Experiencing Homelessness in Los Angeles County, 2015–2019.
American Journal of Public Health.

Porter, N. A., Brosnan, H. K., Chang, A. H., Henwood, B. F., & Kuhn, R. (2022).
Race and Ethnicity and Sex Variation in COVID-19 Mortality Risks Among Adults Experiencing Homelessness in Los Angeles County.
JAMA Network Open.

Garcia, M., Chinchilla, M., Henwood, B. F., Chien, J., Kwack, S., & Kuhn, R. (2024).
Latino/Hispanic unsheltered homelessness before and after Covid-19.
American Journal of Public Health, 114(S6), S510.

Kuhn, R., Chien, J., Shannon, E. M., Saluja, S., Righi, G., Damra, M., ... & Henwood, B. F. (2026).
What are the true medical concerns facing unsheltered homeless adults?
Health Affairs Scholar.

Mobley, T. M., Chien, J., Paulazzo, D., Seligman, B. J., Henwood, B., & Kuhn, R. (in press).
Examining functional limitation trajectories among adults experiencing homelessness vs. the general adult population in Los Angeles.
American Journal of Public Health.

Cox, R., Henwood, B. F., Rodnyansky, S., Rice, E., & Wenzel, S. (2019).
Roadmap to a unified measure of housing insecurity.
Cityscape, 21(2).

Aging & Homelessness (selected)

Canham, S. L., & Henwood, B. (2025).
Special Issue: Homelessness and Aging (Editorial).
The Gerontologist.

Henwood, B. F., Semborski, S., Pitts, D., Schepens Niemiec, S., Yay, O., Paone, D. L., & Szanton, S. L. (2023).
A pilot randomized controlled trial of CAPABLE in permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless older adults.
The Gerontologist.

Lee, B. D., Davis, L., Bailliard, A., Gori, Y., Gertsch, W., Comulada, W. S., Cuddeback, G., Resnick, J., Bennett, J., Jackson, L. T., Lovelace, A., Mansfield, D., Cope, E., Henwood, B. F., & Bromley, E. (2025).
CAPABLE in permanent supportive housing.
The Gerontologist.

Padgett, D. K., Bond, L., Gurdak, K., & Henwood, B. F. (2019).
Aging in place after having no place: Eliciting life priorities of older adults living in permanent supportive housing.
The Gerontologist, 60(3).

Henwood, B. F., Lahey, J., Rhoades, H., Pitts, D. B., Pynoos, J., & Brown, R. T. (2019).
Geriatric conditions among formerly homeless older adults living in permanent supportive housing.
Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Henwood, B. F., Rhoades, H., Lahey, J., Pynoos, J., Pitts, D. B., & Brown, R. T. (2020).
Examining fall risk among formerly homeless older adults living in permanent supportive housing.
Health and Social Work.

Henwood, B. F., Rhoades, H., Dzubur, E., Madden, D., Redline, B., & Brown, R. (2021).
Investigating sleep disturbance and its correlates among formerly homeless adults in permanent supportive housing.
Sleep Health.

Henwood, B. F., Katz, M., & Gilmer, T. (2015).
Aging in place within permanent supportive housing.
International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 30(1), 80–87.

Canham, S. L., Mahmood, A., Walsh, C. A., Sussman, T., & others (2022).
Aging in the right place: Building capacity for promising practices that support older people experiencing homelessness.
The Gerontologist.

Jang, Y., Rhee, M. K., Park, J., Ko, J. E., Park, N. S., Henwood, B. F., Schepens Niemiec, S. L., & Chung, S. (2025).
Falls as a mental health risk among Korean-American residents in subsidized senior housing.
Psychiatric Services.

Mental Health & Recovery (selected)

Henwood, B. F., Kim, B. K. E., Stein, A., Corletto, G., Suthar, H., Adler, K. F., ... & Padgett, D. K. (2024).
Miracle friends and miracle money in California: a mixed-methods experiment of social support and guaranteed income for people experiencing homelessness — baseline characteristics.
BMC Public Health.

Henwood, B. F., Padgett, D. K., & Tiderington, E. (2014).
Provider views of harm reduction versus abstinence policies within homeless services for dually diagnosed adults.
Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research.

Henwood, B. F., Padgett, D. K., Smith, B., & Tiderington, E. (2012).
Substance abuse recovery after experiencing homelessness and mental illness.
Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 8(3), 238–246.

Tiderington, E., Henwood, B. F., Padgett, D. K., & Smith, B. (2020).
Employment experiences of formerly homeless adults with serious mental illness in Housing First versus treatment first supportive housing.
Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal.

Padgett, D. K., Smith, B. T., Derejko, K. S., Henwood, B. F., & Tiderington, E. (2013).
A picture is worth...? Photo elicitation interviewing with formerly homeless adults.
Qualitative Health Research.

Henwood, B. F., Stanhope, V., & Padgett, D. K. (2011).
The role of housing: A comparison of front-line provider views in Housing First and traditional programs.
Administration and Policy in Mental Health.

Smith, B. T., Padgett, D. K., Choy Brown, M., & Henwood, B. F. (2015).
Rebuilding lives and identities: The role of place in mental health recovery.
Health & Place, 33, 109–117.

Stanhope, V., Henwood, B. F., & Padgett, D. K. (2009).
Understanding service disengagement from the perspective of case managers.
Psychiatric Services, 60(4), 459–464.

Henwood, B. F., & Padgett, D. K. (2007).
Reevaluating the self-medication hypothesis among the dually diagnosed.
The American Journal on Addiction, 16(3), 160–165.

Padwa, H., Chien, J., Henwood, B. F., Cousins, S. J., Zakher, E., & Kuhn, R. (in press).
Homelessness, Discrimination, and Violent Victimization in Los Angeles County.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Basic Income & Economic Interventions (selected)

Henwood, B. F., Landrian-Gonzalez, A., Suthar, H., Corletto, G., Liu, P., Adler, K. F., Sweeney, C., Bond, L., & Padgett, D. K. (in press).
Results of Mixed-methods Experiment of Unconditional Cash Transfers with Adults Experiencing Homelessness.
American Journal of Public Health.

Padgett, D. K., Koumoundouros, O., Zachry, C. E., & Henwood, B. F. (2024).
A qualitative study of unconditional cash transfers with adults experiencing homelessness.
Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness.

Henwood, B. F., Kim, B. K. E., Stein, A., Corletto, G., Suthar, H., Adler, K. F., ... & Padgett, D. K. (2024).
Miracle Friends and Miracle Money in California: A mixed-methods experiment of social support and guaranteed income — baseline characteristics.
BMC Public Health.

Landrian Gonzalez, A., Liu, P., Suthar, H., Corletto, G., Adler, K. F., & Henwood, B. F. (2026).
Risk factors and health correlates of loneliness among people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles.
SSM – Population Health.

COVID-19, Wildfires & Homelessness (selected)

Shannon, E. M., Chien, J., Paulazzo, D., Arreglo, G., Henwood, B. F., & Kuhn, R. (2026).
Impact of January 2025 Los Angeles firestorm on people experiencing homelessness.
American Journal of Public Health.

Chien, J., Henwood, B. F., & Kuhn, R. (2026).
Criminalizing homelessness: Longitudinal associations of police encounters and homeless sweeps with psychosocial health among the unhoused community in Los Angeles.
American Journal of Public Health.

Goldshear, J. L., Kitonga, N., Angelo, N., Cowan, A., Henwood, B. F., & Bluthenthal, R. N. (2023).
"Notice of major cleaning": A qualitative study of the negative impact of encampment sweeps on the ontological security of unhoused individuals.
Health and Place.

Henwood, B. F., Redline, B., & Lahey, J. (2020).
Surveying tenants of permanent supportive housing in Skid Row about COVID-19.
Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 31(4), 1587–1594.

Kuhn, R., Henwood, B., Lawton, A., Kleva, M., Murali, K., Gelberg, L., & King, C. (2021).
COVID-19 vaccine access and attitudes among people experiencing homelessness from pilot mobile phone survey in Los Angeles.
Public Health Reports.

Health Services & Integration (selected)

Henwood, B. F., Siantz, E., Hrouda, D., Innes-Gomberg, D., & Gilmer, T. (2018).
Integrated primary care in assertive community treatment.
Psychiatric Services, 69(2), 133–135. — 2019 Editor's Choice Award, Psychiatric Services

Gilmer, T., Avery, M., Siantz, E., Henwood, B. F., Center, K., Pomerance, E., & Sayles, J. (2018).
Evaluation of the Behavioral Health Integration and Complex Care Initiative in Medi-Cal.
Health Affairs, 37(2).

Henwood, B. F., Madden, D. R., Lahey, J., Thomson, H. M., & Islam, N. (2019).
Testing the feasibility of telemental health services in permanent supportive housing.
Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless.

Henwood, B. F., Stanhope, V., Brawer, R., Weinstein, L. C., Lawson, J., Stwords, E., & Crossan, C. (2013).
Addressing chronic disease within supportive housing programs.
Progress in Community Health Partnerships.

Weinstein, L. C., LaNoue, M., Collins, E., Henwood, B. F., & Drake, R. E. (2013).
Health care integration for formerly homeless people with serious mental illness.
Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 9(1), 72–80.

Henwood, B. F., Weinstein, L. C., & Tsemberis, S. (2011).
Creating a medical home for people experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness.
Psychiatric Services, 62(5), 561–562.

Nicholas, W., & Henwood, B. F. (2018).
Applying a prevention framework to address homelessness as a population health issue.
Journal of Public Health Policy, 39(3), 283–293. — 2019 Best Publication, LA County Dept. of Public Health

Sakai-Bizmark, R., Jackson, N. J., Wu, F., Marr, E. H., Kumamaru, H., Estevez, D., ... & Henwood, B. F. (2024).
Short Interpregnancy Intervals Among Women Experiencing Homelessness in Colorado.
JAMA Network Open.

Sakai-Bizmark, R., Gemmill, A., Kumamaru, H., Marr, E. H., Estevez, D., Wu, F., & Henwood, B. F. (2025).
Physical Intimate Partner Violence Among Women Experiencing Homelessness Before and During Pregnancy.
JAMA Network Open.

Youth, TAY & HIV Risk (selected)

Henwood, B. F., Rhoades, H., Redline, B., Dzubur, E., & Wenzel, S. (2020).
Risk behaviour and access to HIV/AIDS prevention services among formerly homeless young adults living in housing programs.
AIDS Care.

Petry, L., Onasch-Vera, L., Vayanos, P., Henwood, B., & Rice, E. (in press).
Couch-surfing and HIV risk behavior among young adults experiencing homelessness.
AIDS and Behavior.

Semborski, S.,* Madden, D., Henwood, B. F., & Rhoades, H. (2022).
Health care needs of young adults who have experienced homelessness.
Medical Care, 60(8), 621–628. ★ Student-mentored

Semborski, S.,* Henwood, B. F., Dzubur, E., Redline, B., Mason, T., & Intille, S. S. (2022).
Mixed-methods study of the feasibility and acceptability of ecological momentary assessment with young adults experiencing homelessness.
Digital Health. ★ Student-mentored

Redline, B., Semborski, S., Madden, D. R., Rhoades, H., & Henwood, B. F. (2021).
Examining sleep disturbance among sheltered and unsheltered transition age youth experiencing homelessness.
Medical Care.

Dzubur, E., Semborski, S., Redline, B., Hedeker, D., Dunton, G. F., & Henwood, B. F. (2022).
Food insecurity and the effects of hunger on variability of stress among young adults who have experienced homelessness.
Public Health Nutrition.

Davis, J. P., Diguiseppi, G., De Leon, J., Prindle, J., Sedano, A., Rivera, D., Henwood, B., & Rice, E. (2019).
Understanding pathways between PTSD, homelessness, and substance use among adolescents.
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.

Henwood, B. F., Redline, B., & Rice, E. (2018).
What do homeless transition-age youth want from housing interventions?
Children and Youth Services Review, 89, 1–5.

Wenzel, S. L., La Motte-Kerr, W., Rhoades, H., Duan, L., Harris, T., Rice, E., & Henwood, B. (2019).
Do HIV risk and prevention behaviors change when persons move into permanent supportive housing?
AIDS Care.

Policy Analysis, Commentaries & Invited Articles (selected)

Henwood, B. F., & Gabrielian, S. (2023).
Addressing Veteran Homelessness.
In Veteran and Military Mental Health: A Clinical Manual (pp. 347–358). Springer International Publishing.

Padgett, D. K., Henwood, B. F., & Petrovich, J. (2023).
Race and racism in the homelessness crisis in the United States: Historic antecedents, current best practices, and recommendations to end racial disparities.
In Handbook of Evidence-Based Social Work Practice. Oxford University Press.

Henwood, B. F., Tiderington, E., Aykanian, A., & Padgett, D. K. (2022).
Ending homelessness: Progress on a major and compelling challenge?
In Barth, R. P., Shanks, T. R., Messing, J., & Williams, J. H. (Eds.), Grand Challenges for Social Work. Oxford University Press.

Henwood, B. F., & Padgett, D. K. (2019).
Homelessness in Los Angeles and New York City: A tale of two cities.
In Larkin, H., Aykanian, A., & Streeter, C. L. (Eds.), Homelessness Prevention and Intervention in Social Work. Springer.

Henwood, B. F. (2015).
Commentary on Somers et al. (2015): Housing First — a platform for recovery?
Addiction, 110(10), 1615–1616.

Henwood, B. F., & Tiderington, E. (2017).
Frontline practice in Housing First programs.
In Sylvestre, J., Nelson, G., & Aubry, T. (Eds.), Housing, Citizenship, and Communities for People with Serious Mental Health Problems. Oxford University Press.

Henwood, B. F., & Whitley, R. (2013).
Creating a recovery-oriented society: Research and action.
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 47(7), 609–610.

Padgett, D. K., & Henwood, B. F. (2011).
Commentary: Moving into the fourth decade of ACT.
Psychiatric Services, 62(6), 605.

Policy Briefs & Technical Reports

Policy & Writing

Op-eds, testimony, public-facing writing, and policy engagement on homelessness and housing.

Policy Impact & Expert Testimony

• HFPC 2026 "Facilitating Complex Care Management in Supportive Housing Settings." Housing First Practitioners Conference, San Francisco, CA — May 2026
• HFPC 2026 "Adapting the Pathways Housing First Fidelity Scale for Project-Based Permanent Supportive Housing" (with A. Stefancic, N. Fay, & S. Tsemberis). Housing First Practitioners Conference, San Francisco, CA — May 2026
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit Expert witness, Powers v. McDonough, No. 24-6603 (December 2025). Class action by unhoused disabled veterans against VA and HUD over the West Los Angeles VA Grounds. The Ninth Circuit opinion cited Dr. Henwood by name: "Dr. Benjamin Henwood... testified that unhoused veterans have 'difficulty accessing healthcare when they don't have a stable place to live.'"
• U.S. Supreme Court Co-signatory, Brief for 57 Social Scientists as Amici Curiae in Support of Respondents, City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson and Logan, No. 23-175 (2024). The brief was cited by the Supreme Court majority opinion (Justice Gorsuch).
• CA State Assembly Expert testimony, California State Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Human Services, on basic income and homelessness. Sacramento, CA — March 2024
• Sanders Institute Invited presenter, "Basic Income to Address Homelessness," Sanders Institute Convening and California State Senate. Los Angeles, CA — April 2024
• Grand Challenges Lead Author and National Co-Lead, Grand Challenge to End Homelessness — American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (2015–2025). One of twelve Grand Challenges for Social Work adopted nationally.
• LAHSA / HUD Methodological Lead, Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count (2017–present). Annual count data reported to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and submitted to Congress.

Op-Eds & Commentary

• The Hill "HUD's New Direction on Homelessness Is Missing the Most Important Facts" — Forthcoming 2026
• The Hill "What the Pandemic Taught Us About the Homeless – and What We Shouldn't Forget" — August 2020 (with T. Byrne & A. Orlando)
• The Conversation "Getting $750 a month didn't end homelessness – but our study shows it still improved the lives of homeless people" — April 2026
• The Conversation "A pet-friendly homeless shelter pilot reduced the rate of homelessness among the people it helped in California" — March 2026

Full reports and policy briefs are in the Research section above, and at hpri.usc.edu.

Media

Professor Henwood is regularly cited in national and local media on housing, homelessness, and social policy.

• CNN "Los Angeles mayor's race: Spencer Pratt and the politics of homelessness" — May 2026
• The Hill "HUD’s new direction on homelessness is missing the most important facts" — Forthcoming 2026
• New York Times "Homelessness Decline Trend" — National coverage on homelessness count data — January 2026
• The Intercept "The Los Angeles Left Is at War With Itself Over the Mayor’s Race" — Expert commentary on Spencer Pratt’s homelessness platform — May 2026
• Los Angeles Times "Forced treatment, jail: Spencer Pratt’s pledges to end homelessness roil mayor’s race" — May 2026
• Los Angeles Times "How LA’s unhoused population was devastated by 2025 wildfires" — April 2026
• Los Angeles Times "Does $750 a month help people exit homelessness?" — Miracle Money study results — October 2025
• Los Angeles Times "Homeless people in detention camps: Fears grow about Trump and the Olympics" — August 2025
• KQED / NPR "Trump’s tectonic shift on homelessness could have dire impacts in California" — September 2025
• LAist "Cash payments to unhoused people: USC study finds recipients spent money responsibly" — October 2025
• NBC News "Two Researchers Aim to Better Understand LA Homelessness Crisis With Smartphones" — October 2022
• Los Angeles Times "Monthly payments could get thousands of homeless people off the streets, researchers say" — April 2024

For a full list of media appearances, see the USC faculty profile or contact bhenwood@usc.edu.

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