Benjamin Henwood, PhD, LCSW is the Albert G. and Frances Lomas Feldman Professor of Social Policy and Health at the University of Southern California (USC). He directs the Center for Homelessness, Housing and Health Equity Research at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and also holds a secondary appointment as a professor in the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. Professor Henwood also serves as director for the Homelessness Policy Research Institute, a joint operation of USC Social Work and the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.
Trained as a clinical social worker and researcher, Professor Henwood is an expert in health and housing services research whose work connects clinical interventions with social policy. He is a co-author of the book “Housing First,” published by Oxford University Press, and led the launch of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare's Grand Challenge to End Homelessness.
Professor Henwood’s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (i.e., NIMH, NIDA, NIA), the National Science Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Patient Centered Research Outcomes Institute and Google.org. He has also served as the methodological lead for the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count since 2017, which is the largest unsheltered count in the United States. Professor Henwood received his MSW in 2004 and PhD in 2011 from NYU’s Silver School of Social Work.
Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on People and Communities in Motion traces why we move and what happens to the places we leave, cross, and settle. Episodes cover immigration and migration, the building and dismantling of neighborhoods, the use of public space, and the point where a shared idea becomes collective action.
In this series, we engage with activists, artists, authors, educators, and journalists to consider how people and communities respond to the cultural, environmental, political, and social forces that put them in motion, and how, through that movement, they transform the world around them.
Guest: Benjamin Henwood
Host: Jon-Barrett Ingels
Produced by Past Forward in partnership with Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Chapman University.
Date recorded: September 16, 2026
Past Forward is providing this podcast as a public service. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Please read our Program and Product Disclaimer for more information.
