22nd annual International Street Medicine Symposium

September 27 - 30, 2026 | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

The Street Medicine Institute is thrilled to announce that ISMS 2026 will be co-hosted by North End Community Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

ISMS is the world’s premier educational event dedicated to the health care of rough-sleeper (unsheltered) homeless populations. The symposium offers an impressive slate of homeless health care experts from around the globe presenting clinical topics, innovations, research outcomes, and best practices relevant to street medicine. Clinicians and non-clinicians are invited to participate; we encourage and celebrate the diversity of professional roles and disciplines represented among participants.

Registration | Host City Welcome | Call for Proposals | Call for Reviewers

Registration

Registration will begin in June, and opens two weeks early for Street Medicine Institute members. Members also receive 50% off registration fees. ISMS has sold out for the last three years, so consider becoming a member to access early registration and secure your discounted seat!

Registration details will be announced on this page and to the SMI mailing list.

Host City Welcome

North End Community Health Centre (NECHC) is pleased to host the 2026 International Street Medicine Symposium in Halifax! NECHC is a community-governed health centre that has provided integrated, community-driven care in Halifax for more than 50 years. We operate as an independent, not-for-profit organization delivering primary health care, street-based services, and supportive housing to people experiencing poverty, homelessness, and structural inequities. While we collaborate closely with hospitals, government, and community partners, our governance and model of care remain firmly rooted in community accountability.

Operating in Halifax and across Mi’kma’ki, NECHC navigates complex challenges related to rising homelessness, deepening poverty, housing shortages, and systemic inequities that disproportionately impact Indigenous, African Nova Scotian, 2LGBTQ++ and other marginalized communities. Our work is shaped by these realities, alongside fragmented funding structures, jurisdictional responsibilities, and evolving health and social policy environments.

NECHC has grown from a small primary care clinic into a multidisciplinary organization of more than 220 staff, providing care across clinical services, street outreach, and 16 supportive housing sites that permanently house and support over 200 individuals. Our teams include physicians, nurses, outreach workers, peer support staff, social workers, housing support workers, and allied health professionals. We provide primary care, street-based health services, harm reduction, mental health supports, dental care, case management, and supportive housing—recognizing housing as a critical health intervention.

We are honoured to welcome street medicine practitioners, researchers, advocates, and people with lived experience from around the world to Halifax, and we look forward to sharing our integrated health and housing model, our partnerships, and the lessons learned from delivering care on the streets and in supportive housing.

— Marie-France LeBlanc, CEO
North End Community Health Centre

Call for Proposals

The Street Medicine Institute is pleased to extend an open invitation for presentation proposal submissions for the 22nd annual International Street Medicine Symposium.

ISMS remains the world’s premier educational event dedicated to the health care of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness (people sleeping rough). The organizing committee seeks proposals from presenters around the world on clinical topics, innovations, research outcomes, best practices relevant to street medicine, and diverse street medicine sub-populations.

We value the expertise of our street medicine colleagues from every corner of the globe. We especially encourage proposals from under-represented geographic locations, including the Global South.

Clinicians and non-clinicians are invited to submit proposals; we celebrate the diversity of professional roles and disciplines represented among participants. Preference will be given for presentations that are led by or include people with lived experience of rough sleeping.

ISMS offers session formats designed to encourage interaction and discussion among participants through small-group oral presentations, expert panels, problem-solving sessions, and skill-building workshops. Click below to learn more about session formats and submission details, and to submit your proposal.

Submit a Proposal

Proposals are due by March 30 at 5 PM Pacific.

Call for Reviewers

The Street Medicine Institute also looking for volunteer proposal reviewers for the 2026 symposium. We seek a diverse group of reviewers to share their street medicine expertise by reading and rating proposal submissions. Proposals will be reviewed blindly- authors’ identifying information will not be shared with reviewers.

Reviewers are asked to independently read and rate a selection of this year's ISMS proposals based on rating criteria provided by SMI. No meetings are required. Reviewers must be available to volunteer approximately 5 hours to read and score proposals during April 2026.

If you would like to help us identify the best sessions for the ISMS 2025 program, please apply below by March 20.