INTRODUCTION:
Gender, caste, poverty, and displacement are all intertwined vulnerabilities that contribute to India's widespread homelessness challenge. Despite extensive media attention, little research has examined how homelessness interacts with injury and mobility, within the urban public health landscape. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate perceptions and experiences of risk and safety among persons experiencing homelessness as they navigate the streets of urban Delhi.

METHODS:
We used an interpretive qualitative design. In-depth interviews were conducted to understand the lived mobility and safety experiences of people experiencing homelessness in Delhi. Fourteen participants were recruited in partnership with a community-based NGO: nine individuals experiencing homelessness and five thematic experts. Recruitment occurred through shelters, identified street-sleeping ‘hotspots,’ and snowballing. Data was analyzed inductively using thematic analysis.

RESULTS:
Preliminary analysis identified four themes: (i) Living with routine exposure to harm – as mobility was shaped by fear of road crashes, gendered violence, and poor environmental sanitation; (ii) Navigating hostile urban environments – description of dangerous traffic conditions, lack of inclusive infrastructure, and abuse when accessing public transportation; (iii) Lack of institutional support and systemic precarity – noting cycles of displacement due to evictions, police aggression, challenges with identity documents, and governance failure; and (iv) Pathways for inclusive urban mobility – highlighting the need for multi and inter-sectoral coordination, trauma-informed policing practices, investments for shelter infrastructure, and policy implementation that recognizes homeless people as legitimate road users and city residents.

CONCLUSIONS:
Mobility is inseparable from everyday injury risk and structural violence for people experiencing homelessness. Road safety and public health systems must urgently integrate their lived realities by co-designing safer public spaces, improving universal infrastructure, strengthening accountability, and expanding access to shelter-linked support services. Embedding the mobility needs of homeless individuals into urban planning and injury-prevention efforts is essential for creating safer, more inclusive cities.