Incarceration presents health risks, particularly for older adults; these threats have intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic.Housing status was dynamic and approximately half exited homelessness during study follow-up;remaining homeless was independently associated with risk of incident incarceration. Homelessness can increase the risk for incarceration via increased visibility to law enforcement, via increased illicit economic behaviors , via participation in criminalized survival behaviors or via barriers to completing court-mandated interventions . The direction of the association may be reversed; it is possible that individuals who experienced incarceration may have faced additional barriers to accessing housing, prolonging homelessness. Substance use was common and increased the risk of incarceration.