The longer a person is homeless, the more likely he or she is to experience poor health and be placed at higher risk for premature death. This makes interventions early in one's homelessness an important prevention strategy. However, little is known about where someone goes for help when they first become homeless and how well those sites are prepared to address the multitude of issues facing a homeless person. In order to address this question, we conducted a cross-sectional community-based survey in two US cities in 1997 using population proportionate sampling of homeless persons identified at 91 sites to identify 'first-stop' access sites and reasons for seeking help at those sites. A total of 230 persons participated in the face-to-face interview (93% response rate). From a list of 20 possible 'first-stop' sites, 105 (45.7%) reported going to a soup kitchen, 71 (30.9%) went to a welfare office, 64 (27.8%) sought admission to a detoxification centre, 60 (26.1%) met with a homeless outreach team, 57 (24.8%) went to a family member, and 54 (23.5%) went to an emergency room. Individuals with a chronic medical or mental health condition were significantly more likely to access a healthcare site (medical: 62.6% vs. 47.6%, P = 0.02; mental health: 62.4% vs. 38.8%, P < 0.01) or social service agency (medical: 64.0% vs. 43.3%, P = 0.02; mental health: 59.1% vs. 40.7%, P < 0.01). Those persons reporting a need for alcohol treatment were significantly more likely to first go to a healthcare site (46.4% vs. 29.1%, P < 0.01) and those with alcohol abuse/dependence were less likely to seek help from family or friends (66.7% vs. 81.9%, P < 0.01). Most respondents sought assistance for concerns directly associated with an immediate need as opposed to seeking care for issues causing their actual homelessness. These findings suggest the need to expand and integrate the availability of services at 'first-stop' access sites that facilitate early exits from homelessness.