Unsheltered Homelessness

Seventy-eight percent of Californians experiencing homelessness live unsheltered, forced to live their private lives in public. This group faces significant health and safety risks, including exposure to infectious diseases, adverse weather conditions, and violence.

To better understand unsheltered homelessness, we examined data from the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness. We released a topic brief that examines who experiences unsheltered homelessness, how they lost their housing, their experiences during homelessness, and barriers to regaining housing. We also released tools to support evidence-based encampment resolution.

Our Encampment Resolution Guide and Encampment Prioritization Tool are designed to help communities balance competing issues and priorities: urgently responding to encampments and all forms of homelessness, the shortage of housing and shelter resources, and the health and safety issues that encampments can represent.