News

This radio program takes an in-depth look at how more people experiencing homelessness in Las Vegas are now living in vehicles. UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative Postdoctoral Scholar Graham Pruss, PhD, describes how BHHI research in Oakland showed that people living in vehicles need a variety of temporary and long-term parking spaces, which could mean safe parking programs and long-term supportive parking programs. Pruss noted it can take months or even years for a transition into permanent housing.

In Los Angeles, 85 people experiencing homelessness were murdered last year—the highest number ever recorded, according to LA Police Department data. Margot Kushel, MD, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, noted that the trend of unhoused homicide victims may seem contrary to what many think of when discussing homelessness. Countering the common misperception that unhoused people are dangerous, she explained how people experiencing homelessness are vulnerable to violent crime. Dr. Kushel said, "What I hear when I spend time with many people experiencing homelessness is how terrified they are and how terrifying the experience is, and this is layered on top of a public who is afraid of them."

The lack of affordable housing, systemic racism, and weak safety nets are the leading causes of Silicon Valley’s homeless crisis. UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative Director, Margot Kushel, MD, was a featured speaker for this event that San José Spotlight and nonprofit Destination: Home hosted as part of a series on the root causes of homelessness and possible solutions. The panel also featured Dontae Lartigue, founder, and CEO of Raising The Bar and board chair of the Santa Clara County lived experience advisory board; Jeff Olivet, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness; and Tomiquia Moss, founder, and CEO of All Home. Destination: Home CEO Jennifer Loving moderated the conversation.

This news article reports on varying methods quantifying homelessness in San Francisco. These metrics — the PIT count, city data, and others — are often mere snapshots of the whole picture, or require people to reach out for services, said Margot Kushel, MD, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. That means a lot of people are left unseen. People drift in and out of homelessness; a person who was homeless at some point in the year may not be any more, she said.

This New York Times article reports on increasing deaths among people experiencing homelessness and highlights a recent JAMA Network Open study from UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative researchers. BHHI faculty members Maria Raven, MD, and Margot Kushel, MD, are quoted.

This podcast episode highlights homelessness’ impact on health, the structural and racialized nature of homelessness, and practical interventions to address housing inequities. Margot Kushel, MD, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, and Bobby Watts discuss what brought them into their fields, how their work reaches the most marginalized, and what can be done at the community and structural level to address homelessness.

Ned Resnikoff, policy manager for the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, wrote about the relationship between the asset economy and homelessness.

Ned Resnikoff, policy manager at the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, said the best long-term solution to homelessness is to build more low-income housing. In the interim, people who are currently homeless need to be moved into housing. Mr. Resnikoff said resources need to be strategically funneled into preventing homelessness, and permanent rental subsidies could be one solution to helping prevent homelessness.

More than twice as many people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco died during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with previous years, and the leading cause of death was drug overdose. No deaths were attributed to the virus itself. "Death from the COVID-19 pandemic may have been avoided, but deaths from other factors known to impact this population disproportionately—drug use and violence—have increased," said Maria Raven, MD, MPH, Chief of Emergency Medicine at UCSF, who co-leads the program on adults with complex needs at the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. "Mitigating death among people experiencing homelessness will require a multi-faceted approach and a willingness to invest significant resources."

Maria Raven, MD, spoke about a new UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative study that found 331 homeless San Franciscans died during the first 12 months of the coronavirus pandemic—more than double any previous year. Acute drug toxicity was the leading cause of death. Traumatic injuries, including suicide and homicide, were the second most common, followed by chronic medical conditions. Interventions like shelter-in-place hotels may have helped mitigate deaths due to COVID-19 and related health conditions, but lockdowns and increased isolation may have compounded other risks.