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The Centre for Homelessness Impact May 2024 Research Network Meeting features presentations from Margot Kushel, MD, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, Beth Watts-Cobbe, PhD, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Social Policy, Housing, and Equalities Research at Heriot-Watt University, and Niamh Flannigan, Implementation Lead at the Centre for Homelessness Impact, highlighting landmark pieces on research and policy. Dr. Kushel presented on the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness. Dr. Kushel said, "We need to build housing, create housing at every price point, but particularly for those with extremely low income."

As of January 2024, Californian landlords accepting Section 8 vouchers or other housing subsidies may not use credit reports when screening tenant applications. This policy reform will greatly benefit people who have experienced intimate partner violence. The financial instability can cascade into all parts of survivors lives. Margot Kushel, MD, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, said, “There are only so many places you can hide when you are vulnerable.”

Baby boomers own over 35% of all large homes in the US, and many of these older Americans are choosing to stay in their homes, exacerbating housing costs. This problem is even more apparent in California because their unique tax law incentivizes people to stay. On the other hand, younger boomers reaching retirement are increasingly facing homelessness. The University of California, San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness, found that over 40% of homeless older adults in California were homeless for the first time after the age of 50.

On this podcast episode of Factually! with Adam Conover, Margot Kushel, MD, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, joins host Adam Conover to discuss the findings in the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness and dispel myths related to homelessness. The number of people experiencing homelessness has reached a record high in the US. "You are not seeing the 12 people to a room because that's invisible to those who are lucky enough not to experience that."

Margot Kushel, MD, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, joins Call to Mind host Kimberly Adams to talk about those who are more at risk of becoming homeless. People who are experiencing homelessness have higher untreated mental illnesses and substance use disorders than the general population. "The people in the 50s and 60s have all of the characteristics of the people we normally think of in their 70s or 80s. What we see is a lot of falls, a lot more worsening of people's cognitive abilities, of people's hearing." Dr. Kushel said.

Safe Ground Sacramento is a nonprofit that advocates for the decriminalization of homelessness and the establishment of Safe Ground communities. In March 2023, Safe Ground Sacramento signed a lease with the city of Sacramento. Under this agreement, the city cannot close Camp Resolution until every resident has been placed in "individual permanent durable housing." The agreement with the city is set to expire in June and the city has decided not to request an extension. This is the fourth installment of a 4 part series exploring solutions to homelessness in California.

San Diego's mayor created a department in 2021 to find solutions to the homelessness crisis. The number of people experiencing homelessness in San Diego increased 35% from 2022 to 2023. City officials are pushing to create a long-term mega shelter with 1,000 beds, including meals, showers, and other amenities. However, the shelter proposals do not address the root cause of homelessness. Housing costs. This is the third installment of a 4 part series exploring solutions to homelessness in California.

Bakersfield focused its efforts on a specific goal in 2015, to reach functional zero chronic homelessness, and by January 2020, it hit the mark. Access to quality data was essential to knowing every person experiencing homelessness, but also cooperation among agencies and strong engagement from the healthcare system was key to achieving this goal. Unfortunately, Bakersfield could not sustain functional zero homelessness. It was hard to secure affordable units. Margot Kushel, MD, professor of medicine and director of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at UC San Francisco, said "The rates of homelessness and the ability for people to exit homelessness really has everything to do with the availability and affordability of housing for low-income folks." This is the second installment of a 4 part series exploring solutions to homelessness in California.

More than 181,000 Californians were unhoused in 2023, with nearly 70% living on the streets. Cities provide resources for emergency solutions, but it is not really a solution. Margot Kushel, MD, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, said, "We’re at a place in California, unfortunately, where doing well is often running in place." This is the first installment of a 4 part series exploring solutions to homelessness in California.

Homelessness has surged in the United States. It is a devastating public health crisis with ruinous, often permanent, effects on people’s lives. Margot Kushel, MD, professor of medicine and director of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at UC San Francisco, said, "We will not solve this problem by denying the enormous trauma that people who’ve experienced homelessness have been through.”