Housing & Shelter

The Supreme Court ruling in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, lets lawmakers impose fines and jail time on people experiencing homelessness who are sleeping outside. This decision will provide more clarity to state and local leaders about legal steps they can take to clear out encampments. However, advocates say that the ruling will enable lawmakers to effectively criminalize the state of being unhoused.  Margot Kushel, MD, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, said, "It's expensive, it's inhumane, and actually there are real solutions that do work."

In the state of California, the three major utility companies, have nearly doubled electricity rates over the last decade. With growing increase in energy demands, the rising utility costs are pushing families already at the margins to the brink of homelessness. Many people are forced to making an impossible choice. Margot Kushel, MD, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, said, "I think recognizing energy insecurity as a contributor to this crisis, this is the next frontier that we need to really worry about."

Following is a statement by Dr. Margot Kushel, MD, Director of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI) at the University of California, San Francisco on the 2023 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.