Resource Center

What rarely gets talked about in the news are the myths about why someone becomes, or continues to be, homeless. Speaking with Voice of San Diego, Margot Kushel, MD, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, dispelled assumptions about the correlation between mental illness and homelessness. She explained, "What really determines whether an area — a city, a state, a country — has more homelessness or less homelessness is not how much mental health or substance use problems there are. It actually has much more to do with whether housing there is affordable. So even within our own country, we see that areas with the highest substance use and mental health problems don’t always have the highest homelessness. And in fact, they usually don’t. The areas that have the highest homelessness are the areas with the biggest disconnect between what housing costs and what people make."

Why a renter protections bill failed in the California legislature, and more homelessness and housing news from the past week that you may have missed.

In this UC San Diego Department of Medicine Grand Rounds, Margot Kushel, MD, one of the world’s leading experts on homelessness, discusses why the homeless population is aging, the health consequences of aging in the homeless population, and possible interventions and solutions. Dr. Kushel is a professor of medicine and directs both the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations and the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative.

The homeless population is aging and adults who experience homelessness for the first time in older age are more likely to progress to chronic homelessness. To prevent or delay homelessness, many people live temporarily live with family or friends. In this qualitative study of homeless older adults, researchers conducted 46 semi-structured interviews. They found that structural barriers to family and friends providing housing for temporary or permanent exits from homelessness included housing regulations, geographic and transportation challenges, and environments inconducive to older adults.

"You cannot have a healthy society with this many people living on the economic and social margins," said UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative director Margot Kushel, MD. "Homelessness is lethal. We’re not going to be able to solve this without solving homelessness." An analysis from 2016 to 2020 shows homeless deaths have increased in cities across the United States, and numerous negative health outcomes are associated with homelessness.

Homelessness and housing news from the past week that you may have missed.

This podcast episode tackles some of the most common myths about homelessness. Margot Kushel, MD, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, is among the guests who discuss why it’s harder to get housed than people think, explain how most people who are homeless are not suffering from mental illness or substance abuse, and highlight how anyone can experience homelessness. The hosts also interview two people with lived homelessness experience.

Tobacco use is common in people who experience homelessness; however, research in homeless and unstably housed (HUH) women is sparse. Researchers found that the most common reason for tobacco use was to reduce stress and anxiety. The findings suggest that tailored counseling and healthcare interactions that include smoking cessation efforts and address food insecurity during treatment.

Homelessness and housing news from the past week that you may have missed.

The popular book suggests that substance use, mental illness and moral permissiveness are more to blame for California's homelessness crisis than housing unaffordability. But that argument is based on flawed reasoning and a misunderstanding of the available evidence.

Homelessness and housing news from the past week that you may have missed.

Homelessness and housing news from the past week that you may have missed.

A recent book sheds light on the policy choices that caused housing prices to skyrocket in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and which may have helped to birth the modern homelessness crisis.

Homelessness and housing news from the past week that you may have missed.

Homelessness and housing news from the past week that you may have missed.

Homelessness and housing news from the past week that you may have missed.