"BHHI is a really innovative initiative which brings together a cross section of people — I represent one of those as an academic researcher — with a shared mission to end homelessness and to use evidence to help inform policies to help end homelessness." - Meghan Morris, Associate Professor, UCSF Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology We collaborate with leading academic institutions, drawing from the expertise of UCSF faculty, researchers, and educators from across the United States. UCSF BHHI acts as a bridge between research and decision-making, facilitating common ground between the academic world and policymakers. Since our launch, we have

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The number of Americans older than 65 will double in the next 40 years, reaching 80 million by 2040. Alongside this growth, many more older adults will need access to affordable and secure housing. UCSF BHHI’s research on aging focuses on California’s older population, the housing supply available to older adults, affordability issues, the connection between housing, health, and public services, and the residential patterns of older homeless adults.

California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness

The stress of experiencing homelessness can amplify previous mental illness and trigger anxiety, depression, fear, substance use, and sleeplessness.

Behavioral health challenges both contribute to and are exacerbated by homelessness. To better understand behavioral health and homelessness, we examined data from the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness. Our latest report examines the relationship between homelessness, substance use, and mental health, providing critical insights for policymakers, program leaders, Continuum of Care leaders, and healthcare systems. Key Findings Nearly half (48%) of people experiencing homelessness in California have complex behavioral health needs—regular drug use, heavy drinking, hallucinations, or recent psychiatric hospitalization. About one-third (35%) report regular drug use; 42% reported that they began to use regularly after the first

The Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI) provides accurate, timely policy-oriented research about homelessness for local, state, and national policymakers and practitioners. Funded by a generous gift from Marc and Lynne Benioff and based at the UCSF Action Research Center for Health Equity, BHHI aims to be a trusted source for evidence-based practice, policy, and scalable solutions—turning evidence into action to prevent and end homelessness.

Due to funding constraints, we are no longer recruiting for this program. We encourage you to stay connected for updates, new reports, policy briefs, and webinars via social media and our newsletter (scroll to the bottom of the page for links). The BHHI postdoctoral scholars training program educates the next generation of strategic scientists empowered to address upstream causes of homelessness. Our projects rely on various research methodologies including quantitative methods, qualitative methods, or mixed methods and utilize a wide-ranging set of research designs including longitudinal, cross-sectional, quasi-experimental, natural experiments, implementation and translational science, and policy evaluation. Scholars work closely

Overview The Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI) provides accurate, timely policy-oriented research about homelessness for local, state, and national policymakers and practitioners. BHHI is seeking highly motivated students to join our multidisciplinary team for this 8-week summer program. The Summer Explore Fellowships are designed for medical students for the UCSF School of Medicine, who are typically between their first and second year of professional school. The primary goals are to provide a mentored-research experience and to provide students an introduction to conducting strategic science research with communities affected by homelessness. *Update November 15, 2024: BHHI will not be recruiting

The California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH) Lived Expertise Advisory Board is a group of 9 advisors from across the state of California who represent a range of lived or living experiences of homelessness—from rural and urban communities, living sheltered and unsheltered, young and old, in families and single. Our board members are integral advisors to UCSF BHHI staff in the development, implementation and dissemination of the CASPEH in the following ways: Reviewing survey questions and in-depth interview guides Developing Outreach and Community Engagement Strategies Interpreting Survey Findings Co-Writing Dissemination Materials Co-Presenting Study Findings to local and national

In the United States, 30% of the homeless population are families with children, and 6% are unaccompanied youth younger than age 25.

UCSF BHHI convened three community advisory boards (CABS) to collaborate with our researchers and staff throughout the duration of the California Statewide Survey of People Experiencing Homelessness. Together, these community advisors play a vital role in: Providing input into survey question design, sampling, and data collection strategies Helping craft best practices for community engagement across the counties where we conducted the survey Illuminating blind spots and providing feedback on issues our survey team may have missed or misinterpreted Interpreting study findings, shaping policy recommendations, and framing our data for maximum impact Lived Expertise Advisory Board The Lived Expertise Advisory Board

Fellows and staff share a community-first mindset at UCSF BHHI. We ask people what they need and conduct research underpinned by strategic science, while partnering with the communities most impacted by homelessness and housing insecurity. Our work aims to shift decision-making to communities by turning policy solutions and proven best practices into workable, successful, on-the-ground programs.

Due to funding constraints, we are no longer recruiting for these programs. We encourage you to stay connected for updates, new reports, policy briefs, and webinars via social media and our newsletter (links below). UCSF BHHI is a trusted source for research-backed policymaking and practice in the effort to prevent and end homelessness. Our education programs invest in the next generation of homelessness researchers, including postdoctoral scholars; medical, nursing, and public health students; and master’s level and undergraduate level students. Our unique education programs leverage multi-disciplinary expertise in homelessness and housing policy research and methodological expertise to conduct research with

Using both natural experiments and randomized controlled trials, we examine the impact of interventions. In natural experiments, we take advantage of the fact that lotteries or waitlists create naturally occurring control groups. We use these to examine the impact of an intervention, comparing those who received it to those who, due to resource limitations, didn’t. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) compare the impact of an intervention for people randomly selected to receive different interventions. We employ randomized controlled trials when, due to resource limitation, the intervention will be offered to a subset of the population under ordinary conditions. RCTs are considered

“Housing is health, and health requires housing for so many of our most vulnerable Californians and Americans.” – Mark Ghaly, MD, MPH, California Health and Human Services Secretary The UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative works with government partners and advises policymakers on best practices in their efforts to prevent and end homelessness. Government officials frequently ask or commission UCSF BHHI to conduct research projects aimed at answering specific policy questions. UCSF BHHI experts also testify to state, county, or local legislative bodies on homelessness or provide informal counsel in private settings. Learn more about our other partnerships

The link between health and homelessness may frequently be overlooked. Homelessness worsens health, with homeless individuals in their 50s experiencing the same health concerns as their housed counterparts in their 70s and 80s. With medical care, recovery, and healing made more difficult by homelessness, it’s clear that housing is health care.

Prevention means stopping someone from becoming homeless in the first place. Homelessness prevention must include broader structural reforms addressing the drivers of homelessness, not only interventions targeted at individuals.