Empowering Formerly Homeless Older Adults to Engage in Advance Care Planning in Permanent Supportive Housing (ACP-PSH): A Randomized Controlled Trial. Advance care planning (ACP) prepares people to make informed medical decisions that are best for them so their wishes can be honored in the case of serious illness or at the end of life.

The UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative recently completed a new study to better understand homelessness across the state of California.

As communities struggle to address unsheltered homelessness with limited resources, it’s more important than ever to understand the most effective solutions. In January 2025, the City of Berkeley launched an effort to resolve a longstanding encampment at 2nd and Cedar Street, where most residents lived in oversized vehicles (primarily RVs). The City offered to buy oversized vehicles from residents and provided low-barrier non-congregate shelter with enhanced case management. Residents could choose to participate in one part of the program or both. At the City’s request, the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI) is conducting a scientifically rigorous, independent evaluation

The COORDINATE Home (CrOss-sectOR Data INtegrAtion To End HOMElessness) team analyzes San Francisco’s Coordinated Case Management System (CCMS) to evaluate policy-relevant questions. CCMS links data on the use of the homeless, public health, substance use and mental health systems, jail, and ambulances.

In collaboration with community partners in the Bay Area, UCSF BHHI is conducting the only randomized controlled trial in the U.S. focused solely on family homelessness.

The Home Safe program is a statewide effort to prevent and end homelessness among older adults and adults with disabilities served through Adult Protective Services (APS). Administered by the California Department of Social Services and implemented by county APS agencies, Home Safe provides flexible, short-term assistance to stabilize housing and respond to housing crises. In 2019, UCSF and CDSS conducted a mixed-methods evaluation of the Home Safe Pilot Program and found evidence that Home Safe successfully stabilized many APS clients who were at risk of, or experiencing homelessness. Building on the findings of the pilot evaluation, CDSS engaged UCSF to

Health Outcomes of People Experiencing Homelessness in Older Middle Age (HOPE HOME) Since 2013, Dr. Margot Kushel has led the Health Outcomes of People Experiencing Homelessness in Older Middle Age (HOPE HOME) project, an NIA-funded longitudinal study involving hundreds of older adults (age 50 and older) experiencing homelessness. Based in Oakland, the study includes semi-annual visits for structured interviews, cognitive and physical assessments, as well as qualitative interviews, and ethnographic observations. With more than 30 peer reviewed publications thus far, the study has produced numerous findings relevant to exploring the causes and consequences of homelessness among older adults. For the

UCSF BHHI is leading the way in California when it comes to the implementation of shallow subsidies to prevent homelessness and housing insecurity. This longitudinal study aims to determine the impact of shallow subsidies on housing stability and homelessness prevention.

As California’s homelessness crisis has continued to grow, so has the range and scale of efforts to address it. To understand these efforts in greater depth and inform their ongoing implementation, the UC Berkeley Terner Center, UCSF’s Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI), and Abt Associates collaborated on a research project focused on homelessness in California. Our findings come from hundreds of in-depth interviews with people experiencing homelessness, government officials, non-profit leaders, front-line workers, and other stakeholders from local homelessness and housing organizations throughout California. We also analyzed quantitative data from local homelessness services, shelter, and housing programs. The Statewide

The COVID-19-Oriented Resident of Oversized Vehicle Assessment (COROVA) report consists of 48 in-depth qualitative interviews with people who live in oversized vehicles, such as RVs or school buses, to understand their housing and service needs.