"Homelessness is solvable. Its primary driver is housing unaffordability... so the solution has always been more housing, particularly for those who don’t currently have it," writes Ned...

In this op-ed, Maya Vijayaraghavan, MD, MAS, director of the UCSF Smoking Cessation Leadership Center, highlights the need for affordable housing to be free of secondhand smoke. She emphasizes the threat of secondhand smoke exposure disproportionately affects Black Americans and the effectiveness of smoke-free policies. However, barriers still remain to implement smoke-free policies. "The implementation of smoke-free policies in public housing was a step in the right direction and should be expanded to all affordable multi-unit housing." Dr. Vijayaraghavan writes. This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Margot Kushel, MD, a professor of medicine and director of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at UCSF, explains how homelessness in California is a housing issue. Others often blame California's homelessness problems on high rates of mental health and substance-use problems, but the data tells a different story. Dr. Kushel writes, "It has taken decades for California to develop its housing crisis, and it will take many years to fix it. Making the wrong diagnosis and prescribing the wrong solution won’t end the crisis." This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Marguerita Lightfoot, PhD, MA, Associate Dean for Research at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, highlights the need to make youth experiencing homelessness more visible. She outlines that the estimates of youth experiencing homelessness are vastly underrepresented. Youth experiencing homelessness are often not in the locations that are surveyed. Dr. Lightfoot writes, "It falls to HUD and lawmakers to make the invisible, visible — to look for and truly see young people experiencing homelessness." This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

Margot Kushel, MD, and Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, MD, discuss how the pandemic has highlighted "a tale of two Californias."

In this op-ed, Margot Kushel, MD, Tomiqua Moss, and Jen Loving explain how scaling evidence-based solutions to prevent and end homelessness can yield tangible results. They characterize the underlying, interlocking causes of homelessness as structural racism, income inequality, and lack of affordable housing for low-income households. "The research is clear: When there is more affordable housing in a community, fewer people experience homelessness," they write. "Providing affordable housing with permanent subsidies and supportive services, if needed, is the best way to end homelessness. Such programs have for years successfully housed more than 90% of those with the most severe disabilities."

In this op-ed, Ryan Assaf, PhD, MPH, a postdoctoral fellow with the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, highlights the common misconception among many Californians that substance use is the primary cause of people losing their housing. He outlines that drug use is correlated with the length of time someone is homeless and the extremity of their living conditions. Dr. Assaf calls for a housing first approach, writing, "Regardless of an individual’s drug use, policymakers and advocates should prioritize getting people experiencing homelessness into safe, secure and stable housing." This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Meghan D. Morris, PhD, MPH, an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco, explains that the proposed Homeless, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act will not solve California's retail theft, but instead crowd Californian's prisons. She outlines how Proposition 47, which passed in 2014 to revise penalties for nonviolent lower-level drug offenses, reduced the state's prison population and reinvested funds in counties. Dr. Morris writes, "We risk losing another generation to the consequences of incarceration that we’ve finally begun to tackle." This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Leslie Suen, MD, MAS, explains the value of Overdose Prevention Centers (OPC), and use of a harm reduction framework as a multi-prong strategy to combat the opioid ...

In this op-ed, Leslie W. Suen, MD, MAS, an assistant professor of medicine in the UCSF Division of General Internal Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital, calls upon physicians to oppose medical discrimination against methadone patients. She highlights how methadone patients are routinely denied the care they need, exacerbating health disparities. "It’s far past time for every stakeholder to recognize their responsibilities and provide equal access to all patients, regardless of their medical condition or treatment." Dr. Suen writes. This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Morgan Philbin, PhD, MHS, associate director at the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative and director of the Educations Program, calls for progressive states to become safe havens for LGTBQ+ adolescents. She highlights the various discriminatory policies that have been introduced across the US and how those policies force LGTBQ+ individuals to move, often to more expensive areas. Dr. Philbin writes, "While supportive policies are imperative to counteract the discriminatory legislation enacted nationwide, progressive states must also develop policies and programs to support LGBTQ+ adolescents who are being forced to move there to access healthcare and maintain their physical and mental wellbeing." This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, DeForrest (DeDe) Hancock, a UCSF Benioff Homeless Housing Initiative Lived Expertise Advisory Board member, tells her story about experiencing homelessness. She writes, [when] “I was homeless, 2009 to 2016, I came to believe that we are all ordinary people simply each living out the scripts of our lives. Some of our scripts include life-challenges which provide lived experience to build the expertise and skills for survival.”

In this op-ed, Marguerita Lightfoot, PhD, MA, Associate Dean for Research at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, calls attention to youth experiencing homelessness in Sacramento. She outlines the higher rate of mental health-related hospitalization among youth, with almost 70% of youth experiencing homelessness reported experience depression and anxiety. Dr. Lightfoot also highlights the resources and programs that would help. "Every person experiencing homelessness needs help. But youth are too often treated as adults, and do not receive the tailored, developmentally appropriate services they require." This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Shannon Smith-Bernardin, PhD, MSN, RN, assistant professor of nursing, highlights sobering centers as an alternative to bringing an intoxicated individual to the emergency department or a jail. She emphasizes that sobering centers provide a safe, monitored environment for people to sober up, and various models have developed to serve the specific need of the communities and populations they serve. "The path to recovery often requires a comprehensive, individualized approach. A central function of sobering care is to take the opportunity to engage, motivate, and link individuals to community resources that may provide ongoing stabilization and recovery." Dr. Smith-Bernardin writes. This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Tom Murphy, the Senior Director of Communications for the National Alliance to End Homelessness, calls congress to fully fund and expand veteran homelessness programs. He highlights the rise in veteran homelessness while also acknowledging the sterling track record of the federal government's veteran homelessness programs. "It is wholly unreasonable and inappropriate not to invest in resources that would protect veterans and the citizens on whose behalf they served. This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

As a pediatrician who has focused on working with families experiencing unstable housing, BHHI faculty member Christine Ma, MD, has seen first hand how housing insecurity can damage the...

In this op-ed, Tom Murphy, the Senior Director of Communications for the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and Yolanda Stevens, program and policy analyst for the National Alliance to End Homelessness, call Congress to do more for older Americans facing homelessness. Older adults are the fastest-growing age demographic of people experiencing homelessness. They highlight the need to reconcile the stereotypes against older adults experiencing homelessness. "Leaders must also commit the resources to ensure that homeless systems can meet the needs of an aging population." they wrote. This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Claudine Sipili, one of the Lived Expertise Advisory Board co-chairs, highlights the intensifying homelessness crisis impact on families in the US. She writes about her own experiences, emphasizing the need to put real-life stories and perspectives front and center. "As a nation, there is an ethical imperative to ensure every family has a safe, stable home. This is about restoring fundamental human rights that allow communities to thrive, not handouts or government overreach." Ms. Sipili writes. This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Margot Kushel, MD, professor of medicine and director of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at UCSF, highlights that those who are often living in homeless encampments are frail older adults. She outlines the health impact of homelessness on aging and why so many older adults are experiencing homelessness. "Now is the time to create an America that doesn’t abandon its elders. In doing so, we will not only improve the world for those experiencing homelessness, but create a future that is better for all." Dr. Kushel writes. This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Jesica Giannola, one of the CASPEH Lived Expertise Advisory Board members, calls attention to the unfair polices in the "Fair Housing Act". She outlines the issues and the need for reform, calling for young-adult and high school students to also be included under the same protections of families with minor children. "While it’s absolutely fair to ensure tenants can reliably pay rent, it’s incomprehensible that the same screening conditions applied to adults are also required of their 18-year-old high school students." Ms. Giannola writes. This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Maya Vijayaraghavan, MD, MAS, director of the UCSF Smoking Cessation Leadership Center, calls for contingency management to reduce tobacco and substance use. She emphasizes that the US is grappling with two interwoven crises of addiction, tobacco use, and opioid and stimulant-related overdoses. Contingency management is underutilized because of legal, logistical, and philosophical reasons. "Through integration, these technical assistance centers could increase opportunities to utilize such effective treatment in community settings." Dr. Vijayaraghavan writes. This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Cheyenne Garcia, senior research analyst at the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, calls for colleges to step up in helping students who experience homelessness. She outlines the how the school breaks disrupts the lives of students, as not every student has a place to go once classes are over. "The chronic stress of finding short-term housing break after break and year after year can take a toll on the mental and physical health of already stressed students." Ms. Garcia writes. This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Claudine Sipili, one of the Lived Expertise Advisory Board co-chairs, highlights the need for compassion and innovation to the growing homelessness crisis. She outlines the devastating impact of criminalizing homelessness and the need to focus on evidence-based solutions that prioritize the well-being and dignity of people experiencing homelessness. "Addressing the homelessness crisis requires a balanced and comprehensive approach that combines short-term relief with long-term solutions. While shelters and temporary assistance can help meet immediate needs, they must be coupled with efforts to expand affordable housing, decriminalize homelessness, and address the structural inequalities that perpetuate poverty." Ms. Sipili writes. This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Zena Dhatt, a Qualitative Research Project Manager at the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, calls for action to expand loan forgiveness. She outlines the struggles students face, from the high-interest rates to parents also taking out loans. Ms. Zhatt also calls for addressing the root cause of the cost of higher education. "It is urgent to stop imposing unmanageable loans on those who choose education and to encourage those to seek higher education without fear of a significant debt burden, and one that perpetuates disparity." writes Ms. Zhatt. This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

In this op-ed, Alma Yates, MSW, the Education Program Manager at the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, implores world leaders to do more in helping migrants and asylum seekers. She highlights her own story as a former refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina who relocated to the United States following the Bosnian War. "Thousands of displaced people were living here, mostly elderly, women and children from Prijedor. The conditions were horrific" Ms. Yates writes. "I was able to leave this place to continue my long migration journey, which had its own twists and turns, but, unfortunately, thousands of others had no place to go." This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.