@ucsfbhhi.bsky.social
We conduct groundbreaking research to help prevent & end homelessness. Follow us for key insights and evidence-based solutions. 📪 Newsletter: bit.ly/BHHInews 🔗 LinkedIn: bit.ly/BHHILinkedIn 🖥️ Web: homelessness.ucsf.edu
Latino/a homelessness is rising in the US.
Our new paper highlights the need for culturally centered solutions designed around the realities Latino/a adults face while navigating homelessness.
Read: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0344036
New @nlihc.org GAP report shows CA has just 25 affordable & available homes per 100 extremely low-income renters (~1M short). ‼️ 79% pay more than half their income on rent.
‼️ Need $49.61/hr or 3 FT min wage jobs for avg 2BR.
Homelessness is the crisis we see—this shortage drives it. nlihc.org/gap
ICYMI: We recently released a new evaluation of California’s Home Safe program—a statewide program based in counties’ Adult Protective Services that aims to prevent and end homelessness among older and dependent adults.
See what we learned: https://homelessness.ucsf.edu/HomeSafeEval
For many people, a job loss can lead to housing loss.
With low wages and high rents, one or two missed paychecks can turn into back rent, an eviction, a short stretch of doubling up—and then homelessness.
Solutions exist: https://ow.ly/8xiL50YnhPO
#Unemployment
Photo: Sam Comen
Colorectal Cancer Screening saves lives—and stable housing can make preventive care easier to reach.
A recent study shows homeless #veterans who gained housing were more likely to complete overdue colorectal cancer screening than those who remained unhoused.
https://ow.ly/39hI50YmCCK
This Heart Health Month, we’re highlighting the challenges of staying well when routine care is hard to access.
~1 in 4 people experiencing homelessness had an unmet healthcare need in the past 6 months, and ~1 in 4 couldn’t get needed medications.
Learn more: https://ow.ly/Qyra50Yj8Rw
Quick fixes are tempting—but they don’t solve homelessness.
✅ What does: outreach + shelter people can use + accessible services + permanent housing.
❌ Arbitrary countdowns to displacement don’t help.
Learn how to make lasting progress: https://homelessness.ucsf.edu/unsheltered
Happening now!
Are CA’s homelessness investments making an impact?
Tune in as BHHI Director Margot Kushel MD shares key data with CA Assembly Subcommittee 7 next week.
Evidence shows what is and isn't working—guiding us to lasting progress.
🗓 2/18 | 9AM
🔗 abgt.assembly.ca.gov/hearings
#HHAP #Homelessness
We recently released a new evaluation of California’s Home Safe program—a statewide program based in counties’ Adult Protective Services that aims to prevent and end homelessness among older and dependent adults.
See what we learned: https://homelessness.ucsf.edu/HomeSafeEval
People experiencing homelessness face distinct #MaternalHealth risks, including disrupted healthcare access, exposure to violence, and higher risks for maternal and infant complications.
✅ Key recs: flexible housing subsidies, rapid rehousing, reproductive health support.
https://ow.ly/Kscy50XYjjI
People experiencing homelessness have different needs. Some need short-term support; others need ongoing physical or behavioral health services.
✅ Matching people to the right level of support can protect health and reduce the need for more intensive services later.
Learn more: buff.ly/NMHWh1Z
Across CA, thousands are waiting for shelter beds.
The bottleneck isn't just # of beds—limited housing means longer stays & returns to the street.
✅ Balancing prevention, shelter & housing capacity helps people exit homelessness faster & uses resources more effectively.
Learn how: buff.ly/Km16G4R
Housing + services is the best way to help people with complex needs stay housed.
Here's what it takes to work:
➡️ Sustained funding
➡️ High-quality implementation
➡️ Voluntary services that match people’s needs
Learn how PSH helped 86% of participants stay housed in Santa Clara, CA: buff.ly/VV18Oji
For many Americans, losing a job means losing their housing.
With high #unemployment and the continued rise of unstable #gigwork, we must implement strategies to help people remain housed.
Get the stats: buff.ly/tMjJWeF
While 80% of homeless #olderadults in our recent study returned to housing at least once (usually with family or friends), half returned to #homelessness.
What kept people housed?
👉 Housing vouchers.
We can end homelessness by continuing to fund proven solutions.
Read the study: buff.ly/VbhyPV1
And as @mkushel.bsky.social of @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social said: What if we help people BEFORE they lose housing keep it & access any services if they need them? This requires providing enough help for everyone so that we don’t have to triage limited resources to those in the most dire situation.
ICYMI: Older adults who have experienced homelessness feel deeply alone, even after returning to housing.
Nearly 40% report #loneliness—far higher than those who were able to remain in housing.
It's not just a feeling—it can harm people's health.
Learn what supports could help: buff.ly/Dr4VxKa
The recording of our latest webinar is now available.
➡️ How are poor health and homelessness connected?
➡️ How are CA systems responding to federal changes?
➡️ What do older adults need?
➡️ How can systems partner with communities?
...Watch the recording to find out!
34% of homeless adults in our #CASPEH study had difficulty with daily activities (dressing, eating, etc.). 22% had difficulty walking across a room. #Disabilities make homelessness far more difficult to navigate.
Learn how our systems can work together to find solutions:
buff.ly/JUydGsn
Happening Thursday!
Join leaders from California’s homelessness, social services, and health systems to discuss how chronic illness, disability, and barriers to care impact people experiencing homelessness—and how coordinated responses can help.
📅 Dec 4 | 🕛 12 PM PT
🔗 buff.ly/OxB1YHt
Happening next week!
Health and homelessness are inseparable. Join BHHI and experts from across health, homelessness, and social services to discuss health findings from the largest U.S. study of homelessness in 30 years—and coordinated solutions.
📅 Dec 4 | 🕛 12 PM PT
💻 buff.ly/GTuI9Br
ICYMI: Last week we released a report on health and homelessness.
Using data from the largest U.S. representative study since the 1990s, it offers a detailed look at the connection between health and homelessness and provides research-backed recommendations.
📘 Read the Report → buff.ly/XbhSIxw
“If you run it the right way and attach people to the appropriate supports and services, you can get people on a path to stability and community reintegration, and that’s what we want.”
Marc Dones lays out the steps to effective encampment resolution w/ @ryan-levi.bsky.social.
📢 New paper alert:
We examined long-term housing results among a cohort of older homeless adults.
Full article: Factors Associated With Exits From and Returns to Homelessness Among Older Homeless Adults: Results From the HOPE HOME Study www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
1/5
Most people experiencing homelessness don’t regularly use drugs. Among those who do, 1 in 5 ppl seeking treatment couldn’t get it.
BHHI Director Dr. Margot Kushel @mkushel.bsky.social discusses #behavioralhealth & #homelessness on KCBS:
🎧 Interview: buff.ly/vy5mBch
▶️ BHHI Webinar: buff.ly/VpEO9pz
Ending the cycle between poor health and homelessness requires addressing both as part of the same crisis.
Solutions include: integrated #healthcare + housing, #streetmedicine, recuperative care, accessible housing.
Read the report → buff.ly/XbhSIxw
Join the webinar → buff.ly/vq1NGyT
🧵 6/6
Despite high rates of insurance, only half of Californians experiencing homelessness have a regular place to receive care, and few have a primary care provider.
Many visit emergency departments, which are easier to access but don't provide ongoing care.
Read → buff.ly/XbhSIxw
#publichealth
🧵 5/6
Over one-third of Californians experiencing homelessness—and nearly half of those 50+—have difficulty with basic daily activities.
Nearly a quarter have difficulty walking across a room, making life without stable housing even harder.
buff.ly/XbhSIxw
#disability #aging
🧵 4/6
7 in 10 people experiencing homelessness in CA smoke #tobacco—6x the national rate. Smoking contributes substantially to high rates of chronic disease, respiratory illness & early death in this population.
10% are former smokers—reflecting the difficulty of quitting while homeless.
🧵 3/6