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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative

@ucsfbhhi.bsky.social

1.2K followers 84 following 220 posts

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

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · Jun 11

📢 New report: Homelessness among Latine Californians is rising, driven by high housing costs, low wages, and systemic anti-Latine racism.

Our latest analysis highlights how structural forces push people into homelessness and lays out targeted, evidence-based solutions.
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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 4h

When ageism meets housing injustice, older adults lose twice: denied work opportunities, then turned away from shelters that can’t meet their needs.

On #AgeismDiscriminationDay, we must create systems where everyone can age in safety and stability.

Learn more: buff.ly/yyTcph3

...My wife died and I had to move out...I have a lot of experience, but they don’t want to hire me because they think I am old. So, where am I supposed to get the money for rent and everything?

- 61-YR OLD MAN exp. homelessness in California

UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 11h

"The evidence is clear: when we disinvest in basic supports, people suffer. The proposed cuts will deepen poverty and drive more people into homelessness and hunger."

Read BHHI Director Dr. Margot Kushel's full statement on the potential impact of proposed federal funding cuts: buff.ly/c57VPRg

As healthcare providers, we witness every day what happens when people are forced to make impossible choices between rent, food, and medicine.

The proposed funding cuts will devastate our communities and increase suffering.

- Margot Kushel, MD

UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 1d

Communities across California are making progress toward ending homelessness.

Federal cuts to permanent housing threaten to undo that progress and are likely to push people back onto the street.

➡️ We can solve homelessness by continuing to fund what works.

California braces for ‘devastating’ expected cuts to federal homeless housing funds

Thousands of Californians could return to homelessness as the feds reportedly plan to disinvest from permanent housing.

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 8d

What does it take for domestic violence survivors to find safety?

Our research shows that once homeless:
➡️ 95% of survivors can’t afford housing
➡️ Violence continues & many are found by abusers

Safe, stable housing lets survivors leave—and helps them stay safe.

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#DVAM2025

...People that are in abusive relationships would get out if they had an out to go to...

- 43-yr-old IPV Survivor Experincing Homelessness in CA

UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 9d

Healthcare has a crucial role to play in homelessness responses, but it's not enough.

"Treating illness against a background of homelessness feels like a no-win situation," says
Dr. Maria Raven, who has cared for patients experiencing homelessness for two decades.

Learn more:

Homelessness Is a Health Care Issue | Opinion | Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative

In this op-ed, Maria Raven, MD, MPH, associate director at the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, explains how homelessness is not just a housing issue, but a health care issue. She…

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 14d

Many pediatric readmissions are linked to housing + transportation insecurity, but standard data undercounts these risks.

UCSF research shows combining structured + unstructured data gives better insights + tools for care.

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#SDOH #NLP

UCSF Action Research Center for Health Equity (@arcforequity.bsky.social)

Examining housing insecurity and transportation barriers in pediatric hospital readmissions: insights from structured and unstructured data. From a team including ARC Associate Director Urmimala…

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 15d

“What is new here is the option of the oversize vehicle buy back,...” says BHHI Director Margot Kushel. “It recognized...that people would not trade in their most valuable asset for something that felt less stable and safe (...congregate shelter...short-term housing voucher).”
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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 17d

“They tended to be working poor people who were doing their best, then something happened,” says BHHI Director Dr. Margot Kushel. “People think it is all about substance use or mental health, but often it is affordability, health, or loss of support.”

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#Aging #RV #homeless

His mother’s death pushed him into homelessness. Now, he’s aging in an RV

After his mother’s death, Carlos Brito slipped into homelessness and bought a rundown RV. His story highlights the growing crisis of older adults aging without housing in San Francisco.

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 20d

Without stable housing, everything is harder—seeing a doctor, working, staying connected—all take a back seat to survival.

Housing is the foundation that makes health, work, and community possible.

For some, housing is the full answer. For others, it’s not. But it’s where solutions begin for all.

(If I had housing) I would go to an outpatient drug treatment program... I would be working... I would get a primary doctor and get my health in order. I would probably join a club or two...Something fun... It would change everything.

- CASPEH Participant

UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 22d

Systemic barriers—from discrimination and documentation challenges to family separation—make Latine Californians vulnerable to homelessness.

#HispanicHeritageMonth is a reminder that equity must guide solutions.

Learn more: buff.ly/bh7NmWT

Low wages, high housing costs, lack of benefits access, anti-Latine discrimination, and limited English proficiency make Latine communities vulnerable to homelessness.

UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 24d

Learn more about research-backed solutions to RV homelessness: buff.ly/zgJQHEq

City of Berkeley Encampment Resolution Evaluation | Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative

Understanding What

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 24d

Another example of cities leading the way by following the research!

Key to this #encampment resolution:
💵 $ for RVs preserves value from biggest asset
🛏️ Private rooms provide safety & autonomy
🩷 Flexibility keeps loved ones + pets together

When offers meet needs, people say yes.
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Berkeley's cash-for-RV program helps clear encampment, offers model for homeless solutions

A buyback program offering cash to people living in their RVs may become a model after the City of Berkeley effectively cleared out a homeless encampment this past January.

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 24d

The gap between wages and housing prices is pushing more and more workers into homelessness, BHHI Director Dr. Margot Kushel told Fox News in Sept.

"People want to be in the labor market...but housing is the root of all safety and security. Without housing, everything else falls apart."

Watch ⬇️

Some employed homeless Americans live in their cars | Fox Business Video

FOX Business correspondent Max Gorden has the latest on the growing housing affordability problem in the U.S.

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 26d

✅ Many cities are making progress on homelessness by following the research.

One example:
➡️ Homelessness in Sonoma County is down 23% from last year, due in part to the 400 permanent housing units they added.

Federal funding cuts may undo this progress.

Homelessness is down in Sonoma County, but officials worry funding cuts could jeopardize efforts

Federal and state cuts to safety net spending could jeopardize any strides the county has made in reducing homelessness, health officials told the Board of Supervisors during a Tuesday meeting.

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 27d

People experiencing homelessness have poor health, struggle to access care & face high ER and hospitalization rates—despite high rates of insurance.

What happens when Medicaid cuts make things worse?

Explore current challenges: buff.ly/atxK3fU

Stay tuned for our expanded report—coming soon!

4 in 10 people experiencing homelessness do not receive routine health care.

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 28d

Imagine finally having a safe place to live after years without one—yet still feeling deeply alone.

Nearly 40% of #olderadults with homelessness histories report #loneliness, vs 25% overall.
Housing alone isn’t enough—people need support for healing & connection.

New BHHI Study: buff.ly/Dr4VxKa

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · 29d

New report by @naehomelessness.bsky.social:

➡️ Low incomes, lack of affordable housing & weak safety nets continue to drive record-high rates of homelessness.

➡️ We don't have enough housing/services to keep up.

➡️ Homelessness is solvable—if we invest in research-backed solutions.

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State of Homelessness: 2025 Edition

The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States.

endhomelessness.org

UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · Sep 10

Housing costs are squeezing Latinas in CA: over half are rent-burdened, and 1 in 4 spend more than half their income on rent. @calbudgetcenter.org warns federal housing cuts would make this even harder.

Learn more about #homelessness among #Latine communities: buff.ly/CscB0so

How Federal and State Budget Cuts Threaten Latinx Californians

Deep federal and state budget cuts to Medi-Cal, CalFresh, child care, and housing disproportionately harm Latinx Californians.

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · Sep 8

Our research—from the largest homelessness study in decades— found only 37% of people experiencing homelessness used drugs regularly in the past 6 months. Many want treatment but can’t get it—housing is key to recovery.

Read more: buff.ly/YttYvL7

@ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social #RecoveryMonth

How Common Is Illegal Drug Use Among People Who Are Homeless?

UCSF study finds that less than half of homeless individuals regularly use illicit drugs, with methamphetamines being more common than opioids, and many struggle to access treatment.

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · Sep 7

On #GrandparentsDay, we celebrate the love and wisdom of older generations. Yet too many older adults face homelessness, with health challenges far beyond their years. Everyone deserves a safe home to age with dignity.

Learn about their unique challenges + data-backed solutions: buff.ly/yyTcph3

We are failing our older adults by allowing them to spend their last years on our streets and in our shelters.
- Dr. Margot Kushel, MD

UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · Sep 5

"Incarcerating the people sleeping outside...in the U.S. would take nearly $18 billion per year."

"For...half that...we could house the 84% of people who experience homelessness but receive no housing...because the system is chronically underfunded."

-Margot Kushel/Samantha Batko.

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · Sep 5

Research shows that people living in RVs want permanent housing but don't want to give up their biggest asset for a temporary shelter stay.

Berkeley is testing another path—RV buybacks + private rooms that allow people to bring loved ones & pets.

Early results: 56 people indoors.

City of Berkeley Encampment Resolution Evaluation | Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative

Understanding What

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · Sep 4

"We know that you can very effectively resolve encampments by bringing the services and housing that people...need," BHHI Director Dr. Margot Kushel tells ABC10.

It may take more than 30 days, but if you build trust and "...offer [people] real things, they will accept it."

Clearing homeless camps is goal of new statewide task force

A new statewide task force aims to clear homeless encampments and connect residents with services, in California's 10 largest cities within the next 30 days.

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UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · Sep 1

On #LaborDay, we recognize the essential workers who keep our economy moving—including gig workers.

New BHHI research shows how unstable income, lack of protections, and high costs leave many #gigworkers one paycheck away from #homelessness.

Learn more: buff.ly/frwz8W6
#workerprotections

UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social · Aug 31

"Instead of focusing on a choice between 'abstinence or harm reduction,' I encourage a reframing...in medicine, there is no one-size-fits-all...why not first explore the patient's goals and offer options based on their needs?" says Dr. Leslie Suen. #InternationalOverdoseAwarenessDay

Opinion | Overdose Prevention Centers Aren't a Radical Concept

They add value to a larger public health strategy to help fight the overdose crisis

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