UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative
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ucsfbhhi.bsky.social
UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative
@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
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Nearly half of Californians experiencing homelessness report poor or fair health — 4× the national rate.

Our new report highlights key #CASPEH findings on the cycle between poor health and homelessness, barriers to care, and solutions.

Read → buff.ly/XbhSIxw

#healthequity
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Toward Thriving: Understanding Health and Homelessness | Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative
People experiencing homelessness in California face high rates of chronic illness and disability, and numerous barriers to care. Nearly half of adults experiencing homelessness rate their health as…
homelessness.ucsf.edu
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
November 25, 2025 at 4:03 PM
“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.
Homeless Camp Sweeps Can Harm Health. Some Cities Are Trying a New Way.
Several cities and counties are addressing street homelessness with a new approach, which experts say can clear encampments while protecting the health of people who are forced to move.
buff.ly
November 21, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Reposted by UCSF Benioff Homelessness & Housing Initiative
📢 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....
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Factors Associated With Exits From and Returns to Homelessness Among Older Homeless Adults: Results From the HOPE HOME Study
Homelessness is dynamic; some individuals cycle between homelessness and housing. In a longitudinal study of 411 adults aged 50 and older who were homeless at study enrollment, we examined the prev...
www.tandfonline.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:05 PM
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
November 19, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Nearly half of Californians experiencing homelessness report poor or fair health — 4× the national rate.

Our new report highlights key #CASPEH findings on the cycle between poor health and homelessness, barriers to care, and solutions.

Read → buff.ly/XbhSIxw

#healthequity
🧵 1/6
Toward Thriving: Understanding Health and Homelessness | Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative
People experiencing homelessness in California face high rates of chronic illness and disability, and numerous barriers to care. Nearly half of adults experiencing homelessness rate their health as…
homelessness.ucsf.edu
November 18, 2025 at 4:50 PM
“The changes announced in this year’s CoC NOFO represent a profound and dangerous departure from longstanding evidence-based homelessness policy..." says BHHI Director Margot Kushel, MD.

Read @mkushel.bsky.social's full statement:

homelessness.ucsf.edu/resources/pr...
Statement by UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative Director Margot Kushel MD on HUD’s FY2025 Continuum of Care Program NOFO | Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative
SAN FRANCISCO (November 17, 2025) – Following is a statement by Margot Kushel, MD, Director of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI) at the University of California, San Francisco, on...
homelessness.ucsf.edu
November 17, 2025 at 8:44 PM
🧠 1 in 3 older adults experiencing homelessness have trouble remembering, concentrating, or understanding.

🏠 We must expand housing and integrated care so people can age with dignity.
buff.ly/fti18Xs

#AlzheimersAwarenessMonth
November 14, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Ending homelessness requires centering the expertise of those who've lived it.

Recent work from current and former BHHI team members, Lived Expertise Board members, and NYU colleagues demonstrates how collaboration between lived & academic experts leads to better solutions.

📄 Read: buff.ly/C3K5W8B
November 12, 2025 at 8:02 PM
This #VeteransDay, we honor those who’ve served — and highlight recent research showing how housing improves veterans’ health.

🏠 Studies led by Dr. Hannah Decker link housing to earlier cancer detection and improved survival.

Learn more: buff.ly/Y7htc4b
@hannahdeckermd.bsky.social
Housing Status Changes Are Associated With Cancer Outcomes For US Veterans
Video Abstract: “Housing Status Changes Are Associated With Cancer Outcomes For US Veterans.” In the February 2024 issue of Health Affairs, Hannah Decker of the University of California San Francisco…
buff.ly
November 12, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Solving homelessness effectively requires addressing health—not as a separate challenge, but as a deeply connected part of the same crisis.

Join us Dec 4 for a discussion of our upcoming health report and research-backed recommendations for a coordinated response.

📅 12–1 PM PT
🔗 buff.ly/gSPDfGF
November 10, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Quitting tobacco saves lives—but it’s harder without stable housing or support.

Research led by Dr. Maya Vijayaraghavan shows that when cessation programs meet people where they are, progress is possible.

Explore the research:
➡️ buff.ly/lRgrqP9
#LungCancerAwarenessMonth #PublicHealth
November 7, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Why are so many people being pushed into homelessness?

☑️ Nearly half of all U.S. workers now earn less than the hourly wage needed to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment.

☑️ In CA, workers must earn nearly $50 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment.
NLIHC (@nlihc.org)
#FOTW: In 18 States, Renters Must Earn More Than $30 an Hour to Afford A Two-Bedroom Apartment at Fair Market Rent
buff.ly
November 5, 2025 at 8:02 PM
When work isn’t secure, housing isn’t either.

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

Learn more: buff.ly/frwz8W6
November 3, 2025 at 4:03 PM
For some caregivers, losing a client means losing both income and housing.

Recent BHHI research shows how home health workers—often caring for relatives—can become homeless when a client dies or enters institutional care.

Read more: buff.ly/R0u6J8K
#CaregiverAwarenessMonth
November 1, 2025 at 6:02 PM
ICMYI:

"Americans want there to be no homelessness. And this is...a formula to worsen homelessness."

—BHHI Director Dr. Margot Kushel says of efforts to expand involuntary detentions & withdraw funding from communities that don't comply.

Housing + services is cheaper and proven effective.
Drastic changes coming to homeless services, new Trump order promises
Trump wants to lock up people with drug or mental health challenges. Advocates say lack of housing is the real problem.
buff.ly
October 31, 2025 at 3:00 AM
People experiencing homelessness face high rates of chronic illness, disability, and barriers to care.

These challenges make it harder to stay housed. Once homeless, managing health conditions becomes even more difficult.

Join us Dec. 4 to explore data and coordinated solutions.
buff.ly/Yhxv18e
October 28, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Can work alone keep people housed?

BHHI research finds that job loss, unstable work (such as #gigwork), and #caregiver roles tied to housing leave many vulnerable to homelessness.

This highlights the need for stronger worker protections and coordinated prevention efforts.

Learn more:
October 26, 2025 at 11:01 PM
It's difficult for people with untreated substance use disorders to stay in shelters because addiction doesn't allow you to "stop on a dime,” says Dr. Margot Kushel.

“It looks like they’re refusing shelter", when, in fact, “they’re telling you ‘that doesn’t meet my needs.’”
buff.ly/PboRGBm
Inside SF’s shelter strategy shift
What does the mayor mean by the “right beds?”
buff.ly
October 24, 2025 at 3:06 PM
ICYMI: CA has just 24 affordable homes per 100 extremely low-income renters—a shortfall of nearly 1M.

📊 In our statewide study, nearly everyone said costs were a top reason they couldn't get back into a home.

You can’t solve homelessness without solving housing affordability.
nlihc.org/gap
The GAP
The U.S. has a shortage of more than 7.1 million rental homes affordable and available to extremely low-income renter households. Find out more. #TheGap25
nlihc.org
October 24, 2025 at 2:02 AM
When enforcement enters shelters, it tells people they aren’t safe asking for help.

When shelters don’t feel safe, people stay outside longer— increasing risks to their health and safety and deepening the homelessness crisis.

To end homelessness, we have to replace fear with trust and connection.
October 22, 2025 at 7:00 PM
When looking at pathways to treatment, people who used drugs and recently used safe syringe programs are more likely to engage in substance use treatment, while those who had touchpoints with the criminal legal system were not.

A new UCSF study by @suenlw.bsky.social et al examines:
buff.ly/T9brUFq
October 22, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Robust data show 85%+ of people with serious mental illness (with or without substance use) thrive in supportive housing with the right services. As policy debates shift, it’s critical to stay focused on what works: housing + voluntary services.

Learn more: buff.ly/Gyl3RRL
#HousingFirst
October 20, 2025 at 3:20 PM
One reason progress on homelessness feels slow: we spend on things that don't work.

When viewed side-by-side, investing in evidence-based homeless services is far more effective than quick "fixes" like arrests & fines.

Recent @naehomelessness.bsky.social analysis compares the two approaches.
Homelessness Reaches the Supreme Court: As It Weighs One Approach, A Better One Waits in the Wings
The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States.
buff.ly
October 18, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Living outside harms people's health and safety, but pushing people around without a way back into housing creates more problems than it solves.

There are better ways to navigate urgent encampment issues while advancing long-term solutions to homelessness.

➡️ Our guide can help: buff.ly/xLSAvSj
October 17, 2025 at 3:00 AM
People are #homeless because they can’t afford housing. Sweeps and arrests won’t change that—they just move people around.

What works?
🏠 Housing
🤝 Accessible health + social services

It’s not fast. It’s not simple. But if we fund what works, we can end homelessness.

Learn how: buff.ly/DYrADS1
October 16, 2025 at 2:00 AM