UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative
@ucsfbhhi
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We conduct groundbreaking research to help prevent & #endhomelessness. Newsletter: https://t.co/gfz2uyR2MI Bluesky: https://t.co/Dj0GAsPG47
San Francisco
Joined May 2020
We’re making some changes to where we connect online. Where to find us:.🦋 Bluesky: 🔗 LinkedIn: 📩 Newsletter: Let’s stay connected—wherever you are!
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Today we released the largest representative study on #homelessness in CA. This groundbreaking independent research sheds light on causes, consequences & solutions to the crisis. Here's what we found:🧵.🔗#CAHomelessnessStudy #CASPEH @UCSF
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There are so many misconceptions about the homelessness crisis that don’t align with what the data shows us. This only builds stigma and detracts from finding solutions. So we want to briefly address some of those inaccuracies here on “Myths & Misconceptions Mondays". ⬇️ (1/4).
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MYTH: Mental health & addiction are the primary drivers of homelessness (individual vulnerabilities). FACT: While these factors may play a role, the primary drivers of homelessness are STRUCTURAL: lack of (deeply) affordable housing, income inequity & institutional racism. (2/4)
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Hello! @resnikoff here. I often get asked what people should read if they want to get up to speed on homelessness. So I'm going to share a version of the reading list I've been sending to those who ask. 🧵.
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Here’s what people said would have prevented their homelessness:. • 70%: Additional $300-$500/mo. • 82%: One-time $5000-$10,000.• 90%: Housing Choice Voucher. 🔗 #CAHomelessnessStudy #CASPEH
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The presence or absence of a safety net is also key (i.e. strong support network, safety-net healthcare, subsidized housing). The less favorable the structural factors and availability of safety net is, the fewer individual vulnerabilities one needs to become homeless. (3/4).
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To end homelessness in CA, #CASPEH research recommends:. ➡️More affordable housing.➡️Targeted homelessness prevention.➡️Behavioral health services.➡️Income support.➡️Enhanced outreach.➡️Racial equity approaches. 🔗 #CAHomelessnessStudy
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People experiencing homelessness in CA are from CA. Nine out of ten people surveyed were living in California when they lost their housing; 75% were homeless in the same county as their last housing. 🔗 #CAHomelessnessStudy #CASPEH
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48% of all single homeless adults are 50 or older. 41% of this group first became homeless after 50. 🔗 #CAHomelessnessStudy #CASPEH #homelessness #aging
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Happening now: “The homeless services system is working hard to manage a crisis they didn’t create–and can’t solve–without sustained investments in increasing the supply of deeply #affordablehousing,” @MKushel tells CA Assembly Committees: #endhomelessness
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9/10 study participants identified cost as a major barrier to housing. Median monthly household income in the 6 months prior to homelessness was $960 – not enough to sustain housing in CA without assistance. 🔗 #CAHomelessnessStudy #CASPEH
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Here's additional research with more context & data. Please retweet & share this info with others! . Pathways to Homelessness among Older Homeless Adults: Results from the HOPE-HOME Study: ..(4/4).
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Sending deep appreciation to our amazing stats, qualitative research, epidemiology, core field research team members for their incredible work on the #CAHomelessnessStudy!. Report:
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1/3: Research shows clearing homeless encampments without expert outreach, housing, and services can worsen homelessness. No policymaker aims to harm people, yet two weeks into the new CA Executive Order, these supports are lacking.
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#Encampmentsweeps rarely result in residents obtaining housing. Instead, they:.• Traumatize ppl.• Cause property loss (incl. ID docs & rx meds).• Increase criminal justice system involvement .• Disconnect ppl from outreach, health care & social networks. Read more⬇️.
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United in Health Unhoused ready to bring COVID testing to the Unhoused community in D6. We are ready to fan our throughout the district. Grateful to our partners at @stanthonysf @codetenderloin @MattHaneySF
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"We pretend that people who have experienced homelessness have some deficit…and if only we fix them, we can solve this problem," @MKushel tells @mvvoice. "But that's not what the problem is. The problem is that there's no housing." .#homelessness.
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Just because SCOTUS has ruled that cities can punish people for sleeping outside, doesn't mean they should, says Dr. @MKushel. “It's expensive, it's inhumane, and actually there are real solutions that do work,” says Dr. Kushel. #GrantsPass. Bloomberg.
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BHHI Study in collab w/ @SF_DPH @UCBerkeleySPH in @JAMANetworkOpen shows shelter-in-place housing during pandemic lowered acute health services use for those with prior high use @mravenEM @hkanzaria @MKushel Full article here:
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"The homelessness crisis is driven by challenges across multiple systems. Not only is there a shortage of affordable housing, but many people also have trouble accessing physical & mental health care, education, and public transportation." .- @jeffolivet.
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It's time for Myths & Misconceptions Monday!. MYTH: People experiencing homelessness don’t want to work & that’s why they’re unhoused. FACT: Many people experiencing homelessness were recently or are currently employed, but rising rents make stable housing inaccessible. (1/5)
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Learn what's driving homelessness in CA and how we can change things in this brief overview of #CAHomelessnessStudy findings with @MKushel and.@AliRogin on @NewsHour tonight. 🔗#homelessness #racialequity #housingcrisis
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Our Director @MKushel discussing Housing First & Health at the @NLIHC, @naehomelessness & @CenterOnBudget webinar on Housing First!
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Faculty spotlight: @hkanzaria is a health services researcher and a Faculty Lead at BHHI. His work focuses on patient engagement, health-related social needs, frequent users of the health care system, and delivery system transformation. Meet Dr. Kanzaria:
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(1/3) Today, SCOTUS ruled that cities may arrest and fine people for resting outside, even when they have nowhere else to go. This extreme decision goes against the data on how best to end homelessness. Read Dr. @Mkushel's statement:.#GrantsPass.
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"The middle class has been shrinking, and the economy has become increasingly bifurcated between a handful of wealthy elites and a large pool of extremely low-wage labor" writes @resnikoff in a new blog digging into a report from the @TernerHousing.
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Big congrats to our Director, @MKushel for receiving the @cwclub #DistinguishedCitizen award, & to the other amazing @ucsf recipients doing such impactful work @AliciaFMD @DHavlir @KBibbinsDomingo @MonicaGandhi9 @kfrhoads @carina_marquez
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"The research is clear: When there is more affordable housing in a community, fewer people experience homelessness." . A new op-ed is out in the @mercnews from our Director @MKushel @jenloving23 @DSTNHome & @Meeksmoss @allhomeca .
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Criminalization is not a solution to homelessness. Imposing fines and jail time is counterproductive, expensive, and dehumanizing. States & leaders should follow the evidence on what works. Learn more:
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ICYMI: This week, we released a new report on the experience of #homelessness in CA. The #CAHomelessnessStudy reveals insights from those who've experienced homelessness & provides reliable data with nationwide implications. 🔗 #CASPEH #policyrecs
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Clearing encampments without access to housing and services does not meaningfully decrease unsheltered homelessness in a region - it just temporarily moves people around. There is not enough temporary or permanent housing in CA for everyone who needs it.
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The fundamental drivers of homelessness are income inequality, lack of (deeply) affordable housing & systemic racism. NOT addiction/mental health.
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"if you actually want to help people manage their substance use or get sober, one of the best things you can do for them is provide them with housing" - former BHHI policy manager @Resnikoff talks w/@jaycaspiankang about ending the homelessness crisis
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During the #CAHomelessnessStudy, we learned that many older Californians were caregivers for family, before and after becoming homeless. For some, this contributed to their homelessness. “We weren’t looking for this story,” says @MKushel. “It found us.”.
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“The country is in the midst of a housing crisis so severe that people who have worked their whole lives are suddenly becoming homeless,” says BHHI Policy Director Marc Dones (@marcformarc). “We cannot allow this to be the state of play.”.
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Great piece by @anitachabria @latimes on CA seniors being priced out. One difficult event - divorce, loved one dying, illness, or a cut in work hours can spark a downward spiral that blows up people's lives says @MKushel, PI of #CAHomelessnessStudy.
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San Diego’s #homeless hospital patients often end up back on the street despite a state mandate to prioritize post-discharge placements. The limited beds available are assigned by mid-morning, but hospital discharges happen all day. #healthequity.
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When viewed side-by-side, investing in evidence-based homeless services is far more effective than criminalization. A new analysis from @naehomelessness compares the two approaches. #JohnsonVGrantsPass.
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A woman woke from a coma to find she'd lost everything. An Army veteran rebuilds his life after 2 tours in Iraq. A truck driver lost housing after COVID-19 slowed work. People experiencing homelessness are doing the best they can.
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In the US, the number of #olderadults spending the last years of their lives on the streets or in shelters is growing rapidly. Our new report, “Toward Dignity,” examines #CASPEH data to provide a comprehensive view of what they're facing. 🧵 (1/4). Read:
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It's Myths & Misconceptions Monday:.Many think the face of homelessness is single, adult, & male. That may be the perception, but about 6% of ppl experiencing homelessness in the U.S. are unaccompanied youth (<25) & roughly 30% are ppl (adults & kids) in homeless families. (1/7)
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Clearing encampments increases:.⬆️ Trauma.⬆️ Hospitalizations.⬆️ Overdose mortality.⬆️ Disconnection from services, social networks & healthcare.Learn more about the health & safety impacts of involuntary displacement in @MKushel's recent JAMA editorial.
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For mental health and substance use treatments to be meaningful for those experiencing homelessness, they must be paired with subsidized housing, said @MKushel at Tuesday's CA State Assembly hearing. ➡️"To do one without the other will not be effective.".
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Mark your calendar!. Dr. @MKushel will share insights from three decades of homelessness research and patient care. March 21, 6:30 PM ET | @HarvardGSD, Gund Hall Piper Auditorium. #GSDEVENTS
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“If we are serious about ending homelessness, we must tackle the racist systems that inform and sustain public structures and inadvertently displace Black families.”. Dr. @karayoungponder breaks down how systemic racism puts Black households at a higher risk of homelessness.
How do we stop the homelessness crisis in our cities? The key is understanding and dismantling the racist systems that perpetuate it, @karayoungponder writes in The Emancipator.
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Here's a new opportunity for journalists/media professionals: @HousingNarrativ is hosting a webinar on 6/10 exploring how we collectively frame homelessness. BHHI Director @MKushel and Samuel Carlson of @ChiHomeless will be panelists. Register here:
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We're thrilled to welcome Usma Khan as our new Chief Program Officer! With deep commitment to diversity, equity & inclusion, Usma will oversee strategic planning, program development, communications, & the operational structure of BHHI. Get to know Usma:
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Increasing access to deeply affordable housing is critical to solving #homelessness in CA. #CAHomelessnessStudy recs:.1⃣Produce more deeply affordable housing.2⃣Expand rental subsidies.3⃣Make subsidies easier to use. Learn more at #affordablehousing
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“Something goes wrong & then everything else falls apart. Everything in their life gets worse when they lose their housing: their health, their mental health, their substance use," says @MKushel in this eye-opening article by @AidanGardiner @nytimes.
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Shoutout to our BHHI post-doctoral scholars @CaitlinCareyPhD, @GrahamPruss, @YuanYeqing, @DallasAugustine for bringing your passion and energy to our post-doc program. We appreciate you and all your work in elevating the voices of people experiencing homelessness! @UCSF_Postdocs
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Our brilliant Policy Manager @DrTianaMoore shared insights on Housing First, alongside a spectacular group of experts, this morning at #NAEH2023. Stay tuned: @karayoungponder will share what we learned from the #CAHomelessnessStudy, today at 4PM ET/1PM PT.
What a panel!! Norm Suchar (HUD), @Shawnsbert (VA), Erika Jones-Haskins (USICH), and @DrTianaMoore talking about what we’ve learned about Housing First implementation over the last decade. And still more awesome speakers to come at this precon. #NAEH2023
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"When people lose their housing, the last thing they’re really able to do is garner the resources to pick up and leave everything they knew behind,” @MKushel tells @sagevanwing for OPB. 🎧Learn more about #CAHomelessnessStudy findings: #homelessness
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Homelessness is a societal failure, not an individual one," - @jeffolivet. @SJSpotlight & @DSTNHome hosted a fantastic panel w/ @Meeksmoss @MKushel @jeffolivet & Dontae Lartigue (& moderator @jenloving23) about the drivers of & solutions to homelessness:
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We are thrilled to partner with @TheOpEdProject to help align the public narrative with the real challenges our homeless community members are facing. Meet the team: Get updates: #EndHomelessness #NewNarrative.
We are proud to launch the first #PublicVoices Fellowship on Homelessness in partnership with @ucsfbhhi. Congratulations to the 20 fellows that will help change the narrative about people experiencing homelessness in the US 🌟👏🏾. Meet the 2023 cohort here:
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BHHI Director Dr. @MKushel breaks down the data on homelessness in CA. "We all want to be living in communities where people are not living outdoors," says Dr. Kushel. Research shows us how to get there, and every effective path flows through housing. 🎧
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CA renters need to make $47.38 per hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. The average CA renter's wage is $30.93. This disconnect is fueling the homelessness crisis.
Fact of the Week: In 17 States, Renters Must Earn More Than $30 an Hour to Afford Two-Bedroom Apartment at Fair Market Rent #OOR24
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Hi all, BHHI policy manager @resnikoff here. The California Assembly's Select Committee on Social Housing is about to start its inaugural hearing and I'll be livetweeting it from this account.
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“It's really easy for many folks to think ‘This could never happen to me,’” @DrTianaMoore tells @ElyseeBarakett for @NBCLA. The #CAHomelessnessStudy shows that structural factors make it easier to fall into #homelessness than you might think.
“The folks that are experiencing homelessness are Californians, our neighbors”
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“This idea that homeless people are rushing into California is just not true,” @MKushel tells @ahartreports for @KFFHealthNews. 90% of people experiencing homelessness in CA lived here when they lost housing. #CAHomelessnessStudy.
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The lasting impact of any approach will be borne out in the metrics, says @MKushel. ➡️ Did they move people into shelter and then permanent housing? That’s our accountability. Moving people from one place to another place doesn’t meet our goal.
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"Forced displacements and criminalization move people from one place to another, increasing their trauma and exacerbating the barriers they face to housing, while doing nothing to solve the underlying problem.".#GrantsPass.
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Homelessness is particularly devastating for older adults who need support for routine tasks like bathing or getting in and out of bed. Many also struggle to keep their mobility aids (ie: walkers, wheelchairs) from being damaged or lost. Learn more:
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"It’s not because we don’t know how to house people. Rather, it’s because the scale of public investment in Housing First infrastructure doesn’t match up to the enormity of the problem."- @resnikoff writes about CA's homelessness crisis in our new blog.
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Homelessness among youth is significantly underreported due to inadequate data collection methods. Dr. @mlightfoot urges policy changes and improved strategies to ensure better resource allocation and support. #youthhomelessness.
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Gaining housing is associated w improved survival post lung/colorectal cancer diagnosis compared to cont'd #homelessness in US #veterans, per rsch by Drs. @hdecker731, @LaGrahamepi @ATitanMD, @MaryHawn, @hkanzaria, Elizabeth Wick & @MKushel. 🧵(1/2). Read:
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A must-read thread from @MKushel about why housing first works, and her conversation with @BigadShaban of @nbcbayarea about the evidence supporting this approach.
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Shoutout to BHHI Postdoc Scholars @YuanYeqing @DallasAugustine @JohannaAvelar @RyanDAssaf for being part of @UCSF_Postdocs & for bringing your energy & passion to our Education Program. Thank you for elevating the voices of people experiencing homelessness
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Homelessness is a housing crisis not a substance use crisis. That's why some places with high rates of substance use with lots of affordable housing have low rates of homelessness. These crisis are related but not the same, @MKushel tells @Noahbierman.
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📣 Tomorrow! 2/21 @ucsfbhhi Director @MKushel will speak about the evidence base for Housing First during @NLIHC @naehomelessness @CenterOnBudget's webinar "Housing First Promotes Health". Register here:
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📣NEW RESEARCH: @UCSF /BHHI researchers @Rogue_RN, @suenlw, Jill Barr-Walker, Isabel Arrellano Cuervo & @MAHandley examine managed alcohol program (MAPs) to reduce alcohol-related harms in ppl w/severe alcohol use disorder (AUD) and homelessness. Below are some takeaways:.
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A new @Harvard_JCHS report shows that housing was unaffordable for half of renters in 2022. 89% of #CAHomelessnessStudy participants said they cannot afford housing. It doesn't take much to push people into homelessness when rents are so out of reach.
Climbing rents in recent years propelled US cost burdens to staggering new heights: in 2022, half of all US renters were cost burdened. This all-time high of 22.4 million renter households spent more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities.
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Poor health & #homelessness are related. To address, we must focus on #housing, health system changes and #Medicaid reform. New overview by @CheyenneMGarcia, @KellyMDoran & @MKushel in Feb @Health_Affairs explains:.Paper: Briefing:
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Since 2010, veteran homelessness has dropped 55%. “I think it gives us a blueprint of exactly what we need to do,” Dr.@MKushel tells @TaraLaw27. We can decrease homelessness with the political will to assign the necessary resources. #homelessness #affordablehousing.
Why the major drop in veteran homelessness offers hope.
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1,493 unhoused people are estimated to have died on the streets of Los Angeles during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that's likely an undercount, according to a new report .
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“When people are struggling, when they are homeless, all their mental energy is on their safety, their security, finding a place. They really don’t have the headspace to address any other problem,” Dr. @MKushel tells @hoogiesnap. Listen to their full conversation ⬇️⬇️.
What is the evidence-based way to tackle homelessness?. Join me as I speak with @MKushel of @ucsfbhhi to talk about her inspirational work on homelessness. Listen in⬇️. Key takeaways to follow
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Homelessness may make it harder for people to access traditional pathways to cancer care. A new study shows unhoused patients have disproportionately higher ED visits & hospitalizations in the year of #cancer diagnosis than housed patients. Read more:
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First off, some shameless self-promotion: In this @nytopinion piece, I tried to synthesize everything I've learned about the homelessness crisis in California, its causes, and what we need to do in order to end it.
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In 2023, California had only 24 units of housing available and affordable for every 100 extremely low-income households. To solve homelessness, we must address this housing deficit - otherwise, folks have nowhere to go when they leave temporary housing.
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Nearly half of L.A. tenants owe back rent
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Join us on 2/21 for @NLIHC / @naehomelessness / @CenterOnBudget's webinar on Health and Housing First. Our director @MKushel will give an overview of the evidence base for Housing First. Link to register:
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"In D.C. last year, more than 70 people died while homeless. None of those individuals were held in a chokehold on a train. But make no mistake, they died because they were homeless." #endhomelessness.
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Want to learn more about collaborating with #LivedExpertise advisory boards?. Tune in Nov. 15 at 12PM to learn:.➡️How our team and board worked together for the #CAHomelessnessStudy.➡️Tips for establishing advisory boards for research projects. Register:
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“The problem of homelessness is that people don't have housing,” @MKushel tells @KQEDNews, “If you had all the treatment in the world and you didn't have the housing, we would still have this problem.”. #affordablehousing.
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“This is devastating, year after year, the numbers of Black Californians who are falling into homelessness,” says Dr. @karayoungponder. “It’s devastating to see these numbers rising.”. Learn why:
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