The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated that more than 181,399 people were experiencing homelessness in California in January 2023.[1]: 8 This represents more than 27% of the homeless population of the United States even though California has slightly less than 12% of the country's total population, and is one of the highest per capita rates in the nation, with 0.46% of residents being homeless.[1]: 10 More than two-thirds of homeless people in California are unsheltered (meaning they sleep on the streets, in encampments, or in their cars), which is the highest percentage of any state in the United States.[1]: 8 49% of the unsheltered homeless people in the United States live in California: about 123,423 people, which is eight times as many as the state with the second highest total.[1]: 10 Even those who are sheltered are so insecurely, with 90% of homeless adults in California reporting that they spent at least one night unsheltered in the past six months.[2]: 53
A 2022 study found that differences in per capita homelessness rates across the United States are not due to differing rates of mental illness, drug addiction, or poverty, but to differences in the cost of housing. West Coast cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego have homelessness rates five times as high as areas with much lower housing costs like Arkansas, West Virginia, and Detroit, even though the latter locations have high burdens of opioid addiction and poverty.[3][4][5][6] California has the second lowest number of housing units per capita, and an estimated shortage of one million homes affordable to the lowest income renters. Another 2022 study found that moderate decreases in rents would lead to significant declines in homelessness.[7] A 2023 study published by the University of California, San Francisco also found that the high cost of housing was the greatest obstacle to reducing homelessness.[8]
Scope of the issue
In 2007–23, California experienced higher increases in the number of people experiencing homelessness than any other state.[1]: 9 Between 2010 and 2020, the number of people experiencing homelessness in California increased by 31%, while nationwide the number fell by 18%.[9] Between 2020 and 2022, the number increased 6% in California, and less than half a percent in the rest of the country.[10][11] In 2021, 19% of Californians surveyed said they or someone close to them had been homeless at some point during the previous five years.[12] 36% of homeless people in California are categorized as "chronically homeless"[13]: 24 —which means that "they have a long-standing disability that significantly impedes their ability to live independently and have been unhoused for a consecutive year or on at least four occasions within a three-year period." The other 64% are categorized as "experiencing short-term homelessness"[14] though many of them may have been homeless for similarly long periods of time but do not have "a long-standing disability" of the sort that meets the "chronically homeless" definition.[2]: 24 80% of homeless people in California are adults not with children, and an estimated 40% of those are aged 50 and older. 14% are families with children. 7% are unaccompanied youth (where "youth" is defined as being under age 25).[14]
Health aspects
In 2019, homeless people were hospitalized in California 119,815 times and made 324,823 emergency department visits.[15]
In a survey of homeless adults in California, 45% rated their health as "poor or fair" and 60% reported having a chronic disease.[2]: 54
In March 2019 The Atlantic reported that outbreaks of what it called "Medieval diseases" such as tuberculosis and typhus were spreading in homeless shelters throughout California. These outbreaks have been described as a "public-health crisis" and a "disaster" by public health officials who are concerned they might spread into the general population.[16]
Street medicine is defined as "health and social services developed specifically to address the unique needs and circumstances of the unsheltered homeless, delivered directly to them in their own environment." Health services provided via street medicine include chronic condition diagnosis, disease management, and preventive medicine. As of 2021 there were at least 25 street medicine programs operating in California. The average program had 615 patients and conducted 2,352 patient visits, but most programs had fewer than 500 patients and conducted fewer than 500 visits.[17]
A representative survey of homeless adults in California found that 82% had experienced a mental health condition at some point, 66% were currently experiencing symptoms of mental illness, and 27% had been hospitalized for mental health reasons.[2]: 26, 59
65% of those surveyed said they had regularly used illegal drugs at some point in their lives, and 62% said they had at some point been heavy drinkers. 57% had been treated for substance use disorder at some point. 31% were current users of methamphetamines, 16% abused alcohol. 20% had required medical attention for an overdose.[2]: 27–28 24% saw their substance use as a problem. Of those who used drugs or alcohol regularly, 20% wanted treatment but were unable to obtain it.[2]: 62–63
Possible causes
Insufficient housing
In California housing costs are exceptionally high and the supply of affordable housing is low. California ranks second from the bottom among U.S. states in the number of housing units per capita.[18] As of 2021 California had only 24 homes that were considered affordable and available for each 100 of the lowest income renter households, putting the housing shortage in California for this category of renters at about one million homes.[19]
In the 2022 book Homelessness is a Housing Problem, the authors studied per capita homelessness rates across the country along with what possible factors might be influencing the rates. They found that high rates of homelessness are caused by shortages of affordable housing, not by mental illness, drug addiction, or poverty.[3][4][5][6] They found that mental illness, drug addiction, and poverty occur nationwide, but not all places have equally expensive housing costs.[4]: 1 For example, two states with high rates of opioid addiction—Arkansas and West Virginia—both have low per capita rates of homelessness, because of low housing prices.[4]: 1 [5]: 1 With respect to poverty, the city of Detroit is one of the poorest cities, yet Detroit's per capita homelessness rate is 20% that of West Coast cities like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego.[4]: 1 [5]: 1 The Sacramento Bee noted that large cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco attribute increases in the number of people experiencing homelessness to the housing shortage.[20]
A 2002 study found "that the incidence of homelessness [in California] varies inversely with housing vacancy rates and positively with the market rent for just-standard housing" and concluded that "moderate increases in housing vacancy rates and moderate decreases in market rents are sufficient to generate substantial declines in homelessness."[7]
Deinstitutionalization
A nationwide policy of deinstitutionalization (the closing of state mental hospitals which confined mentally ill people) between the 1960s and 1980s, ostensibly in favor of smaller community-based psychiatric inpatient units, was not accompanied by a compensatory increase in such community-based units. This was also the case in California, and as a result there are fewer adult psychiatric residential, acute, and sub-acute slots available than would be necessary to meet the need.[18]
Deinstitutionalization coincided with the swelling of the U.S. prison system, and many people who previously would have been confined and/or treated in state mental hospitals became imprisoned in jails and state prisons instead.[21][7] In 2012 there were about ten seriously mentally ill people incarcerated in the United States for each such person hospitalized.[22] More than three-quarters of homeless California adults surveyed reported having been jailed or imprisoned at some point.[2]: 26
Recent California reforms meant to relax this mass incarceration have had the effect of releasing many mentally ill prisoners, whose mental illnesses, compounded by the trauma of incarceration, and combined with the stigma of being an ex-con, can make it especially difficult for them to find housing.[18] A survey of homeless adults in California found that 19% had transitioned into homelessness directly from an institutional setting such as a jail or prison, and most reported having received no sort of transitional services to prevent this.[2]: 35
Climate
The climate in California is relatively mild compared to many other regions of the United States. Especially because housing is very expensive in California, people with limited resources may rationally prioritize spending on things other than housing even if this threatens to lead to homelessness, in a way that would be less-rational in a place where homelessness means exposure to a more dire environment. Some evidence for this is that even within California, rates of homelessness are lower in regions that experience colder winter temperatures.[7]
It does not appear to be the case that large numbers of homeless people migrate to California from elsewhere. A representative survey of homeless adults in California found that 90% had been living in California at the time they became homeless (and 75% were currently living in the same county in which they had last had housing).[2]: 23
Youth
According to the Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress for 2020, 36% of homeless youth (defined as people under the age of 25) in the United States live in California.[23] As of January 2022, 7% of those who are homeless in California are considered to be unaccompanied youth (people under the age of 25 not accompanied by parents or guardians).[14] More than 220,000 public school (K–12) students in California experienced homelessness in 2020–21.[24]
Many homeless youth are considered to be "throwaway youth", e.g. adolescents that were forced out of their homes and onto the streets. There may be multiple reasons for this, such as parents unaccepting of gender identity or sexual orientation, pregnancy, abuse, etc. Other homeless youth may be “runaway youth” who flee their homes and live on the streets. Abuse, neglect, conflict, or poverty are among the reasons they run away.[25]
The issue of youth homelessness is recognized by the federal government and in the 2016 fiscal year (FY) the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) created and began funding the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) to prevent, reduce, and end youth homelessness by developing and implementing targeted funding and resources through a community approach.[26] For FY 2022, the HUD awarded $60 million to target youth homelessness in 16 specific communities, including California's Riverside County, which received a $7,487,462 grant.[26] A press release by the HUD said this funding is to "support a wide range of housing programs, including rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, and host homes."[27]
Women and LGBTQ+
A 2023 study called The California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH), conducted and published by a research team at the University of California, San Francisco, explored the current state of homelessness in California, providing insights into the current realities of those experiencing homelessness, including women and people in the LGBTQ+ community.[28]
The study showed that the majority of the homeless population consists of cisgender men (69%) while women make up 30% and those identified as non-binary or trans are 1%.[28] As for sexuality, about "9% of participants identified as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, queer, or another non-heterosexual sexual identity".[28]
Additionally, the study found that women and trans and gender-non-conforming people were more prone to experiencing physical and especially sexual violence than cisgendered men were. Physical violence is a common experience for all groups: 70% of cisgendered men experience it, 75% of cisgender women, and 87% of transgender/ non-binary people.[28] Sexual violence was "more common among cisgender women (43%) and trans/non-binary (74%) participants rather than cisgender men (17%)."[28]
State-level political action
In 2016, California adopted the Housing First model to govern all of its state programs that provide shelter to people experiencing homelessness. The chronic housing shortage in California made such a model difficult to implement in practice.[18]
The California State Auditor reported in 2021 that "[a]t least nine state agencies administer and oversee 41 different programs that provide funding to mitigate homelessness, yet no single entity oversees the State’s efforts or is responsible for developing a statewide strategic plan."[29]
In November 2022, Governor Newsom briefly threatened to withhold homelessness-related state financial support from the state's counties in response to what he called "simply unacceptable" homelessness reduction plans that the counties had submitted. Those plans, if successful, would have reduced homelessness by a mere 2% over four years.[30] Newsom relented two weeks later, releasing the funds on the condition that the counties submit more ambitious plans for the next set of grants.[31]
In February 2023, California's Interagency Council on Homelessness reported that the state had spent $9.6 billion on alleviating homelessness between 2018 and 2021, and had provided related services to 571,000 people during that time. However, most of those served did not end up housed, and the number of homeless people in the state increased during that period.[32]
On September 22, 2023, Governor Newsom announced $20 million in grants to 22 Native American tribes in California. The goal was to address housing insecurity and to prevent homelessness in Native American communities.[33]
Homeless Data Integration System
In 1993 the U.S. government created the "Continuum of Care" (CoC) system, which divides states into regions containing organizations like homeless services providers and local governments, for the purpose of Housing and Urban Development department funding. There are 44 such CoCs in California.[34]
In an attempt to improve policymaker legibility, California adopted the Homeless Data Integration System (HDIS) in April 2021. It coordinates and consolidates data collected by the state CoCs. HDIS is administered by the California Interagency Council on Homelessness.[35]
Housing roadblock reforms
California Senate Bill 35 (2017) and Senate Bill 9 (2021)—which both became law—aimed to reduce bureaucratic and local government roadblocks to building housing. SB35 made it easier to get multifamily housing developments approved, while SB9 allowed many homeowners to build granny units on their property or to subdivide their property into an additional lot on which a house could be built.[18]
Local NIMBY sentiment, in part from homeowners who benefit from the rising prices associated with restricted housing supply, has led to single-family zoning and other restrictions on residential development.[18] In 2021 new California laws limited the ability of local governments to prevent the building of housing with regulations like these,[36] and in 2023 the state government became more assertive about rejecting local housing & zoning plans that it viewed as being unreasonably restrictive—in some cases this meant that proposed developments would be approved by default without the explicit approval of local authorities.[37]
Tiny house villages
In 2023, California announced plans to spend $30 million to build 1,200 tiny houses in parts of the state as alternatives to homeless encampments.[38] Such tiny houses can be built for about $73,000, which is a fraction of the cost of building permanent housing in the state.[18]
Hospital discharge plans
In 2019, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1152, mandating that hospitals have a discharge plan for homeless patients before discharging them and that they ensure such patients have food, shelter, medicine, and clothes for their posthospital care.[39] While many homeless people are eligible for free health insurance from Medi-Cal, it can be arduous for homeless people to apply, causing many homeless people to not have health insurance.[40]
Projects Roomkey and Homekey
Project Roomkey is a homeless relief program designed to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus among homeless people. It began in March 2020, with funding largely coming from FEMA. The program was slated to end in late 2020, but continued with state and local funding. The program housed homeless people in vacant motel or hotel rooms, particularly people aged 65 or older or who had an underlying medical condition. [41]
Project Homekey is a continuation of Project Roomkey that focuses on the creation of low-cost housing by repurposing hotels, motels, vacant apartments, and other buildings. Phase one received $600 million in funding from the United States federal government's Coronavirus Aid Relief Fund (CARES Act) and California's general fund, and ended in December 2020.[42] Under this program, local governments purchased 94 hotels and motels and converted them into some 6,000 permanent housing units.[43]
In 2021, the state authorized $12 billion in spending on homelessness, including $150 million to continue Project Roomkey and $5.8 billion to build new housing units for phase two of Project Homekey.[44]
Forced mental-health and addiction treatment
Former state Assemblyman Mike Gatto proposed in a 2018 opinion piece that a new form of detention be created as a method to force drug-addicted and mentally ill homeless people (who he claims make up two-thirds of California's homeless population) off the streets and into treatment, as well as to lengthen the jail terms for misdemeanors.[45]
A law enacted in September 2022 with broad bipartisan support established county-level "CARE courts",[46] which can order some people with untreated schizophrenia or psychosis into housing and treatment programs. It includes sanctions for counties that do not comply with the program by December 2024; some counties are to begin implementing the program in Fall 2023.[47][48] Under the provisions of the bill, families, clinicians, first-responders, and behavior control specialists may petition the CARE Court, and after a clinical assessment that the person who is the subject of the petition is severely endangered or a threat to others as a result of untreated schizophrenia or psychosis, a judge would be authorized to mandate up to 24 months of court-ordered medication, substance abuse treatment, and housing. A bipartisan group of mayors gave tentative support.[49] The group Disability Rights California has sued in an attempt to stop the implementation of the law.[48]
Another bill, 2023's SB43, makes it easier for the government to involuntarily confine and treat a person with a mental illness (which for the purposes of this law includes someone with a substance use disorder) who is "unable to provide for their personal safety or necessary medical care."[50] The bill was signed into law in October 2023. The new law undoes some of the reforms of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, a law dating to the governorship of Ronald Reagan in 1967, which restricted the government's ability to involuntarily confine and treat people with mental illnesses.[51]
Mental health housing and residential services
A ballot initiative is anticipated in California in 2024 under the provisions of which the state would issue bonds to pay for new residential behavioral health facilities as well as housing and residential services for people with mental illness and substance abuse disorders.[52]
Housing assistance via Medi-Cal
In 2022 California launched the CalAIM program under which a small number of particularly vulnerable patients can use their health insurance plans to help them find affordable housing, pay rental deposits, prevent evictions, or address health hazards in the home. A pilot program conducted in Alameda County in 2016–21 assisted 30,000 patients. Of those who were homeless, 36% ended up in permanent housing.[53]
California asked the federal government for permission to also issue short-term rent subsidies through Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid, to patients who are homeless or who are vulnerable to losing their homes.[54]
Criminalization of homelessness
To various extents, California local governments have experimented with criminalizing homelessness. This is accomplished with laws that, for example, make it a criminal offense to sleep out of doors or in a vehicle in some jurisdiction.[55]
The 2018 Appeals Court ruling Martin v. Boise restricted governments' abilities to enforce anti-vagrancy laws of this nature. The court held that cities cannot criminalize sleeping outdoors on public property if there are not enough shelter beds available for homeless people, as this would be a violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution.[56]
[T]he Eighth Amendment prohibits the imposition of criminal penalties for sitting, sleeping, or lying outside on public property for homeless individuals who cannot obtain shelter.... That is, as long as there is no option of sleeping indoors, the government cannot criminalize indigent, homeless people for sleeping outdoors, on public property, on the false premise they had a choice in the matter.
— Martin v. Boise
That court reaffirmed this in its 2022–23 Johnson v. Grants Pass ruling, which invalidated the use of “anti-sleeping”, “anti-camping”, and “park exclusion” ordinances to criminalize homelessness:
...the City of Grants Pass cannot, consistent with the Eighth Amendment, enforce its anti-camping ordinances against homeless persons for the mere act of sleeping outside with rudimentary protection from the elements, or for sleeping in their car at night, when there is no other place in the City for them to go.
— Opinion, Johnson v. Grants Pass
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to the Johnson v. Grants Pass ruling in 2024.[57]
Public bathrooms
Existing law in California requires that establishments run by public agencies must have bathroom facilities available for the public, provided without any cost or charge.[58] However, the Right to Restrooms Act of 2021 introduced by Calif. Assemblymember Quirk-Silva would have required that local governments take inventory of existing public restroom facilities and provide a report to the State Department of Public Health so that public databases with information on the availability, location, etc. of these facilities could be created and accessed by the public.[59] This bill mentioned creating internet databases and a dissemination of this information in "user-friendly" formats particularly so that it was "available to agencies and service providers that work directly with homeless populations within the local government’s jurisdiction."[59] This bill died in committee for the 2021–2022 legislature session but was reintroduced by Quirk-Silva under the same name for the 23–24 session and is currently being reviewed in committee.[60]
Comparisons to and lessons from Texas
From 2012 to 2022, California's state-wide homeless population increased by 43%, while Texas's decreased by 28%.[61]: 1 For select cities and localities, the divergence was even greater, with Sacramento County's homelessness increasing by 230% over the same period, Los Angeles County's increasing by 106%, while Houston's decreased by 57%.[61]
Politicians and policy makers from California visited Texas cities and homeless organizations to try and learn how Texas's solutions have succeeded and how those lessons can be applied in California.[61]: 1 Experts say that the largest reason that California has a per-capita homelessness rate of five times that of Texas is because housing is much more expensive in California; with the median one-bedroom unit in California renting for $2,200 per month, while in Texas it is $1,200.[61]: 1 Housing costs are higher because California has much stricter land-use regulation and zoning laws (Houston, for example, has no zoning) making it much harder to build housing: in 2022, Texas issued more than twice as many housing permits as California, even though California has nine million more people.[61]
Texas spends almost all of its homeless dollars on permanent housing, while California splits its funding between temporary shelters and permanent housing. Texas agencies coordinate and work together, whereas in California they do not, as exemplified by Los Angeles County, where four separate government agencies all compete for the same state dollars.[61]
Counties
Los Angeles
As of February 2022 more than 40% of people experiencing homelessness in California lived in Los Angeles County.[14] The homeless population of L.A. County increased by 65% between 2020 and 2022.[10][11]
In June 2023, L.A. County officials reported that according to a point-in-time survey, over 75,500 people were homeless in the county, which was up from 69,000 the previous year, and 70% higher than 2015.[62] The number who were unsheltered rose at an even higher rate, to 55,000 (the number of sheltered homeless people in L.A. County declined slightly).[62] The number who were "chronically homeless" (homeless for more than a year with a disabling condition) had increased to 32,000 people.[62] 31% of homeless residents of L.A. County were Black, 43% Latino, 2% Asian.[62] 25% reported experiencing severe mental illness, and 30% reported having a substance use disorder.[62]
A 2013 census noted that 18.2% had a physical disability; 68.2% of homeless people were male, and 57.6% were between 25 and 54 years old.[63]
The Board of Supervisors of L.A. County wrote to the State Legislature asking that California "pass a resolution urging the Governor to declare a state of emergency with respect to homelessness"[64] in June 2016. In 2019, California governor Gavin Newsom fulfilled this request.[65] L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas in an opinion piece said that homelessness had reached emergency levels in L.A. County, with over 900 people dying on the streets in 2018, and over a thousand projected to die in 2019. Exposure to the elements cuts the lifespan of those who survive on the streets by 20 years. He attributed the crisis to rising rents, lack of affordable housing, and stagnant wages.[66]
There are an estimated 4,021 homeless young-adults between the ages of 18 and 24 on any given night in L.A. County as of 2019, a 22% increase over 2018, per the Greater Los Angeles Youth Homeless Count.[67] The count defines youth as people 24 years old and younger.[68]
Los Angeles spent $619 million on 36,000 homeless people in 2019, approximately $17,194 per person; however, the number of people who are homeless continues to grow.[69] Peter Lynn, head of the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority (LAHSA) who saw homelessness rise 33% during his five years in spite of $780 million in additional funding, resigned his job at the end of 2019.[70]
In 2018, a count of homeless in Los Angeles County, found 565 homeless Native Americans; it is believed that this count is below the actual amount of homeless Native Americans.[71] In 2019, a count of homeless found 1,692 Native Americans who were unsheltered in Los Angeles County; the majority of those Native Americans counted identified as men, and had a higher rate of identification as LGBT compared to the total unsheltered population.[72] In 2020, of the 66,436 homeless counted in Los Angeles County, 1.1% identified as American-Indian/Alaskan Native.[73]
City of Los Angeles
According to a 2019 Los Angeles Times poll, 95% of voters called homelessness a serious or very serious problem in the city, more than for any other issue.[74] L.A. County officials reported that in 2019 there were over 39,000 homeless people in the city.[75] More homeless people die from hypothermia in Los Angeles (average winter low temperature: 49 °F (9 °C)) than in New York City (average winter low temperature: 26 °F (−3 °C)).[76]
In November 2022, voters approved Measure ULA, a tax on high-price real estate sales with the proceeds designated to fund affordable housing and homelessness services. The tax went into effect on 1 April 2023.[77]
In December, 2022, new mayor Karen Bass declared a "state of emergency" and issued an executive order aimed at removing hurdles to developing affordable housing and shelters for homeless people. The order instructs city agencies to process the bureaucratic paperwork associated with such projects within sixty days, rather than the six to nine months the agencies are accustomed to, and reduces the number of regulatory veto points for such projects.[78]
In 2016, voters approved a $1.2 billion bond measure designed to create permanent supportive housing. A report from the L.A. Controller's office criticized the implementation of the measure: five years after it passed, only 14% of the housing had been completed, and the average per-unit cost was about $600,000.[18]
The Los Angeles Police Department has issued citations and fines against people living in public areas as part of the Safer Cities Initiative that began in September 2006.[79] This Central Police division's initiative entailed assigning fifty full-time officers to clearing out "homeless encampments" in different parts of downtown. Once they cleared an area, they would stay for seven days before moving on to another area.[79] In 2015, the city was spending roughly $100 million a year on homelessness with approximately half of this funding going to policing the homeless population.[80] Proposition HHH was approved by voters 77% to 23% in 2016. This was a $1.2 billion bond measure to build permanent supportive housing for homeless people and people at risk of becoming homeless.[81][82][83][84][85] Rising rent and relatively few laws protecting tenants from predatory landlords are significant drivers of surging homelessness in Los Angeles.[86][87]
City of Santa Monica
Santa Monica experienced a 19% decrease in the number of homeless people downtown, with a 3% increase in overall homelessness in 2019. Positive results are credited to outreach and engagement strategies and to prioritizing homelessness.[88][69] Rising homeless numbers are attributed to the Los Angeles housing crisis.[89] Santa Monica has approximately 400 emergency shelter beds across 330 permanent supportive housing (PSH) units, and provides an access center for showering, mail, and medical assistance.[89]
Orange County
The 2019 Orange County Point in Time count documented 6,860 homeless people. Per the count, 2,899 of them had found some type of shelter, while 3,961 had no shelter. The Point in Time count is a federally required biennial census of homeless people to collect demographic data and other information and to determine how much federal funding Orange County will receive to address homelessness issues.[90]
A 2017 census in Orange County, California recorded 4,792 homeless people.[91] 193 homeless people died in 2017, with drug overdoses and suicides being the leading causes of death.[92]
San Diego
A 2023 count showed 10,203 homeless people throughout San Diego County according to the volunteer organization WeAllCount which conducts an annual Point-in-Time count, a 14% increase from 2022.[93] Veterans make up a significant portion of this population, with 814 homeless veterans. This was a 17% increase from the 2022 count.[94]
A Hepatitis A outbreak in November 2017 resulted in a declaration of a health emergency, which affected the homeless population due to inadequate sanitation.[95] In response to the health crisis, San Diego opened three emergency shelters which are expected to cost $12.9 million per year to operate.[96] The city approved a 500-bin storage center for homeless people to store their belongings.[97] San Diego has a history of insufficient healthcare provided to the homeless population, with a majority of homeless people in 1989 lacking any regular access to healthcare.[98]
The city of San Diego's homeless population has fallen in recent years, but is the 6th largest in the United States with 4,801 people homeless in 2022.[99] The large count of homeless people is juxtaposed with the existence of over 30,000 vacant housing units.[100] San Diego has taken action to alleviate the homeless population living on the streets by encouraging housing within vehicles. In February 2019, San Diego repealed a long-standing law which made living within vehicles illegal.[101] This came two years after the construction of a parking lot designed to provide safe residence for people who live in their cars, complete with restroom and shower facilities.[102] The City of San Diego currently has 2,040 emergency and bridge shelters for homeless people, providing temporary housing options.[103] The City of San Diego adopted a "Housing First" program in 2018, which plans to spend $79.7 million for programs assisting homeless people[104] including temporary housing development, permanent housing development, rent assistance, and incentives for landlords to rent to homeless people.
During a criminal trial in 1990, San Diego police officers and supervisors testified that they routinely "cleared" downtown streets of "transients" by rounding them up before dawn and moving them to other jurisdictions such as National City or other unincorporated areas in the county.[105]
In June 2023, the city of San Diego passed a ban on public camping. Enforcement of the new ordinance went into effect in late July.[106] The ordinance creates a new "3 strike" system in which a person is first informed about the new law and given information for other services, then issued a misdemeanor on their second offence, and on their third offence can be arrested.[107] While enforcement of the policy is contingent on availability of shelter space, police may issue citations to those encamped close to schools, existing shelters, along train and trolley lines, and in public spaces in which encampment may create a public health risk at any time regardless of shelter space.[107] To address the lack of shelter beds, the city is creating two "safe sleeping" lots at Balboa Park's B street lot and parking lot O.[108] The 136 tent and 400 tent sites can house people per-tent and, at full capacity, can accommodate between 516 and 1032 people. The sites provide their own tents as well as bathrooms, showers, meals, assistance to additional housing services, and 24-hour security.[109] Residence may also bring domestic pets such as cats and dogs.
Sacramento
In August 2019, the city of Sacramento filed a lawsuit against seven transients accused of theft, drugs, assaults, and having weapons. The lawsuit seeks to exclude them from the business corridor around Land Park and Curtis Park.[110]
San Francisco
The city of San Francisco, California has a significant and visible homelessness problem. Approximately 61% of the homeless population were already living and working in San Francisco when they became homeless, indicating that a majority of people experiencing homelessness did not come to the city for its resources but rather are being priced out of their homes.[111] The city's homeless population has been estimated at 7,000–10,000 people, of which approximately 3,000–5,000 refuse shelter due to the conditions within the shelters— including violence, racism, and homophobia and transphobia. There are only 1,339 available shelter beds for the approximately 10,000 people sleeping outdoors.[112] The city spends $200 million a year on homelessness-related programs.[113] On May 3, 2004, San Francisco officially began an attempt to scale back the scope of its homelessness problem by changing its strategy from cash payments to the "Care Not Cash" plan, which however has had no visible impact on reducing homelessness in the city. In 2010, a city ordinance was passed to disallow sitting and lying down on public sidewalks for most of the day.
An October 2018 report by Leilani Farha, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, said that "cruel and inhuman" conditions for homeless people in the Bay Area violate human rights, which include being denied "access to water, sanitation and health services, and other basic necessities." Farha's fact finding mission found conditions in homeless encampments rivaling the most impoverished neighborhoods in Mumbai, Delhi, and Mexico City. She urged the Bay Area to provide more affordable housing.[114]
A proposition on the Nov 2018 elections ballot (Proposition C), would apply a tax to the gross receipts of San Francisco's largest companies. The revenue from the tax would add up to $300 million a year to the city's homelessness budget (double what it is right now). It would also fund shelters, mental health services, addiction treatment, and prevention to keep people from becoming homeless.[115] It passed with 61% of the vote and was upheld as valid by the state Supreme Court.[116]
The City of San Francisco has a program called Homeward Bound, first started when Gavin Newsom was mayor.[117][118] Between 2005 and 2017, the city of San Francisco sent 10,500 homeless people out of town by bus.[119] A 2019 article in The New York Times reported that many bus ticket recipients were missing, unreachable, in jail, or homeless within a month after leaving San Francisco, and one out of eight returned to the city within a year.[117]
Santa Barbara
The rising cost of rent and property prices forced hundreds of middle-class people, including teachers, chefs, and nurses, to live out of their cars in parking lots. In 2017 a count showed 1,489 homeless people.[120] There were 44 deaths in Santa Barbara County in 2016.[121]
Ventura
A preliminary 2018 count released by the Ventura County Continuum of Care Alliance board indicated that the county's population of homeless men, women, and children was 1,299.[122] It was also reported that there was an increase of 24% for the unsheltered population.[123] Overall, in 2017, the City of Ventura experienced a double-digit increase in its homeless population from 2016[124] and 63 deaths.[125] Ventura residents have placed pressure on city leaders to do more about the growing homelessness problem.[126]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "The 2023 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress" (PDF). United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. December 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kushel, Margot; Moore, Tiana (June 2023), "Toward a New Understanding: The California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness" (PDF), UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative
- 1 2 Colburn, Gregg; Aldern, Clayton Page (2022). Homelessness is a housing problem: how structural factors explain U.S. patterns. Oakland, California. ISBN 978-0-520-38376-0. OCLC 1267404765.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - 1 2 3 4 5 Warth, Gary (2022-07-11). "Cause of homelessness? It's not drugs or mental illness, researchers say". Los Angeles Times.
In their University of California Press book "Homelessness is a Housing Problem," authors Clayton Page Aldern and Gregg Colburn looked at various contributing issues of homelessness, including mental illness and addiction, and the per capita rate of homelessness around the country. By looking at the rate of homeless per 1,000 people, they found communities with the highest housing costs had some of the highest rates of homelessness, something that might be overlooked when looking at just the overall raw number of homeless people.
- 1 2 3 4 Greenstone, Scott (2022-03-22). "Is homelessness a housing problem? Two Seattle experts make their case in new book". The Seattle Times.
But when Colburn compared cities with high and low numbers of homelessness based on poverty, drug use and mental health treatment factors, there was a clear answer that housing plays an outsize role in homelessness — and most academics have agreed on it for a while. It just hasn't been embraced by the general public yet.
- 1 2 Demsas, Jerusalem (2022-12-12). "The Obvious Answer to Homelessness - And why everyone's ignoring it". The Atlantic.
In their book, Homelessness Is a Housing Problem, the University of Washington professor Gregg Colburn and the data scientist Clayton Page Aldern demonstrate that "the homelessness crisis in coastal cities cannot be explained by disproportionate levels of drug use, mental illness, or poverty." Rather, the most relevant factors in the homelessness crisis are rent prices and vacancy rates. Colburn and Aldern note that some urban areas with very high rates of poverty (Detroit, Miami-Dade County, Philadelphia) have among the lowest homelessness rates in the country, and some places with relatively low poverty rates (Santa Clara County, San Francisco, Boston) have relatively high rates of homelessness. The same pattern holds for unemployment rates: "Homelessness is abundant," the authors write, "only in areas with robust labor markets and low rates of unemployment—booming coastal cities."
- 1 2 3 4 Quigley, John M.; Raphael, Stephen; Smolensky, Eugene (3 April 2002). "Homeless in America, Homeless in California" (PDF). U.C. Berkeley Working Papers.
- ↑ Levin, Sam (June 20, 2023). "Who's unhoused in California? Largest study in decades upends myths". The Guardian. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ↑ "CoC Homeless Populations and Subpopulations Reports". HUD Exchange.
- 1 2 Paluch, Jennifer; Herrera, Joseph (21 February 2023). "Homeless Populations Are Rising around California". PPIC.
- 1 2 "The 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress" (PDF). United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. December 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
- ↑ "The 2022 CHCF California Health Policy Survey". 27 January 2022.
- ↑ Kushel, Margot; Moore, Tiana (June 2023), "Toward a New Understanding: The California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness" (PDF), UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative
- 1 2 3 4 Davalos, Monica; Kimberlin, Sara (March 2023), Who is Experiencing Homelessness in California, California Budget & Policy Center
- ↑ "People Experiencing Homelessness in California" (PDF). California Health Care Almanac. June 2022.
- ↑ Gorman, Anna (March 8, 2019). "Medieval Diseases Are Infecting California's Homeless". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ↑ Feldman, Brett J.; et al. (March 2023). "The California Street Medicine Landscape Survey and Report". California Health Care Foundation.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Streeter, Jialu L. (May 2022). "Homelessness in California: Causes and policy considerations". Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Policy Brief.
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- ↑ Hart, Angela (August 21, 2017). "How California's housing crisis happened". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
California is home to 12 percent of the U.S. population, but 22 percent of its homeless people. Cities that have seen dramatic rent increases, such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, attribute their spikes in homelessness directly to a state housing shortage that has led to an unprecedented affordability crisis.
- ↑ Clark, Meredith (8 April 2014). "Prisons are the 'new asylums' of the US: Report". MSNBC.
- ↑ The Treatment of Persons with Mental Illness in Prisons and Jails: A State Survey (PDF), Treatment Advocacy Center, 8 April 2014
- ↑ The 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress (PDF), The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Office of Community Planning and Development, 2021
- ↑ Kaplan, Jonathan (October 2022), More Support Needed For California K-12 Students Experiencing Homelessness, California Budget & Policy Center
- ↑ "Homeless Youth". California Coalition for Youth. 2017-12-15.
- 1 2 "Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program". HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Retrieved 2023-11-12.
- ↑ "HUD Awards $60 Million to Address Youth Homelessness in 16 Communities". HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 2023-09-20. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness | Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative". homelessness.ucsf.edu. 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
- ↑ "The State's Uncoordinated Approach to Addressing Homelessness Has Hampered the Effectiveness of Its Efforts (cover letter)".
- ↑ White, Jeremy B. (3 November 2022). "Newsom rejects every California city's homelessness plan in stinging rebuke". Politico.
- ↑ Tobias, Manuela (21 November 2022). "About-face: Why Newsom relented, released $1 billion despite lackluster local homeless plans". Cal Matters.
- ↑ Christopher, Ben (16 February 2023). "California homelessness: Where are the state's billions going? Here's the new, best answer". Cal Matters.
- ↑ "$20 Million for Tribal Homelessness and Housing Projects". California Governor. 2023-09-22. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ↑ "The State's Uncoordinated Approach to Addressing Homelessness Has Hampered the Effectiveness of Its Efforts (summary)".
- ↑ "Acting to Prevent, Reduce and End Homelessness". State of California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency.
- ↑ Thompson, Don (17 September 2021). "California enacts 2 laws to slice through local zoning rules". AP News.
- ↑ Christopher, Ben (3 February 2023). "California housing politics enters uncharted waters". Cal Matters.
- ↑ Beam, Adam (16 March 2023). "Newsom pledges 1,200 tiny homes for California's homeless". AP News.
- ↑ "Bill Text - SB-1152 Hospital patient discharge process: Homeless patients".
- ↑ Hayden, Nicole. "The homeless often don't receive health care in California despite qualifying for free insurance". The Desert Sun.
- ↑ "Project Roomkey". www.cdss.ca.gov. California Department of Social Services.
- ↑ "California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)". www.hcd.ca.gov.
- ↑ Levin, Matt; Botts, Jackie; Tobias, Manuela (2 May 2022). "California's homelessness crisis — and possible solutions — explained". Calmatters.
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- ↑ Gatto, Mike (June 14, 2018). "Opinion: Why building more shelters won't solve homelessness". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
Two solutions would work. We need a new type of detention within the justice system – one dedicated to drug treatment and mental health. And we need to lengthen jail terms for misdemeanors. That may sound odd, but it's rational. A misdemeanor is a crime for which someone spends 364 days or less in jail. But in big counties, if a person is convicted for a misdemeanor, that person may spend less than a day in jail. This is too short to conduct any meaningful assessment or intervention.
- ↑ "CARE Court". California Health and Human Services. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
- ↑ "Opposition mounts against Newsom's plan for court-ordered treatment of homeless people". news.yahoo.com. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
- 1 2 Dembosky, April; Templeton, Amelia; Feibel, Carrie (31 March 2023). "When homelessness and mental illness overlap, is forced treatment compassionate?". npr.
- ↑ "What we know about Newsom's plan to compel care for homeless, mentally ill Californians". Los Angeles Times. 2022-03-05. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
- ↑ "Senate Bill No. 43". California Legislative Information.
- ↑ Wiener, Jocelyn (2023-10-10). "Gavin Newsom signs law in 'overhaul' of mental health system. It changes decades of practice".
- ↑ Angst, Maggie (19 March 2023). "Newsom wants voters to OK his new plan to get mentally ill homeless people off the streets". The Sacramento Bee.
- ↑ Kendall, Marisa (23 May 2022). "Health Insurance Can Now Help Some Californians Find Housing". Mercury News.
- ↑ Hart, Angela (22 March 2023). "Prescription for Housing? California Wants Medicaid to Cover 6 Months of Rent". Kaiser Health News.
- ↑ Rankin, Sara K. (April 2021). "Hiding Homelessness: The Transcarceration of Homelessness". California Law Review.
- Marcus, Josh (30 July 2021). "Los Angeles criminalizes being homeless in almost every area of city with new ordinance". Independent.
- ↑ Greenstone, Scott (6 September 2019). "How a federal court ruling on Boise's homeless camping ban has rippled across the West". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- Smith, Erika (2019-12-16). "Supreme Court decision on homeless case is a blow to cities wanting more policing powers". Los Angeles Times.
The high court declined to hear a landmark case on homelessness, letting stand a ruling that amounts to a broad curb on police powers in nine Western states, including California, to stop people from sleeping on public property if no other shelter is available.
- Smith, Erika (2019-12-16). "Supreme Court decision on homeless case is a blow to cities wanting more policing powers". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ Kuang, Jeanne (12 January 2024). "Supreme Court will hear case about homeless encampments, with huge implications for California". Cal Matters.
- ↑ "CA Health & Safety Code Section 118500".
- 1 2 "Bill Text - AB-1017 Public restrooms: Right to Restrooms Act of 2021". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ↑ "Bill Status - AB-1297 Public restrooms". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kendall, Marisa (2023-06-28). "How Texas shrank its homelessness population — and what it can teach California". CalMatters.org.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Vives, Ruben; Smith, Doug (June 29, 2023). "Homelessness grows 10% in the city of Los Angeles". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ Arnold, Michael (June 2013). "2013 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count: Overall Results for the Los Angeles Continuum of Care [Slides]" (PDF). Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
- ↑ Howle, Elaine (April 2018). "Homelessness in California State Government and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Need to Strengthen Their Efforts to Address Homelessness" (PDF). California State Auditor. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ↑ City News Service (March 20, 2019). "LA County Looks to Expand Welfare Payments to Residents Living in Cars". NBC Southern California. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
- ↑ Ridley-Thomas, Mark (September 18, 2019). "Homelessness is reaching an emergency level in Los Angeles". CNN. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ↑ Santana, Rosa (2020-01-07). "LA County to Launch the 2020 Greater Los Angeles Youth Homeless Count". Supervisor Hilda L Solis. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
- ↑ "LA County's homeless youth are harder to find, but each year volunteers seek to count them". Daily News. 2019-02-02. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
- 1 2 "California's homeless crisis is not performance art: John Phillips". Daily News. 2019-11-29. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
- ↑ "Top Los Angeles homeless official steps down as crisis deepens". Reuters. 2019-12-02. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
- ↑ Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission (March 2019). "Understanding Native American Homelessness in Los Angeles County" (PDF). Native American Commission. Los Angeles County. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
- ↑ Creighton, Molly; Schoen, Elly (20 January 2020). "American Indian and Alaska Native Homelessness" (PDF). Homeless Policy Research Institute. University of Southern California. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
- ↑ "Greater Los Angeles Homeless County 2020". 2020 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count Presentation. Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
"Lost Angeles: Understanding LA's out-of-control homeless issue". KTTV. Los Angeles. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2023. - ↑ "95% of voters say homelessness is L.A.'s biggest problem, Times poll finds. 'You can't escape it'". Los Angeles Times. 2019-11-14. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ↑ Oreskes, Benjamin; Smith, Doug (June 4, 2019). "Homelessness jumps 12% in L.A. County and 16% in the city; officials 'stunned'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- ↑ Holland, Gale (17 February 2019). "L.A. has great weather, yet more homeless die of the cold here than in New York".
- ↑ "City Begins Taxing on the Sales of Mansions Exceeding $5 Million". my news LA. 1 April 2023.
- ↑ Smith, Doug; Smith, Dakota (16 December 2022). "Bass issues sweeping directive to fast track affordable housing projects". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- 1 2 Piquero, Alex R. (November 2010). "Policy essay on 'Policing the homeless…'". Criminology & Public Policy. 9 (4): 841–849. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9133.2010.00674.x.
- ↑ Holland, Gale (April 17, 2015). "Why most of the $100 million L.A. spends on homelessness goes to police". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ City Clerk for the City of Los Angeles: Measure HHH, October 29, 2016
- ↑ Holland, Gale (May 11, 2019). "L.A. spent $619 million on homelessness last year. Has it made a difference?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
- ↑ Lopez, Steve (June 4, 2019). "Homelessness in L.A. is a catastrophe in motion, and our leaders are largely to blame". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
- ↑ Scott, Anna (June 4, 2019). "Despite Increased Spending, Homelessness Up 12% In Los Angeles County". NPR News. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
- ↑ Reston, Maeve (June 6, 2019). "Staggering homeless count stuns LA officials". CNN. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
- ↑ Morrison, Matt (February 22, 2019). "High rents create a new class of hidden homeless in Los Angeles". CBS News. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
- ↑ Zahniser, David; Khouri, Andrew (September 4, 2019). "It's seen as one of L.A.'s most successful housing programs. A lawsuit seeks to strike it down". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ↑ "Top-10 Santa Monica Stories of 2019". SM Mirror. 2019-12-31. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
- 1 2 "Santa Monica's Homelessness Strategy is Showing Results". www.santamonica.gov. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
- ↑ "Latest Point in Time count finds almost 7,000 homeless people in Orange County; local cities see increases in their numbers". Daily Pilot. April 25, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ↑ "Homeless census shows numbers rising in Orange County". Orange County Register. May 12, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
- ↑ "For Orange County's homeless population, 2017 was the second deadliest year on record". Orange County Register. January 18, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
- ↑ "Homelessness in San Diego County increased by at least 14%, annual count finds". KPBS Public Media. 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
- ↑ Warth, Gary (2023-07-17). "Number of newly homeless people again outpaced number housed in June". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
- ↑ "San Diego Declares Health Emergency Amid Hepatitis A Outbreak". NPR.org. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
- ↑ Garrick, David. "Stepped-up homeless efforts include shelters, diversion programs, other initiatives". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
- ↑ Gomez, Luis. "Four out-of-the-box ideas California cities are using to address homelessness". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
- ↑ Hu, Dale J.; Covell, Ruth M.; Morgan, Jeffrey; Arcia, John (March 1989). "Health care needs for children of the recently homeless". Journal of Community Health. 14 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1007/BF01324435. PMID 2715382. S2CID 21599843.
- ↑ Warth, Gary (18 December 2018). "San Diego again has 4th-largest homeless population in nation". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ↑ Bureau, U. S. Census. "American FactFinder - Results". factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ↑ Garrick, David (5 February 2019). "San Diego repeals law prohibiting homeless people from living in cars". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ↑ Lane, Kerri (24 October 2017). "New parking lot opens for San Diego's homeless living in vehicles". www.cbs8.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ↑ "Emergency & Bridge Shelters - Daily Count | Homeless Services | City of San Diego Official Website". www.sandiego.gov. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ↑ "HOUSING FIRST – SAN DIEGO Homelessness Action Plan". SDHC. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ↑ Serrano, Richard A. (November 26, 2016). "'Greyhound Therapy' Detailed at Officers' Trial". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
- ↑ "Police can begin enforcing San Diego's camping ban on Sunday". KPBS Public Media. 2023-07-27. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
- 1 2 "Unsafe Camping Ordinance". City of San Diego Official Website. 2023-07-28. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
- ↑ "San Diego safe sleeping sites will help shelter growing homeless population". KPBS Public Media. 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
- ↑ "Safe Sleeping Program". City of San Diego Official Website. 2023-06-30. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
- ↑ STANTON, SAM; CLIFT, THERESA; MOLESKI, VINCENT (August 16, 2019). "Drugs, thefts, assaults: Sacramento wants to ban 7 people from prominent business corridor". The Sacramento Bee.
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- ↑ Egelko, Bob "Calif. Supreme Court lets 2018’s Prop. C stand, frees up $492 million in SF homeless funds" San Francisco Chronicle 9 September 2020
- 1 2 Baker, Mike (September 14, 2019). "Homeless Residents Got One-Way Tickets Out of Town. Many Returned to the Streets". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
- ↑ "San Francisco to Expand Access to Homeward Bound Program to Better Meet Clients' Needs". SF.gov – City and County of San Francisco. March 30, 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ↑ Gee, Alastair; Wong, Julia Carrie; Lewis, Paul (December 20, 2017). "Bussed out: How America moves its homeless". The Guardian. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
- ↑ Anderson, Logan. "Homeless count numbers show shifts in locations". Santa Maria Times. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
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- ↑ "Ventura County Board of Supervisors pushes to open shelters for homeless". Ventura County Star. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
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- ↑ "Memorial honors homeless who have died in Ventura County". Ventura County Star. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
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