INsights

Homelessness in the United States is currently at the highest levels in the history of record keeping by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Although extensive research points to the nation’s prolonged affordable housing crisis as the primary driver of this increase, widespread misunderstanding of the causes of and solutions to end homelessness persists among the public. (National Alliance to End Homelessness June 2024)

Voice of San Diego Reporter Lisa Halverstadt reports that in the absence of a way for hospitals to directly move their patients into shelters, newly discharged and often still-fragile homeless patients who want to shelter are forced to compete with dozens of others for a limited number of beds – and end up sleeping outdoors where the conditions that led them to the hospital can fester. (Feb. 6, 2024)

Report authored by the San Diego Regional Policy & Innovation Center demonstrates areas of need in San Diego County. Contrary to its reputation of affluence and prosperity, the County grapples with considerable economic hardship. Approximately 11% of San Diegans, or 335,000 residents, live below the federal poverty line, surpassing the entire population of 93% of all other U.S. counties.  (October 2023)

A new monthly report highlights how many people enter and exit homelessness each month throughout San Diego County. Compiled by the Regional Task Force on Homelessness, this at-a-glance report accounts for the past 12 months. On average, over the last 12 months, 10 people found housing  for every 13 people who experienced homelessness for the first time. (August 2023)

California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness found that common views on homelessness are unfounded stereotypes. For example, people are not moving to California after they lose their housing elsewhere. Nine out of 10 survey respondents had lost their housing in California -- 75% of them in the county where they currently reside. (June 2023)

In 2018, Jewish Family Service of San Diego started its Safe Parking Program for unsheltered people living out of their vehicles. It began with one parking lot and 30 spaces and has since grown to four parking lots with a total of 231 spaces. It is now one of the largest SPPs in the U.S. As such, an analysis of its efforts to date is instructive for local and national policymakers, elected officials, stakeholders and researchers. As the homelessness crisis continues to escalate, it is instructive to identify and learn from interventions that may inform our ability to address the challenge. At the same time, the crisis of mass homelessness in this country has complex historical and structural roots, and tackling it will require much broader public awareness and concern. To that end, expanding the reach of the learning, and the diversity of perspectives looking at the problem is a priority. (June 2023)