Policy Insights
Homelessness Continues to Significantly Increase in California According to January 2020 Homeless Counts
—Count results are pre-pandemic— —HUD likely to release official count results by end of year— In 2020, 22 of the 44 California Continuums of Care (CoCs) conducted an unsheltered and sheltered homeless count in January and publicly reported and/or shared their results with Urban Initiatives to be included in this report. The U.S. Department…
Read MoreRecent Homelessness Data Reveals California’s Significant Shift Concerning Types of Temporary and Permanent Housing Beds
What Happened Emergency Shelter Beds Increased by Nearly 100% Transitional Housing Beds Decreased by Nearly 50% Permanent Supportive Housing Beds Increased by More than 50% Rapid Re-housing Beds More Than Doubled What Is Happening An unprecedented amount of state funding is encouraging more shelter, rapid re-housing, and permanent supportive housing beds What Needs…
Read MoreThe Increasing Need for Trauma-informed Care Shelters
Merely Creating Conventional Shelters will Minimally Reduce the Number of Homeless Persons Who Are Languishing on the Streets It is time to realize that many homeless persons are not willing to live in large open spaces for long periods of time with many people they do not know and some that they may know but…
Read MoreBlack Women Dying Homeless in Los Angeles City and County
Black women are unequivocally overrepresented among women dying while homeless in the County and City of Los Angeles A Black woman-centered trauma-informed care approach needs to be fully considered for Black women who become homeless Click here for a pdf copy of the following report This report is based on publicly accessible data from the…
Read MoreHomelessness Continues to Significantly Increase in Southern California According to 2020 Homeless Counts
10% more persons were counted in 2020 when compared to 2019 which followed a previous 10% increase when the 2019 count is compared to 2018 In 2020, 11 of the 13 Southern California Continuums of Care (CoCs) conducted a sheltered and unsheltered homeless count. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) does not…
Read MoreIt is Time for the State of California, Counties, Cities, and Continuums of Care to Collectively Prepare to Solve Homelessness in a Post-Pandemic Era
The Time Has Come to Design a Flexible Pool of Funds to Rapidly Respond to Homelessness Unlike Ever Before –See Recommendations for Next Steps Below– It is time to boost a “whatever it takes” approach to house homeless households by designing a flexible pool of funds to respond rapidly to the homeless experiences of individuals…
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