Two reports, one solution: More housing
There is an abundance of research and analysis dedicated to understanding the issue of homelessness.
As one of the richest nations in the world, the consensus among the general public is that it is unacceptable to have individuals living without having their basic human needs met, such as adequate and stable housing.
UC San Francisco's Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI) recently released the largest representative study of homelessness in the United States in decades. The study covers every aspect of the issue throughout the state of California.
The executive summary of the study acknowledges that “while homelessness is a major issue for California, there are many conflicting ideas about what to do. … We need to understand who is experiencing it, how they became homeless, what their experiences are, and what is preventing them from exiting homelessness.”
Another report was recently issued by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, naming Santa Cruz County as the least affordable place to live in the entire country.
What the general public may not know is that solutions to homelessness are already in action, right here in our community, every single day.
When I read through the BHHI report, what I see is data that reflects the stories of the people we serve every day at Housing Matters. I also see information that may be surprising for many of you.
For example, the study confirms nine out of 10 people experiencing homelessness in California are Californians. It confirms housing costs were a significant factor in people losing housing. And it confirms many of the things we know about the experience of homelessness: A lack of access to adequate health care; a desire to work thwarted by barriers caused by homelessness; a large swath of the homeless population living unsheltered.
Reflect on the facts summarized here. Which one surprised you the most? Are you curious about what other assumptions might not be supported by data?
One of the things that most surprises community members is that we are resolving homelessness alongside many of our unhoused neighbors, every day. And we do that by helping our program participants get housing, one by one, ending their experience of homelessness.
Anyone who has been to a rental unit's open house recently has seen how unique our housing market is. Typically, rental inventory represents a broad variety of price points. But in Santa Cruz, people from multiple socioeconomic strata are all vying for the same units. This includes our program participants, who are currently without a home, applying for rental homes alongside solidly middle-class individuals and families.
Each time we help an unhoused neighbor get housing, the impact on that individual's life is profound, and their wellbeing ripples out to the wellbeing of the entire community. Each time we lift someone out of homelessness, or prevent homelessness, we are keeping the homelessness crisis from spiraling further out of control. These are incremental but, also, monumental steps.
Of course, having a remarkably tight housing market is not sustainable, nor is it equitable. At Housing Matters, we are deeply committed to adding more housing inventory within the community, particularly housing designed for those who are coming out of chronic homelessness. Our Casa Azul project — which includes seven supportive housing apartments — opened earlier this summer and we begin construction later this summer on Harvey West Studios, which will have 121 supportive housing studio apartments.
Properly understanding a problem is critical to finding long-term solutions; community support is also pivotal. Spend just five minutes with the BHHI study. Find one thing that challenges a perception you hold. And when the chance comes, which it certainly will, support a solution to that one thing, right here, where it matters most to you and your neighbors.
We can resolve homelessness. But we must do it together.