XPost: alt.society.homeless, ca.politics, alt.politics.democrats   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns   
   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   Newsom's report is another Democrat sack of mistruths.  Rents are much   
   higher in other parts of the state.  The wage increases demanded and   
   obtained made those receiving them ineligible for additional assistance   
   because now they make too much money.   
      
   Homeless people in California are already a vulnerable group, often   
   struggling with poor health, trauma and deep poverty before they lose   
   their housing, according to a new study on adult homelessness.   
      
   The study released Tuesday by the University of California, San Francisco   
   attempts to capture a comprehensive picture of how people become homeless   
   in California, and what impeded their efforts at finding permanent   
   housing. The representative survey of nearly 3,200 homeless people found   
   that when they lost housing, their median household income was $960 a   
   month, and for renters on leases it was $1,400 a month, of which on   
   average half went to rent.   
      
   Homelessness is a national crisis, and all too pervasive in California,   
   where an estimated 171,000 people — or 30% of all homeless people in the   
   U.S. — are homeless. Political leaders are divided over how to address the   
   crisis, with some, including Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, favoring tent   
   encampment sweeps and a tough-love approach toward those with mental   
   health and addiction issues.   
      
   It it not groundbreaking news that the state’s exorbitant housing costs   
   are a major driver behind homelessness, but researchers at the UCSF’s   
   Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative hope that the study will   
   strengthen public support for policies that focus on offering housing and   
   emergency rental assistance — rather than policies emphasizing punishment   
   or stigma.   
      
   “People are homeless because their rent is too high. And their options are   
   too few. And they have no cushion,” said Dr. Margot Kushel, initiative   
   director and lead investigator. “And it really makes you wonder how   
   different things would look if we could solve that underlying problem.”   
      
   Kushel’s team surveyed nearly 3,200 adults around California, and followed   
   up to conduct in-depth interviews with 365 people, between October 2021   
   and November 2022.   
      
   The study found that Black people made up 26% of the homeless population   
   in a state where they are only 6% of the general population. About 90% of   
   participants were living in California when they became homeless. Half   
   reported an inability to work due to age, health or disability. The median   
   length of homelessness was a little under two years.   
      
   More than a third of adults surveyed met the criteria for chronic   
   homelessness, meaning they had a disabling condition and were homeless for   
   at least 1 year — or were homeless four times in the previous three years   
   totaling more than 12 months.   
      
   In Los Angeles in 2015, Sage Johnson’s mother was evicted from their   
   apartment when she was unable to meet rent that had increased to $1,200.   
   In disability pay, she received about $1,340 a month. She bounced around,   
   from LA’s notorious Skid Row to various convalescent homes while her   
   daughter lived at a shelter.   
      
   Later, Johnson, 28, was able to place her mother in a home, where she   
   stayed for about two years. In 2018 though, her mother died from a   
   debilitating stroke.   
      
   Johnson, who now has stable housing, wishes she could have done more.   
      
   “But in the end, she did have a bed. She was inside. She didn’t have any   
   more strokes outside. And she was able to regenerate and rejuvenate and   
   restore some of her life while in the convalescent home,” said Johnson, a   
   co-chair for one of the study’s advisory boards.   
      
   Among study participants, substance abuse and issues with mental health   
   were common and predated becoming homeless. Of those surveyed, 45%   
   reported current, regular use of cocaine, amphetamines and opioids or   
   heavy episodic drinking. Participants described how heavy substance use   
   contributed to losing their homes, but also how methamphetamine usage   
   allowed them to stay alert to protect themselves from assault or theft.   
      
   Nearly half of the adults surveyed were not on a lease in the six months   
   prior to becoming homeless, and had likely moved in with family or   
   friends, contributing to rent when they could. Nearly a quarter cited   
   conflict among housemates, desire for more space or not wanting to impose   
   any longer on family and friends as primary reasons they left.   
      
   On average, people surveyed who were not on leases received only one day   
   of warning before needing to move out.   
      
   Among people on rental lease agreements, more than 20% cited income loss   
   or reduction as the primary reason they lost housing. “So it wasn’t so   
   much that their housing costs increased, it’s that they could no longer   
   keep up with it,” said Kushel.   
      
   California ranks as the most unaffordable state when it comes to housing,   
   according to an annual report by the National Low Income Housing   
   Coalition. A person earning an hourly minimum wage of $15.50 would have to   
   work nearly 90 hours a week to afford the statewide average for a modest   
   one-bedroom rental, which is nearly $1,800 a month, the coalition states.   
      
   The study was requested by Newsom’s administration, which has made   
   addressing homelessness a priority, but the state did not fund it so   
   didn’t play a role in analyzing data or interpreting the findings.   
      
   The report makes many recommendations, including deep expansion of rental   
   assistance and pilot programs to facilitate shared housing for people   
   seeking to get out of homelessness — and a rental stipend program for   
   people living temporarily with family or friends.   
      
   Johnson said she hopes the public will find the report’s findings to be   
   evidence that tax dollars are being put to good use in social safety net   
   spending. She also hopes that people will support robust mental health and   
   addiction treatment services along with affordable housing options.   
      
   “I don’t want to set anyone up for failure,” she said. “And I’m sure many   
   of my peers can agree that folks need time to practice going back to,   
   like, regular society life.”   
      
   https://fortune.com/2023/06/20/how-bad-san-francisco-homeless-crisis-rent-   
   too-high-benioff/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)