The 3 Pillars to Solving California’s Homelessness Crisis

I have worked on homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area for almost 10 years. Even though I am currently working in a community that, over the past two years, had a 7% overall decrease in homelessness and a 28% reduction in long-term chronic homelessness, 80% of California communities saw increases.

As this problem seems to get worse and worse by the year, I have gone from idealism and optimism to frustration and anger. That anger is not because the situation is hopeless. Just the opposite. This situation is becoming increasingly enraging precisely because it is so solvable.

The Big Three

On one hand, homelessness is very complex. As I’ve written elsewhere, it is caused by an interconnecting web of challenges, including the urban housing market, our economy, addiction, mental illness, and systemic racism.

As critical as it is that we ultimately address all of these issues, there are a small number of major reforms that could dramatically reduce the number of people currently living in our parks, on our streets, and in other undignified and unsafe places. When it comes to the systemic causes…