November is Homelessness Awareness Month, offering a window of opportunity for local homelessness and affordable housing leaders to bring their voices to the forefront to inform municipal decision-makers and private-sector partners of their perspectives and priorities on these issues. The opening session of the Homelessness Awareness Month Community Forum focused on mapping the state of homelessness and housing insecurity in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the historical roots of the present context. The Bay Area Council reported that between 2017 and 2020, the Bay Area’s homeless population grew by 6,878 individuals to a total of 35,118—accounting for more than a quarter of the growth in the total U.S. homeless population. Most of the causes of homelessness and housing insecurity today are rooted in housing shortages and protracted situations, meaning that intergenerational homelessness is becoming increasingly widespread among Bay Area residents. This challenges typical homelessness response mechanisms and creates new pressures on local communities to provide long-term assistance solutions. The private sector has a vital part to play in addressing these emerging challenges.
Questions considered in this session were: What is the state of homelessness and affordable housing in the Bay Area? What are the challenges for Bay Area families, why do those problems exist, and what solutions are available? Does ending homelessness and creating more affordable housing constitute a shared, regional responsibility? If so, how do you feel the Bay Area has met this challenge? What role does the private sector have in filling this responsibility gap? What collaborative opportunities exist between the government and nonprofit sectors to develop agile and results-driven strategies?
Agenda
12:00-12:10 Opening
Kyriell Noon, CEO, Hamilton Families
12:10-12:25 Keynote
Senator Scott Wiener, California District 11
12:25-12:40 Session 1
Carolina K. Reid, Associate Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California at Berkeley and Faculty Research Advisor for the Terner Center for Housing Innovation
12:40-12:55 Session 2
Cynthia Nagendra, Deputy Director of Planning & Strategy, Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, City and County of San Francisco
12:55-13:00 Closing
Kyriell Noon, CEO, Hamilton Families
Meet the Speakers
RESOURCES FOR ATTENDEES
Download the Hamilton Families Strategic Plan 2021 - 2024 and be the first to read about how we’re doubling down on our commitment to ending family homelessness in the Bay Area.
What is SB10 and why does it matter? Take a look at how this Senate bill takes on single-family zoning in California.
Check out this report on the distribution of faith-based housing development.
Read this study on a direct cash transfer program to people experiencing homelessness where people spent most of the funds on housing, clothing, food.