The Need

As many as 16,000 people experience homelessness during the course of a year in Alameda County. Thousands more with serious and persistent mental illness and/or HIV/AIDS are living in precarious or inappropriate situations.

Who is Homeless in Alameda County?
Homeless populations differ depending on the location within Alameda County, which encompasses cities, suburbs and unincorporated areas, but the problem of homelessness affects all communities. Data compiled in the Alameda Countywide Shelter and Services Survey, May 2004 Report (ACSSS) found that:

• 6,215 people are homeless on any given night.
• Children comprise 28% of the county’s homeless population (1,755).
• Families comprise 43% of the county’s homeless population (2,691).
• More urbanized areas of Oakland and Berkeley have higher percentages of adults unaccompanied by children.
• More suburban areas of Mid, South and East County have higher percentages of families with children (including single parent families).

There are strong associations between homelessness and poor physical and mental health, as well as physical, emotional and other disabilities.

• 58% of homeless adults have one or more disabilities, including mental illness, HIV/AIDS and other physical disabilities.
• Over 30,000 people with mental illness have extremely low incomes and are at risk of homelessness in Alameda County.
• Nearly 1,000 people with mental illness are homeless on any given night, and over 30% of those are dually diagnosed with a substance abuse addiction.
• In Alameda County, there are nearly 5,000 people living with HIV/AIDS who have extremely low incomes and are at risk of becoming homeless.
• Homeless persons are more likely to rely on emergency room or urgent care facilities, require more hospitalizations and report delayed care for drug dependency and mental health problems.

Many homeless and marginally housed people are exiting mainstream institutional systems such as foster care, criminal justice and hospitalization directly into homelessness.

• 20% of homeless adults in Alameda County have been in an institution prior to age 18.
• 14% of homeless adults had been in foster care, 7% had been in a group home and 6% had been in another type of institution.
• One in three homeless individuals under age 30 experienced a child welfare system placement prior to age 18.

The high cost of housing in Alameda County both increases homelessness here, and is itself a barrier to preventing and ending homelessness. Additionally, there is a significant shortage of housing that is safe, decent and affordable to the Plan’s three target populations. According to Out of Reach 2006, a report jointly released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and Housing California:

• Alameda County is one of the top 10 least affordable housing markets in the U.S.
• A family earning minimum wage needs to work over 142 hours a week, 52 weeks a year to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment.
• A disabled individual living on SSI income has less total monthly income ($812) than the Fair Market Rent of a studio apartment ($900).
• Approximately 34,000 (6%) of Alameda County’s 523,000 households are at severe risk of homelessness because they are extremely low-income renters paying more than 50% of their income on housing.

Further information and data about homelessness in Alameda County can be found in the Alameda Countywide Shelter and Services Survey, May 2004 Report.

Costs of Inaction
A substantial body of research documents that the costs to tax payers of providing intensive and crisis services such as emergency housing, mental health crisis services, emergency medical care, medical and mental health hospitals, jails and prisons to chronically homeless, seriously disabled people — primarily because they do not have stable housing — are substantially higher than providing modest housing linked to appropriate support services.

EveryOne Home seeks to reorient Alameda County’s housing and service systems to reduce and end chronic and other homelessness by 2020 and prevent future homelessness. By changing the county’s housing and service delivery systems and addressing the underlying causes of homelessness, we can provide appropriate services in a timely fashion to all who need them and ensure that individuals and families are safely, supportively and permanently housed.

DID YOU KNOW?

Without a job that pays two or three times the minimum wage, even full-time workers cannot afford most market-rate housing in Alameda County. About 6% (33,922) of Alameda County’s 523,208 households are at severe risk of homelessness because they are extremely low-income renters paying more than 50% of their income on housing.

National Low Income Housing Coalition

Q: Where can I view additional details about EveryOne Home?

A: The full plan is detailed here: Alameda Countywide Homeless and Special Needs Plan. Supporting data and detail for the plan can be viewed in the Companion Materials.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS