Summary: California’s current homelessness crisis is unprecedented. In early 2020, more than 160,000 persons experienced homelessness on any given day, representing a 40% increase since 2015. Effects on individuals experiencing housing insecurity and the community's public health have been profound, including recent outbreaks of hepatitis A and typhus in communities experiencing homelessness.

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) convened a virtual event to bring together key voices highlighting evidence-based strategies to help address this crisis at a time when state lawmakers have a significant budget surplus available to potentially invest in addressing this crisis. Focusing on the intersection of health and homelessness, the 2021 E.R. Brown Symposium, Opening Doors for All: Improving Health in Housing and Homelessness featured experts from academia, state and local government, nonprofit organizations, the private sector, and speakers with lived experience in two days of discussions on past successes, lessons learned, and potential solutions to create a healthier, more prosperous California for all.

This new policy paper outlines evidence-based strategies shared by local, state, and national leaders to help address the homelessness crisis in California.