Date of Graduation

Summer 8-12-2022

Document Access

Project/Capstone - Global access

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

College/School

School of Nursing and Health Professions

First Advisor

Dr. Kelly McDermott

Abstract

California has the highest homeless population, with over 161,000 people experiencing homelessness. Despite approving a billion dollars in grants for the 2018-2019 budget, The 2021 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress revealed California had an increase of over 3,500 individuals staying in shelters between 2020-2021. The multi-faceted and multi-dimensional issues of homelessness and policies make it difficult to prevent individuals experiencing homelessness from living in illegal encampments. Therefore, the author proposes a multi-prong approach to homelessness in California grounded in theories of the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM) and COM-B model and informed by housing first and permanent supportive housing practices. There are two objectives for the recommendations discussed in this paper. The primary aim is to provide alternative permanent supportive housing options for the homeless population, thus reducing illegal encampments. The secondary objective is to create a space for researchers to collect necessary data to fill the gaps discovered in the literature, thus equipping policymakers with enough data to make informed decisions on policies affecting the homeless population. Achieving the two objectives require innovative permanent supportive housing options for individuals experiencing homelessness. The author proposes California develop state-ran authorized homeless camps as an innovative permanent supportive housing option–a whole system approach with intensive targeted health and social interventions to support the whole person care model.

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