Groundbreaking Report Shines Light on Regional Homelessness Crisis

The Bay Area’s homeless crisis ranks among the most severe in the United States, according to a groundbreaking new study the Bay Area Council Economic Institute released Wednesday (April 10), with research and data provided by McKinsey & Company. The study for the first time provides a comprehensive, fact-based analysis of homelessness across the nine-county Bay Area. It dispels longstanding myths, sheds light on the nuanced complexities of the problem, and aims to equip regional leaders with practical solutions for accelerating progress to support those most in need.

The study was the lead front page story in all the major Bay Area newspapers, was featured in the New York Times’ California edition and other national news outlets and attracted coverage from every TV and radio station in the region. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf joined Bay Area Council Chair and Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard J. Tyson Wednesday at a roundtable discussion on the report findings and recommendations that included homelessness leaders from across the region. The report was made possible by Tyson’s leadership along with that of Kausik Rajgopal, Bay Area Council Economic Institute Advisory Board Chair and West Coast Managing Partner for McKinsey, and Gary Meltzer, Chair of the Bay Area Council’s Homelessness Task Force and Managing Partner for PwC. Our sincere thanks to St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda and Executive Director Blase Bova for hosting the event.

According to the report, more than 28,000 people—a population as large or larger than 50 of the region’s 101 cities—across the nine-county Bay Area suffer from homelessness, making the region’s homeless population the third largest in the country behind only New York and Los Angeles. The Bay Area also has among the highest level of unsheltered homeless in the country, with 67 percent living on the streets, in tents or cars, among other places. To engage in the Council’s homelessness policy work, please contact Vice President Adrian Covert.

Read the full report: Bay Area Homelessness: A Regional View of a Regional Crisis>>