
LOS ANGELES (KNX) – A new study found that high housing costs and low incomes are two of the main reasons why people in California become homeless.
The University of California, San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative conducted the study where 3,200 homeless people were surveyed.
“…The main things that were driving people out of their housing was that their incomes were too low, the housing prices were too high,” Dr. Margot Kushel, MD, Director, UCSF BHHI and principal investigator of CASPEH, told KNX News.
Researchers found that the median monthly household income for those who lost their housing was $960. It also found that the median monthly household income for leaseholders who became homeless was $1400.
More than 20% of those on rental agreements and lease agreements said income loss or reduction was the main reason they lost housing.
Policy recommendations made by the study’s authors included increasing access to affordable housing for those in “extremely low-income households”, amplifying targeted homelessness prevents, and increasing household incomes by “evidence-based employment supports.”
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