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19 Feb 2025
We have a new paper in @JAMA_current on substance use in people experiencing homelessness, from the largest representative study of people experiencing homelessness since the 1990s
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam…
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19 Feb 2025
Thank you to an incredible authorship team, Margot Kushel, Meghan Morris, Elana Straus, Priest Martinez, and Morgan Philbin
@ucsfbhhi
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19 Feb 2025
Recommendations:
1. Prioritizing housing is an important first step
2. Increasing access to treatment that reaches people experiencing homelessness while minimizing barriers to treatment is critical
3. Increasing access to naloxone is important to prevent fatal overdose deaths
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19 Feb 2025
Take home:
1. Meth is the most common reported drug
2. Their are barriers for people experiencing homelessness to access treatment
3. Naloxone possession, a life-saving medication, is low
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4. Many people have survived an overdose
-20% have experienced an overdose in their lifetime
-10% experienced an overdose during this current episode of homelessness
25% of people currently carried naloxone, a medication to reverse an overdose
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3. There is a high unmet need for substance use treatment
-21% of people who used drugs at least 3 times a week reported currently wanting treatment but were not able to access it
-This was higher for people who used opioids (37%)
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19 Feb 2025
2. About a quarter started using drugs at least 3 times a week after becoming homeless for the first time
-42% used before becoming homeless
-25% never used at all
Drug use may increase the risk of experiencing homelessness, but homelessness increases the risk of substance use
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Key findings:
1. 37% used illicit drugs at least 3 times a week
-Most common drug= methamphetamine (33%)
-10% used opioids (most people who used opioids also used meth)
-Small % using cocaine/crack cocaine (3%)
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17 Oct 2024
RT @AnitaHargraveMD: Out today in @JAMAInternalMed:
We find #violence against people experiencing #homelessness is 30x ⬆️ than what the ge…
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Ryan Assaf, PhD, MPH retweeted
Most people experiencing homelessness in California do so in unsheltered settings.
Join us to learn about unsheltered homelessness and best practices for decreasing it!
🗓️ Sept 25 | 12-1PM PDT
homelessness.ucsf.edu/calend…
ALT BHHI Webinar Series: Unsheltered Homelessness, a Solutions-Oriented Approach.
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Ryan Assaf, PhD, MPH retweeted
⛺️In CA, 78% of people experiencing homelessness live unsheltered, facing severe health risks and violence.
🔖Today, we released a brief and two resources to help communities across the nation resolve this crisis.
homelessness.ucsf.edu/Unshel… (1/4)
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Ryan Assaf, PhD, MPH retweeted
2 Jul 2024
Sharing an Op-Ed I wrote on the need for housing-related services that support/meet the needs of LGBTQ youth and young adults, especially in the face of increasingly draconian policies 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
@TheOpEdProject @UCSF @ucsfbhhi #lgtbiaq
2 Jul 2024
While Pride Month may be over, we must remember that LGBTQ rights remain under persistent attack. @morgan_philbin @TheOpEdProject
#LGBTQ #Pride2024
progressive.org/op-eds/the-s…
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23 May 2024
New report on older adults experiencing homelessness by @ucsfbhhi
Nearly half of all adults experiencing homelessness in California are 50 years old or older
They face poor health & trauma, with many spending most nights unsheltered
Read more: homelessness.ucsf.edu/AgingC…
In the US, the number of #olderadults spending the last years of their lives on the streets or in shelters is growing rapidly.
Our new report, “Toward Dignity,” examines #CASPEH data to provide a comprehensive view of what they're facing. 🧵 (1/4)
Read: homelessness.ucsf.edu/AgingC…
ALT Toward Dignity: Understanding Older Adult Homelessness with findings from the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness
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17 Apr 2024
New op-ed: Adding Middle Eastern or North African on the U.S. Census provides critical benefits
newsweek.com/adding-middle-e…
Published in @Newsweek in collaboration with
@ucsfbhhi and @theopedproject
Proud to be a #PublicVoices Fellow
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16 Apr 2024
Less people living in states with more intense COVID-19 policies shared cannabis joints/blunts/paraphernalia compared to those in states with less intense policies. Our new paper in Harm Reduction Journal: link.springer.com/article/10…
@BMCMedicine
@zivacooper
@oacarah
@DrRitaHamad
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Ryan Assaf, PhD, MPH retweeted
Time is running out to apply to our next #postdoctoral cohort!
This 2-yr role is a great way for doctoral #grads to grow their research experience & career.
⏰Apply by Feb 28, 2024: homelessness.ucsf.edu/educat…
#PostdocJobs #ResearchFellowships #Policy
ALT Help solve homlessness as a BHHI postdoctoral scholar!
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Ryan Assaf, PhD, MPH retweeted
Anti-Black racism & discrimination have led to an increased risk of homelessness among Black Americans.
Learn about the causes, consequences & racial disparities of homelessness for Black Californians Feb 21 at 12PM PT.
homelessness.ucsf.edu/calend…
#BlackHistoryMonth #RacialEquity
ALT Kara Young Ponder, PhD; Joy Moses, JD; Sage Johnson, Robynne Rose-Haymer, MEd; Tiana Moore, PhD.
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12 Feb 2024
New op-ed: Doing Away With Needle Exchange Programs Won't Prevent Drug Use
medpagetoday.com/opinion/sec…
Published in @medpagetoday in collaboration with @ucsfbhhi and @theopedproject
Proud to be a #PublicVoices Fellow
@genevievefri
@UCLAFSPH
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Ryan Assaf, PhD, MPH retweeted
People exp. homelessness sometimes use substances to stay safe, stave of hunger, or self-medicate to escape the trauma they've experienced.
@MKushel shares this powerful quote from a #CAHomelessnessStudy participant:
“When you’re sober you come back to reality, and that hurts.”
ALT Zoom screenshot
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Ryan Assaf, PhD, MPH retweeted
"When the money didn’t add up, there weren’t any resources & the shelter and the street were the outcome."
Sage Johnson shares how she and her family became homeless in today's #CAHomelessnessStudy webinar.
Visit our website next week for a recording: homelessness.ucsf.edu/calend…
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