Benioff Community Innovators share findings from their report on housing insecurity in San Francisco, 2017.
This November the country will vote on a number of issues in the midterm elections. In San Francisco, the issue of housing is yet again an important topic on the ballot. While the lives of thousands of people who experience housing instability must not go unnoticed, the impact of the stress housing insecurity has on future generations must also be considered. Compared to babies born to stably housed mothers, babies born to mothers experiencing homelessness had an overall 3.3x increased risk of dying within the first year of life (1). Stable housing and the health of women, their children and families are intrinsically linked.
Families with children are consistently the majority of overcrowded homes in San Francisco. Since 2005, the number of overcrowded households that are families with children has remained steady, making up about 26,000 of the households in the city or 50% of the total households in the city that are overcrowded (2). Over 7,500 people are homeless in San Francisco. 18% reported eviction, increased housing costs, or foreclosure as the primary reason for homelessness (3).
Proposition C, is a tax bill that would tax San Francisco companies making at least $50 million in revenue each year and would raise about $300 million a year. You can learn more about Proposition C here.
Read our Benioff Community Innovator’s assessment of housing and preterm birth in San Francisco here.
1. Housing Instability and Obstetric and Perinatal Health Outcomes Summary of Preliminary Findings, 3/27/2018. Prepared by: Laura Jelliffe-Pawlowski, Rebecca Baer, and Matthew Pantell, UCSF CA-Preterm Birth Initiative
2. http://sfgov.org/asthma/sites/default/files/SFDPH_HousingReport21.pdf
3. https://www.sfdph.org/dph/hc/HCAgen/HCAgen2016/May%2017/2016CHNA-2.pdf
