Sharing our Impact During Homelessness Awareness Month

Homelessness Awareness Month happens every November and highlights the challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. and raises awareness of this public health crisis that affects the entire community.  

The month was established to emphasize awareness, education, and action. In San Francisco, we’re taking a moment to show how we are focusing on reducing homelessness among disproportionately affected groups, like Black, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, older adults, and gender-diverse communities.  

For many years in San Francisco, Black and Indigenous people have been overrepresented among people experiencing homelessness. While older adults, LGBTQIA+, transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming populations experiencing homelessness have continued to increase.   

Throughout November 2024, we highlighted our progress toward making homelessness rare, brief, and one-time for everyone, including specific subpopulations, while raising awareness of our impact across the entire homelessness response system in SF.    

We shared the journey of an older adult who, after living unhoused for years, made a connection with the San Francisco Homelessness Outreach Team and built enough trust to accept housing.  

We spotlighted a Victim Service Provider who has supported domestic violence and human trafficking survivors for decades and was crucial in helping us design our HOPE system, the coordinated entry system for survivors of violence that allows full access to resources while protecting their safety.  

We detailed how we supported transgender and gender non-conforming people by partnering with trusted community pillars to bring much-needed supportive housing for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.  

While we’ve made huge strides, there is still so much work to do.  

We recognize that feelings about homelessness are complex. While many people empathize deeply with their community and feel frustrated that solutions aren’t more readily available, some still experience discomfort or fear around those facing homelessness.   

We hope you will follow along on Facebook, LinkedIn and X (Twitter) throughout the year as we share the complex reality of homelessness in San Francisco today, the progress that is being made, and how you can be part of the solution.   

To read more about our full impact, check out our Home by the Bay: Year One Progress report.