Homelessness Hub at UC San Diego Newsletter |
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Happy New Year! Homelessness Hub had an engaging, productive, and incredibly fulfilling 2023. In this newsletter, we highlight some of our new and ongoing research initiatives, introduce you to some of our newest team members, and share updates about the impactful work we've been doing in collaboration with community members and Homelessness Hub affiliates.
As 2024 kicks off, we'd like to extend our thanks to the many people who have supported our work thus far -- we couldn't do any of this without you!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Nations, PhD - Managing Director
Mirle Rabinowitz Bussell, PhD - Faculty Director
Leslie R. Lewis, PhD, MPH - Director of Education and Community Engagement
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Pictured above: In September, we held our annual planning retreat for Homelessness Hub faculty, students and staff during which we reviewed our mission and vision, identified our objectives for the coming year, and aligned employees' individual work goals to the strategic plan of the Hub. |
Research & Project Updates |
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San Diego County Service Ecosystem Evaluation
This year, our research team is conducting a comprehensive inventory and assessment of the homelessness services ecosystem in San Diego County, including the temporary shelter network, street outreach, and safe sleeping and safe parking lots. This proposal has been developed with Tamera Kohler, CEO of the Regional Taskforce on Homelessness, and other stakeholders, including service providers, people with lived experience of homelessness, and representatives from different public sector agencies. This mixed-methods study includes a comprehensive inventory of San Diego County services, quantitative analysis of client-level data for people using homelessness-related services, and in-depth qualitative studies into service access and experiences for families, seniors, individuals with HIV, criminal-justice involved individuals, and Black San Diegans experiencing homelessness.
Homelessness Hub’s leadership presented an overview of this project at the Regional Taskforce’s recent annual meeting in December 2023 and received valuable feedback. An outline of our research design is here.
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Understanding and Preventing Housing Instability in San Diego's Low-Income Neighborhoods
Homelessness Hub researchers collaborated on a mixed-methods study with community-based organizations to assess the impacts of a series of tenant
Know Your Rights workshops and document low-income tenants’ experiences of housing precarity in City Heights, San Ysidro, and other low-income neighborhoods of San Diego. We surveyed workshop attendees and staff, including 98 individual tenants, 12 staff, and 100 additional tenants in group interviews. Findings show that the workshops increased participants’ understanding of housing laws and understanding of their rights and responsibilities as tenants. Their top concern was affording rent, which was reported as a major source of stress. They also reported poor living conditions which they tolerated for fear of a rent increase or eviction. We recommend interventions to shore up tenants’ ability to pay their rent and suggest that not doing so will exacerbate the region’s homelessness crisis.
Find reports and relevant infographics here.
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Inaugural Cohort of Homelessness-Experienced Action Researchers-in-Training |
In December, we hired seven outstanding Homelessness-Experienced Action Researchers-in-Training to contribute to the Homelessness Services Ecosystem Evaluation we are currently launching. "Action research" is a collaborative, qualitative method that focuses on solving problems by generating knowledge, collectively reflecting on it, and taking action.
Our Researchers-in-Training (RITs) will be involved in all aspects of the H-SEE investigation, from research design to data collection and analysis. We believe that the inclusion of people with direct experience of being unhoused in this system will enrich the quality of the research while offering those hired new skills, knowledge, and opportunities. RITs will additionally attend Community Advisory Board meetings as ex-officio members throughout the year.
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Evaluation of the Homelessness-Experienced Advocacy & Leadership (HEAL) Network |
Homelessness Hub is currently undertaking an evaluation of the Homelessness-Experienced Advocacy and Leadership (HEAL) Network, including its training and ongoing program. We are doing so in collaboration with the San Diego Housing Federation (the sponsoring agency) and eleven HEAL Network members as co-researchers. We are looking to understand if the network is achieving its aims, what members’ experiences have been like over the past few years, and how the program might grow/expand/improve to become even more effective and impactful. We believe that collaborative research like this is one way we can help “change the story” about homelessness, shift public attitudes, and impact both policy and practice.
This is the second research collaboration with members of the HEAL Network. You can read about the first project here.
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Meet our newest team members! |
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Joshua Newton, Postdoctoral Fellow |
Josh is a PhD Candidate in Urban Planning and Public Policy at CAPPA and a former
Crossing Latinidades Mellon Fellow. His research examines the impact of philanthropic
community development initiatives on low-income residents and neighborhoods, informal
housing in the United States, and the use of community development tactics by craft breweries. Josh just joined our team this month and is excited to continue his work on housing precarity and affordability with Homelessness Hub.
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| Stacey Livingstone, Postdoctoral Fellow |
Stacey conducts research on housing injustice and specializes in community engaged research and qualitative methods including interviewing, observation, and participant observation. During her postdoc, she will be working on the San Diego servicescape project, an evaluation of Humble Design, and a study on efficiency units including single-room occupancy hotels and studios.
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Feiyang Sun, Assistant Teaching Professor, Urban Studies and Planning
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Dr. Sun serves as an important affiliate and partner of Homelessness Hub. Dr. Sun's research applies economic theories and empirical research methods to address emerging trends and challenges in urban infrastructure and real estate markets. Examples of his ongoing research include the governance of urban spatial data and surveillance technologies, renewable energy building technologies and incentive policies, economic resilience of small businesses under disruptive events, and economics of mixed-use development.
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| Emily Kindred, PR/HR Specialist, Urban Studies & Planning
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As our first full-time, non-academic staff member, Emily helps to oversee website management, public relations, communication, human resources, and other administrative functions for Homelessness Hub. Emily came to USP in September 2023 shortly after obtaining her M.A. in Communication Studies from SDSU, where she served as a TA for one year. Prior to her current position, Emily held a variety of positions in corporate HR, government, politics, and tech.
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