Europe, US urged to investigate the dangers of AI technology

• June 20, 2023

European Union consumer protection groups urged regulators on Tuesday to investigate the type of artificial intelligence underpinning systems like ChatGPT, citing risks that leave people vulnerable and the delay before the bloc’s groundbreaking AI regulations take effect.

In a coordinated effort, 13 watchdog groups wrote to their national consumer, data protection, competition and product safety authorities warning them about a range of concerns around generative artificial intelligence.

A transatlantic coalition of consumer groups also wrote to U.S. President Joe Biden asking him to take action to protect consumers from possible harms caused by generative AI.

Europe has led the world in efforts to regulate artificial intelligence, which gained urgency with the rise of a new breed of artificial intelligence that gives AI chatbots like ChatGPT the power to generate text, images, video and audio that resemble human work.

The EU is putting the finishing touches on the world’s first set of comprehensive rules for the technology, but they are not expected to take effect for two years.

The groups called for European and U.S. leaders to use both existing laws and bring in new legislation to address the harms that generative AI can cause.

They cited a report by the Norwegian Consumer Council outlining dangers that AI chatbots pose, including providing incorrect medical information, manipulating people, making up news articles and illegally using vast amounts of personal data scraped off the internet.

The consumer groups, in countries including Italy, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Greece and Denmark, warn that while the EU’s AI Act addresses some of the concerns, they won’t start applying for several years, “leaving consumers unprotected from a technology which is insufficiently regulated in the meantime, and developing at great pace.”

Some authorities have already acted. Italy’s privacy watchdog ordered ChatGPT maker OpenAI to temporarily stop processing user’s personal information while it investigated a possible data breach. France, Spain and Canada also have been looking into OpenAI and ChatGPT.

​ Orange County Register 

How Kevin Hart’s Hart House plans to grow the market for plant-based fast food

• June 20, 2023

Hart House aims to be a disruptor in the fast food world in ways both small and large.

One small touch is the Dyson hand dryers built into the faucets in the restrooms. A larger goal, according to chief executive officer Andy Hooper, is to completely reimagine the industry.

Somewhere in between is the plant-based menu.

Hart House is a startup chain founded by comedian Kevin Hart that serves vegan food. It opened its first restaurant in August and in 10 months has grown to four in Los Angeles County.

The newest location will have its grand opening on Wednesday, June 21, in a former Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf store on Figueroa Street.

After that, Andy Hooper wants to bring it to all of Southern California and beyond.

Hart House came about because the comedian wanted to share the benefits of a plant-based diet, Hooper said in a phone interview.

He met Hart about a year ago and discovered they shared a vision for the future of plant-based foods and what they could mean to the fast food industry.

“The two of us had very similar feelings about where the industry needed to head, both in what we serve and how we serve those who serve,” Hooper said in a phone interview.

Hart House serves the basics: burgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders and shakes, all without animal protein.

Although the protein comes from proprietary recipes using peas and soy, Hart House doesn’t emphasize that its menu is vegan. It is hoping customers will enjoy the food for its taste.

“We call it can’t-believe-it flavor,” said Marcus Byrd, director of brand and marketing. “Good food at a sustainable price is a winner across the board.”

By comparison, Byrd said, “When you’re talking about the plant-based market, you can easily spend $25-$30 to get it done.”

Sustainable model

The vegan menu is just the beginning of Hooper’s vision for Hart House.

“I have always wanted the opportunity to really build what I saw as the future of the quick service space within restaurants,” he said.

A self-described “lifelong restaurateur,” Hooper’s experience includes leadership positions in &Pizza, Cafe Rio Mexican Grill and Burger King.

He sees in Hart House an opportunity to change the way fast food chains operate.

“We wanted to completely reimagine what the industry would need to look like if it was going to be truly sustainable for the next 50 years,” he said.

“We start with the idea that the labor model needs to be sustainable.”

The strategy is to increase employee retention through salaries and benefits to the point where turnover drops and efficiencies kick in from of trained workers who know their jobs and know each other.

“It drives significant efficiencies,” Hooper said. “Not only are you not having to relearn somebody’s name and work habits, but all the proficiency that you build in the small things, you actually get the benefit. Our employees end up being 1½ or even 2 times as productive as those in other brands. And that means we can continue to invest in them because we’re seeing a return on that investment in terms of productivity.”

Crew jobs at Hart House pay around $18-$19 an hour, according to job search website.

Hooper said that employee turnover at fast food restaurants can be upwards of 200%, “which means basically your entire staff swaps out twice every 12 months. That’s crazy.”

Hart House is at 88%, he said.

“So that’s less than half, and that’s still not where I want us to be, to be clear.”

Building the pipeline

Since August, Hart House has opened four restaurants in diverse locations with different kinds of customers. The first, in Westchester, is aimed at travelers from nearby Los Angeles International Airport. The second, in November, is in a more residential neighborhood of Monrovia. The third, a drive-thru across Sunset Boulevard from Hollywood High School, is in a tourist destination. It opened in May.

The Figueroa restaurant that opens Wednesday is smaller, with fewer inside seats, aiming for foot traffic from college students at nearby USC.

“It’s a really interesting opportunity to do another thing that a new brand might do, which is to go straight to a campus and prove that the next generation of consumers will adopt and fall in love with the brand,” he said.

“We were very intentional about having four very distinct experiences, not just replicating the same thing every time, because we want to learn. We want to figure out how people respond. Parallel to that we build the pipeline.”

Hooper plans to continue with rapid growth. The goal is to open 12-15 restaurants next year, 20-30 the following year, and have close to 100 units by the end of 2026.

“A significant investment will be made in Southern California, but we’re also looking looking for real estate in other markets now to be able to support that expansion.

Hart House

Locations: 8901 S Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles; 6800 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles; 3726 S Figueroa St., Los Angeles; 602 W Huntington Drive, Monrovia.

Information: myharthouse.com

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​ Orange County Register 

Charitable giving in 2022 drops for only the fourth time in 40 years

• June 20, 2023

Charitable giving in the United States declined in 2022 — only the fourth time in four decades that donations did not increase year over year — according to the Giving USA report released Tuesday.

Total giving fell 3.4% in 2022 to $499.3 billion in current dollars, a drop of 10.5% when adjusted for inflation. The decline comes at a time when many nonprofits, especially ones providing services to those in need, report an increase in requests for help.

However, Josh Birkholz, chairman of the Giving USA Foundation, which publishes the report and provides data and insights about donation trends, said the results are actually much better than they could have been considering the tough economic climate of late 2022.

“I go back and forth on whether it’s encouraging or discouraging,” Birkholz told The Associated Press in an interview. “There was a 20 to 25% decline in the stock market and an 8% inflation rate, but Americans still gave nearly a half trillion dollars.”

Those 2022 donations came after two record-setting years for charitable giving, driven by the unprecedented needs of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Una Osili, associate dean for research and international programs at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University and the Giving USA report’s lead researcher. It’s a sign of continued generosity, though there are some areas of concern.

“At the beginning of the 21st century, two thirds of Americans gave,” Osili said. “Today, that is down to under 50% for the first time. So giving has grown, but fewer people are participating.”

The downturn in giving has led to issues at Community Help in Park Slope, better known as CHiPS, as it has in many charities across the country. The Brooklyn, New York, nonprofit operates a soup kitchen and food pantry, as well as supporting single mothers and their infants.

“We saw inflation rise and, with that, we saw more working class individuals on our lines,” said Shanice Brown, CHiPS development director. “Donations declined — and donated food as well — because as the price of things increase, people need more and so they donate less.”

CHiPS’ issues are compounded by the number of asylum seekers that are currently housed near the charity in Brooklyn. While CHiPS was providing 275 warm meals a day at this time last year, these days it is offering more than 400 meals daily. And sometimes, they simply run out of food.

“When we run out of hot meals, we still provide sandwiches,” said Brown, who has been collaborating with other nonprofits and food suppliers to try to make ends meet. “Anyone who comes to our door walks away with something.”

Even large-scale nonprofits have had to come up with new solutions to battle inflation’s effects on their resources.

Jared Perry, chief revenue officer at Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, said that while donations to the foundation, which grants the wishes of children fighting critical illnesses, were up slightly in 2022, they are currently declining in some areas this year. And those drops come while Make-A-Wish copes with increased costs for travel, which is involved in about 75% of the wishes they grant.

“I think we’ve seen a 37% increase in rental car prices and that translates to a cost we have to bear,” said Perry, adding that Make-A-Wish has stepped up calls for supporters to donate their airline miles and hotel points in order to help stretch its funding. The foundation has also turned to partners in the travel industry for more help.

The need, Perry said, is also an opportunity for Make-A-Wish and other nonprofits to engage individual donors and appeal to them for help. “The message we’re going to continue to send out is: There are easy ways for people to get to get involved with Make-A-Wish, whether that be through volunteering or certainly by donating,” he said. “For every wish that we’re granting, there’s another wish waiting.”

Jon Bergdoll, associate director of data partnerships at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University and the lead analyst for the Giving USA report, said the long-running trend of “dollars up, donors down” in philanthropy offers potential growth for nonprofits who can engage those currently not giving.

Decision makers for donations are “not mom and pop donors, they’re wealthy individuals,” Bergdoll said. “That is indicative of where the money is coming from now versus 30 or 40 years ago.”

According to the Giving USA report, 64% of donations in 2022 came from individual donors, 21% from foundations, 9% from bequests, generally through a will or estate plan, and 6% from corporations. In 2022, corporations donated 0.9% of their pre-tax profits in the United States, though Bergdoll said the report does not track whether multi-national corporations donated more in other countries.

​ Orange County Register 

Titanic explorer says two likely disaster causes are survivable, one is not

• June 20, 2023

By Danielle Bochove

The submersible vessel that vanished during a dive to the Titanic shipwreck may have experienced one of the so-called trinity of disasters that all such expeditions seek to avoid: a hull breach, a fire or an entanglement.

The first of those outcomes isn’t survivable, said Joe MacInnis, the renowned Canadian explorer and physician who has been to the Titanic site four times and is a close friend of one of the passengers aboard the missing Titan.

“A hull failure is catastrophic,” MacInnis, 86, said in an interview Tuesday. “There is this kind of implosion, and it’s terrible.”

However, the second two disasters can be managed. Crew train for fire emergencies and although challenging, all good subs have firefighting capabilities. And MacInnis has himself experienced what it’s like to be trapped by the doomed passenger ship — and to break free — more than 30 years ago.

See more on the search for the missing Titanic-bound submersible: Here’s what James Cameron has said about diving to the Titanic wreckage | As oxygen dwindles, search for missing Titanic-bound submersible goes underwater | SETI Institute trustee, billionaire explorer, famed French diver among 5 on board the missing sub

“It was my second dive to the Titanic,” he said. He was inside a Russian Mir submersible when it landed on the floor of the Titanic’s pilot house and became entangled in wires. “When it came time to go up, we couldn’t. It was a thick adrenaline moment.”

Fortunately, the expedition was able to send a second sub down to assess the situation and help talk the chief pilot through the required navigation to wiggle free.

That self-rescue ability — either with a second sub or a remotely operated vehicle that can be flown quickly to the site — is crucial on these types of expeditions, said MacInnis. France has dispatched a research vessel, the Atalante, equipped with an underwater robot to reach the missing craft.

In this photo released by Action Aviation, the submersible Titan is prepared for a dive into a remote area of the Atlantic Ocean on an expedition to the Titanic on Sunday, June 18, 2023. Rescuers raced against time Tuesday, June 20, to find the missing submersible carrying five people, who were reported overdue Sunday night. (Action Aviation via AP)

Five passengers are known to be on the submersible: adventurer Hamish Harding, founder of investment group Action Aviation; Stockton Rush, founder of OceanGate Expeditions, which is running the expedition; Engro Corp’s vice chairman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman; and French maritime expert Paul-Henry Nargeolet.

Three of that crew are likely newcomers to deep-sea diving, he said. “They would have been on adrenaline before the dive. And in a high-stress moment they will be red-lined,” MacInnis said. But one of them, Nargeolet, is a close personal friend of MacInnis.

“PH is the best person you could be in a sub with,” he said. “He is very, very calm under extreme stress. If they’re still alive, he will be a terrific calming influence on the others.”

Read more: World-record breaker, business leaders missing on Titanic tour

MacInnis, whose work on the 1992 IMAX film Titanica helped inspire friend James Cameron to create the Hollywood blockbuster, said if the submersible had merely lost radio contact, standard protocol would be to immediately surface.

He says he was “stricken” when he learned the Titan was missing.

“Getting lost in the depths is a primal fear,” he said. “My heart goes out to the guys in the subs — and the team on the surface trying to solve the problem.”

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Traveling internationally this summer? Here’s what you need to know about passports

• June 20, 2023

Alexandra Skores | The Dallas Morning News (TNS)

Travelers are flocking to international destinations this summer to make up for canceled trips during the pandemic.

But during the pandemic, some travelers may have forgotten about one key part of international travel: a passport.

The U.S. Department of State is estimating 10 to 13 weeks of processing for routine passports, and seven to nine weeks for expedited passports, not accounting for mailing times. In March, the department said it was expecting this summer to be the busiest travel season on record.

If you’re a traveler dealing with the long waits to get a passport this summer, experts are sharing advice to get appointments for applications and renewals.

Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper recommends that travelers check passport rules for the country they are traveling to. Some airlines will not allow passengers with less than six months of passport validity from their trip to board flights.

The U.S. Department of State’s website said countries that require six months of validity include: Mainland China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Turkey.

Expedited passports are an option, though companies that offer the service can charge hefty fees. G3 Global Services, a private company that charges fees for expedited visas and passports, charges anywhere from $179 to $749 in service fees, depending on how quickly the traveler needs the passport.

Names on the passport also have to match names on tickets. A nickname mismatch may not allow some travelers to board, Berg said.

Edgar Miranda, office coordinator at the University of Texas at Dallas’ passport center, said travelers who aren’t flying, but taking a cruise, also need to be mindful of their passport status.

“Just because you’re not getting on a plane, you’re still essentially leaving the country,” Miranda said. “Look at your passports, look at your kids’ passports.”

U.S. passports for adults are valid for 10 years and passports for children younger than 16 are valid five years. A passport card, which the U.S. began issuing in 2008 for U.S. travelers from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and Caribbean countries by land or sea, is valid for the same length of time as a passport.

—

©2023 The Dallas Morning News. Visit dallasnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

A quiet NBA Draft awaits the Pac-12, which speaks volumes about the state of the conference

• June 20, 2023

If the projections are reasonably accurate, Jaime Jaquez Jr. is the only player standing between the Pac-12 and a hefty dose of ignominy Thursday evening in the 2023 NBA Draft.

The versatile UCLA forward is considered the only likely first-round selection for a conference that typically produces a handful of them and hasn’t been shut out of the opening round entirely since 1988.

The last time it generated just one first-rounder? When Washington’s Quincy Pondexter went 26th to Oklahoma City in 2010.

Jaquez’s perch atop the draft class is somewhat unexpected and highly instructive.

The Southern California native was a four-star recruit who spent four years in Westwood developing his game. In that regard, he’s a warning and lesson for the conference. He’s a symptom of what ails the collective and a reflective view of the creeping rot.

Not long ago, in fact, the Pac-12 was basking in its draft successes:

— In 2017, it produced the top two picks, Washington’s Markelle Fultz and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball, and six first-rounders in all.

— The following year, it generated the No. 1 pick again: Arizona’s Deandre Ayton.

— In 2020, it accounted for one-fifth of all the first-rounders; and in 2021, it produced four of the top-24 picks.

This spring, the Pac-12 cannot claim a No. 1 pick and has no lottery-level talents. The closest thing to a first-round lock is Jaquez, who’s projected for the late teens or 20s.

Sure, someone else could provide an upside surprise. Perhaps UCLA wing Amari Bailey, who’s slotted for the middle of the second, will sneak into the end of the first. Maybe a team gambles on Washington State’s Mouhamed Gueye, a raw talent projected for the late second round.

But none of the other top players from the 2022-23 season are within a half-court heave of the first round. Not high-scoring Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis. Not UCLA’s sensational perimeter defender, Jaylen Clark, who’s recovering from an Achilles injury. Not USC sharpshooter Drew Peterson.

One reason for the paucity of first-round options: A handful of the top players assessed their draft value and opted to return to school.

Another reason: The major talent acquisitions of the past two recruiting cycles haven’t developed.

The Pac-12 doesn’t have input issues, folks. Over the past five years, the conference signed 24 prospects who carried five-star ratings by the 247Sports recruiting service — fewer than the SEC and ACC but far more than either the Big Ten or Big 12.

And in the past three recruiting cycles (2020-22), the Pac-12 signed 11 prospects with five-star ratings. A few are already in the NBA, but most are still developing their games — either in the conference or elsewhere.

Five-star recruits signed by the Pac-12:

2020

USC’s Evan Mobley: Played one year, drafted No. 3 overall (Cavaliers)Stanford’s Ziaire Williams: Played one year, drafted No. 10 overall (Pelicans)ASU’s Josh Christopher: Played one year, drafted No. 24 overall (Rockets)

2021

UCLA’s Peyton Watson: Played one year, drafted No. 30 overall (Nuggets)Stanford’s Harrison Ingram: Played two years, transferred to North CarolinaOregon’s Nathan Bittle: Played two years, returning to schoolASU’s Enoch Boakye: Played two seasons, transferred to Fresno State

2022

Oregon’s Kel’el Ware: Played one year, transferred to IndianaUCLA’s Amari Bailey: Played one year, entered NBA DraftUCLA’s Adem Bona: Played one year, returning to schoolArizona’s Kylan Boswell: Played one year, returning to school

It’s hardly uncommon for five-star talents to require several college seasons before blossoming into first-round selections, and some never make the jump.

But the Pac-12 isn’t as well equipped to navigate problems with player evaluation and development as other power conferences. Its programs have resource limitations, exposure issues and scheduling challenges not experienced elsewhere (at least to the same degree).

When eight five-star talents enter the conference over a two-year period and only one emerges as a one-and-done, then on-court success becomes that much more difficult.

The Pac-12 faces an annual struggle to meet reasonable bars for NCAA Tournament bids, seeds and advancement. Only once in the past seven years, in that wacky, pandemic-impacted 2020-21 season, has the conference sent more than one-third of its teams to the tournament.

Central to the collective malaise is mediocre talent development — not only with regard to the elite prospects but the three- and four-star recruits, as well.

Sure, it’s about making the most of the next Ware, the next Ingram, the next Boakye. But the conference must produce more players like Jaquez, who was merely the 100th-ranked recruit in his class.

It’s one more issue and the only issue, for talent evaluation and development reside at the core of coaching whether peach baskets or NIL money define the game.

The lineup of Pac-12 head coaches has changed little over the past few years despite a clear need for major upgrades. The 2023 draft class is one more piece of evidence.

*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to pac12hotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716

*** Follow me on Twitter: @WilnerHotline

*** Pac-12 Hotline is not endorsed or sponsored by the Pac-12 Conference, and the views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Conference.

​ Orange County Register 

Top 10 must-sees along Route 66, from Santa Monica to Amarillo, Texas

• June 20, 2023

A road trip along Route 66 is an American culture touchstone. The highway that first connected Chicago and Los Angeles in the 1920s became larger than life thanks to the writing of John Steinbeck, the music of Nat King Cole and a certain snippet of lyrics by The Eagles. (You’ll have “standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona” stuck in your head now!)

RELATED: Route 66, America’s ‘Mother Road,’ readies for its centennial

Now, on the eve of the highway’s centennial, Country Living magazine took a look at the top 50 sights on this famous stretch of road. Their list ranges from natural wonders — hello, Grand Canyon — to kitschy glories, like a turquoise and hot pink diner in Kingman, Arizona. There are buildings topped with giant objects — a humongous milk bottle in Oklahoma City, for example. And objects that are art, like the installation commissioned by a Texas tycoon involving 10 graffiti-covered vintage Cadillacs.

Here’s a sampling from the big list. Find the full rundown at www.countryliving.com.

Ten must-sees on Route 66

1 The Wigwam Motel, San Bernardino, California, and Holbrook, Arizona

2 Painted Desert, Arizona

3 Mr. D’s Route 66 Diner, Kingman, Arizona

4 Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas

5 Roy’s Motel and Cafe, Amboy

6 Historic Seligman Sundries

7 Grand Canyon, Arizona

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8 Meteor Crater and Barringer Space Museum, Winslow, Arizona

9 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica

10 Standin’ on the Corner Park, Winslow, Arizona

​ Orange County Register 

The biggest survey of homeless Californians in decades shows why so many are on the streets

• June 20, 2023

Losing income is the No. 1 reason Californians end up homeless – and the vast majority of them say a subsidy of as little as $300 a month could have kept them off the streets.

That’s according to a new study out of UC San Francisco that provides the most comprehensive look yet at California’s homeless crisis.

In the six months prior to becoming homeless, the Californians surveyed were making a median income of just $960 a month. The median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in California is nearly three times that, according to Zillow. And though survey participants listed a myriad of reasons why they lost their homes, more people cited a loss of, or reduction in, income than anything else.

The study’s authors say the findings highlight the idea that money, more than addiction, mental health, poor decisions or other factors, is the main cause of – and potential solution to – homelessness.

“I think it’s really important to note how desperately poor people are, and how much it is their poverty and the high housing costs that are leading to this crisis,” said Margot Kushel, a physician who directs the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, which conducted the study.

Already the study – which the authors say is the most representative homelessness survey conducted in the U.S. since the mid-1990s – has drawn attention from high places.

The initial idea for the survey came from California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly, Kushel said. Ghaly’s office has been involved along the way, though the state didn’t fund the research.

“As we drive toward addressing the health and housing needs of Californian’s experiencing homelessness, this study reinforces the importance of comprehensive and integrated supports,” Ghaly said in a news release. “California is taking bold steps to address unmet needs for physical and behavioral health services, to create a range of housing options that are safe and stable, and to meet people where they are at. We are grateful for the voices of those who participated in this study, as they will help guide our approach.”

The survey comes as local governments press Gov. Gavin Newsom to distribute ongoing funding to fight homelessness, arguing the one-time grants he has doled out so far don’t allow them to make lasting progress. Newsom has resisted that kind of multi-year commitment, although his administration has allocated nearly $21 billion toward homelessness and housing since he took office.

The UCSF team surveyed 3,198 unhoused adults throughout California between October 2021 and November 2022, and conducted in-depth interviews with 365 of those participants.

What drives California’s homeless crisis?

When asked why they left their last home, respondents cited conflict between roommates, not wanting to impose on the person or people they were living with, domestic violence, illness and breakups.

A loss of or reduction in income was the most common response, with 12% of people saying that’s what caused their homelessness. Just 4% blamed their own substance use or drinking.

All of those varied factors that led people to lose their homes often have underlying roots in economic instability, said Jennifer Wolch, a professor emerita at UC Berkeley specializing in homelessness.

“This lack of income and severe instability and housing precarity, it has spillover effects on people’s relationships, their use of alcohol and other kinds of problematic substances,” she said. “It impinges on their health status.”

The story told by one survey participant, identified as Carlos, shows how someone can gradually descend into homelessness. He had to stop working after falling off a ladder and injuring his spine, but wasn’t eligible for workers’ compensation because he had been paid in cash. Unable to afford his rent, he moved out of his apartment and rented a room in a new place. He soon left due to conflicts with his roommates. He then briefly lived with his sister’s family, until they faced COVID-related job loss and he moved out to avoid becoming a burden. He lived in his truck until it was towed due to unpaid parking tickets. Now, he lives in an encampment in a park.

Most of the homeless Californians surveyed said a relatively small amount of cash would have saved them from the street. Seventy percent said a monthly rental subsidy of $300-$500 would have kept them from becoming homeless, while 82% believed a one-time payment of between $5,000 and $10,000 would have worked.

Jennifer Loving, CEO of Santa Clara County nonprofit Destination: Home, hopes the study’s findings will help debunk what she says is a common myth that people are homeless because of their individual failings, rather than because rents are outpacing wages. She’d like to see California’s leaders take notice.

“Hopefully it will inform a statewide strategy,” she said, “because we need a statewide strategy to be able to manage how we are addressing homelessness.”

Another California homeless myth

Another myth the study attempts to dispel is that most homeless people flock to California cities because of warm weather, liberal policies and generous services. In reality, 90% of the people surveyed said they were last housed in California, and 75% live in the same county as where they lost their housing.

That’s important to remember, Wolch said, because it’s easy to disregard unhoused people who we think “aren’t from here” and haven’t paid taxes here.

“People who are homeless are your neighbors,” she said. “People who are homeless live in the same city that you do and they possibly have lived there longer than you have.”

The survey painted a bleak picture of the traumas and tragedies that made survey participants more vulnerable to ending up on the street. People reported growing up in depressed communities with few job opportunities, where they experienced exploitation and discrimination. Nearly three-quarters said they had experienced physical violence during their lives, and one-quarter had experienced sexual violence.

One in three people surveyed attempted suicide at some point.

Mental health and addiction also were a common undercurrent in the lives of many of the unhoused people surveyed, which is to be expected in a population that has suffered so much trauma, according to the researchers. Two-thirds of people reported experiencing mental health symptoms – including depression, anxiety or hallucinations – in the past 30 days. Homelessness and all it entails, including lack of sleep, violence and difficulty accessing medication, exacerbated their symptoms, many people said.

About one-third of people reported using drugs three or more times a week – mostly methamphetamines. And 1 in 5 people who reported regular drug or heavy alcohol use said they wanted addiction treatment but couldn’t get it.

Jail to homelessness pipeline

The study also emphasizes the relationship between incarceration and homelessness, said Alex Visotzky, senior California Policy Fellow for the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

More than three-quarters of people surveyed had been incarcerated at some point during their life. And in the six months before becoming homeless, 43% were in jail or prison, or were on probation or parole. The vast majority of those who had been incarcerated received no help signing up for housing, healthcare or benefits upon release.

“That drove home for me this point: Incarceration, homelessness and then subsequent criminalization are fueling a really vicious cycle for marginalized people, especially Black and Latino Californians, that’s both causing and prolonging homelessness,” Visotzky said.

‘We don’t have enough housing for poor folks’

To solve the homelessness crisis, the main problem California needs to address is the lack of housing that’s affordable for extremely low-income residents, according to the researchers. The state has just 24 affordable and available homes for every 100 extremely low-income households, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Among the solutions the researchers proposed: expanding vouchers that use federal, state and local dollars to subsidize people’s rent. They also suggested piloting shared housing programs where multiple households live together and split costs, while also providing funds to help people remain with or move in with family or friends.

Kushel hopes the study helps drive public support for these ideas, which in turn will spur politicians to act.

“I hope that it really focuses our efforts on housing, which is the only way out of homelessness,” Kushel said. “It’s almost so obvious it’s hard to speak about. We don’t have enough housing for poor folks.”

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​ Orange County Register