More than 160,000 Californians are without housing — a number close to the populations of Salinas or Hayward. Despite the billions of government and private dollars spent to prevent homelessness, that number continues to rise in California while it dips nationwide.

Is this the result of failed policies and misguided efforts? Is homelessness too complex and intractable to solve in a state so large? Do we even have enough data to support a particular path forward?

The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) spring Policy Forum brings together leading experts to delve into some of the issues driving the crisis and offer their ideas on how to address them. We’ll take stock of housing prices and shortages, mental illness and drug addiction, criminal justice, and an already fragile economic landscape.

The event will be held in person on May 19th at the SIEPR-Gunn Building on the Stanford campus. The full-day event begins with breakfast at 8:30 am PT and ends with dinner. We look forward to having you join us for all or part of the day!

Panel 1: Housing Affordability & Economic Vulnerability (9:30am-10:30am PDT)

• Chris Ko, VP of Impact & Strategy, United Way of Greater Los Angeles
• Gary Painter, Professor in the Sol Price School of Public Policy, USC; Director of the Sol Price Center for Social Innovation and the Homelessness Policy Research Institute
• Regina Celestin Williams, Executive Director, SV@Home
• Moderator: David Grusky, Edward Ames Edmond Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford University; Director, Center on Poverty and Inequality; Senior Fellow, SIEPR.

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