Memo: California Housing Precarity in the Context of the Coronavirus Pandemic

By Rachel Godsil Professor at Rutgers Law School and Hillary Ronen San Francisco District 9 Supervisor

Executive Summary

Earlier this year, California Governor Gavin Newsom gave a speech where he spoke about the extreme level of homelessness in the state, saying, the “California Dream is dimmed by the wrenching reality of families, children, and seniors living unfed on a concrete bed.” The governor’s speech was in the middle of February, when there were over 150,000 people in California experiencing homelessness. 

Since that time, coronavirus has ravaged the state with, as of April 23, 2020, more than 37,000 confirmed cases, 5,000 hospitalizations, and 1,400 fatalities. The virus also has devastated the state’s economy, causing California’s unemployment rate to jump to 5.3% in March—up from 3.9% in February—as a result of nearly 100,000 lost jobs. If urgent action is not taken, the number of people in California experiencing homelessness will only skyrocket. 

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