Oakland Homelessness Increases 47% in Two Years

Alameda County spent more than $100 million last fiscal year to prevent housing displacement via shelters, permanent supportive housing and other solutions. Despite that investment, the number of homeless in the county increased by 43 percent, according to the latest point-in-time count. Oakland saw the largest increase, with numbers jumping 47 percent between 2017 and 2019. Forum takes a closer look at what’s happening in Oakland, the stories behind these numbers and what’s being done to address this ongoing crisis. This coverage of the housing affordability crisis in the Bay Area is in collaboration with the San Francisco Chronicle and other media outlets.