Community

Chronic Homelessness Falls 28% in Marin

Published

7 years ago

May 21, 2019

The “whatever it takes” approach to addressing homelessness in Marin County is working. By prioritizing the most vulnerable residents for stable supportive housing, the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services (Marin HHS) and its partners have reduced chronic homelessness by 28 percent since 2017 according to preliminary figures from the Point-in-Time Count that took place in January.

Marin HHS released the preliminary results on May 8. The count is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) every two years for every U.S. community that receives federal homelessness funding. On January 28, teams fanned out across Marin to gather data about people experiencing homelessness on a single day. The results are used to understand local needs, track progress toward the goal of ending homelessness, and evaluate homelessness reduction strategies.

Other top takeaways from the Point-in-Time Count:

Of the 257 people experiencing chronic homelessness, 86 were in emergency shelter the night of the count, meaning there were 171 people experiencing unsheltered chronic homelessness, a 41 percent decrease from the 2017 count. The magnitude of that decrease signals that Marin’s emergency shelters are reaching a more vulnerable population than ever before;

Family homelessness is down 28 percent;

Youth homelessness is down 10 percent;

Homelessness among people with serious mental illness is down 40 percent and down 10 percent among people with substance-use disorders;

The total count of people experiencing homelessness in Marin is 1,034 individuals, a 7 percent reduction.

The reductions are directly tied to a new system-wide approach that includes adopting a Housing First model, prioritizing the most vulnerable people for housing, sharing data and working collaboratively client-by-client, and expanding cross-sector partnerships with nonprofits, hospitals, law enforcement, cities, and other partners.

Marin implemented the Housing First approach, an evidence-based practice, because it is the most effective way to address chronic homelessness. Data shows that people who are chronically homeless have a life expectancy 25 years less than their housed peers. Housing First recognizes a person’s housing need first, then surrounds them with support necessary to achieve stability and independence.

“We needed to shift our focus to the most vulnerable, most visible, and most complex population to drastically improve health outcomes,” said Ashley Hart McIntyre, Marin HHS Homelessness Policy Analyst. “We’re thrilled that our preliminary count numbers confirm what studies have shown to be true: Housing highly vulnerable people is the solution to chronic homelessness.”

Since October 2017, Marin HHS and its partners have housed 128 chronically homeless residents, an achievement that has far-reaching impacts. The cost of leaving a chronically homeless person on the street is roughly $60,000 per year because of the high costs of hospitals, the court system, criminal justice and other public systems. The cost of providing permanent supportive housing for people who are chronically homeless is roughly $25,000 per year.

“This achievement would not have been possible without the dedication of our nonprofit partners,” said Carrie Ellen Sager, Marin HHS Homelessness Program Coordinator. “They do the difficult work of implementing these best practices day-to-day and meeting the needs of these complex clients.”

Other new, evidence-based initiatives launched through collaboration between Marin HHS and its nonprofit partners include a shift to housing-focused shelter at Homeward Bound’s Mill Street Center emergency shelter, a diversion program at the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin, an Assertive Community Treatment case management team at the Ritter Center.

Three other key contributors to the reduction were:

The Coordinated Entry program that streamlines participant intake, assessment and referrals;

The launch of Whole Person Care, a three-year program that uses Medi-Cal dollars to pay for services that relate to all of a person’s health and social needs and allows for data sharing across sectors, facilitating true collaboration between formerly siloed systems; and

Marin HHS’ partnership with the Marin Housing Authority to provide up to 50 new permanent supportive housing beds per year through the pairing of Section 8 vouchers with Whole Person Care and behavioral health services as well as a housing locator dedicated to recruiting landlords.

Marin General Hospital, which has been partnering with the County’s Whole Person Care program since fall 2017, already has seen the positive impact of stable housing on an individual’s health and wellness.

“It’s often said that housing should be considered a medical vital sign,” said Leigh Burns, RDN, CDE, Manager, PRIME Programs and the Supportive Care Center for Marin General Hospital. “Those with stable housing are more likely to engage in their health care and have better outcomes, and we have already seen tangible evidence of that. We are thrilled to partner with the County and other stakeholders on building a collaborative network that connects medical and social services to deliver better, more coordinated care.”

District 2 County Supervisor Katie Rice, who represents the Ross Valley, serves on the County’s Homelessness Planning Committee.

“These data prove Marin is on the right track,” she said, “and that it is indeed possible to end chronic and veteran homelessness in Marin, which the County and its partners aim to do by the end of 2022.”

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Activism

Diabetes in Black California: Turning the Tide from Crisis to Control

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data, nearly 17.9% of Black adults in California have been diagnosed with diabetes — above the national Black adult average of 16.8%, and nearly five points higher than California’s overall adult rate of 12.6% across all races. California ranks 24th out of 39 states with available data for Black adult diabetes rates.

Published

3 days ago

July 5, 2026

Oakland Post

Dr. Khadijah Lang is a family physician with a clinic in Los Angeles who specializes in several family medical practices, including prenatal care. Lang believes in family medicine. She says it is important to treat all members of a family. Thursday, June 5, 2026. Photo by Solomon O. Smith/California Black Media.

By Charlene Muhammad, California Black Media

Crystal Lambert knew something was terribly wrong with her three-year-old granddaughter as she sped down the street trying to get her to the hospital.

“I thought she got a hold of some poison,” Lambert recalled.

Doctors found Lambert’s granddaughter had a blood sugar level over 800, diagnosing her with Diabetic Ketoacidosis(DKA), a state in which the body, starved of insulin, begins to shut down.

Lambert said she was born with a pancreas that was not fully functioning — it lacked the specialized cells required to produce insulin.

Her granddaughter survived and is five years old today. Now, she gives herself insulin shots, asks endless questions about her condition, and runs like the spirited child she is. But the terror of that night transformed Lambert — and ultimately inspired her to launch the We Fight Back Organization, a mobile health and food access initiative serving underserved communities across California. Lambert is the executive director.

The Crisis by the Numbers

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data, nearly 17.9% of Black adults in California have been diagnosed with diabetes — above the national Black adult average of 16.8%, and nearly five points higher than California’s overall adult rate of 12.6% across all races. California ranks 24th out of 39 states with available data for Black adult diabetes rates.

Nationally, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Black Americans were 24% more likely than the overall U.S. population to have diabetes in 2024. They also died from diabetes 78% more often than the general population in 2022. Black Americans are also more than twice as likely as the overall population to develop kidney failure caused by diabetes.

According to the California Health Care Foundation’s 2024 Health Disparities Almanac, Black Californians have the shortest life expectancy in the state at just 74.6 years — due in part to chronic conditions like diabetes and its devastating complications.

Leon Rock, co-founder of the African American Diabetes Association, believes statistics, though revealing, only tell part of the story.

“There are a whole bunch of Black folks that don’t tell you that they have diabetes — or don’t know,” he said.

And the disease itself, Rock is careful to note, is not what kills. “They die from the complications. That’s heart attack, that’s stroke, that’s amputations of legs, of feet. Going blind. All those complications are inherent in a system that has impacted Black folks with diabetes in California and across America.”

Crystal Lambert, creator and executive director of We Fight Back. She started the organization out of a need to learn more about diabetes on behalf of her granddaughter. Now she is looking to spread the impact of her organization to the valley. Friday, June 6, 2026. Photo by Solomon O. Smith/California Black Media.

Crystal Lambert, creator and executive director of the We Fight Back Organization, started out of a need to learn more about diabetes on behalf of her granddaughter. Now she is looking to spread her organization to the valley, on Friday, June 6, 2026 Photo by Solomon O. Smith/ California Black Media

An Information Gap Fuels the Crisis

For Rock, part of the solution is diagnosis. He says the medical and public health systems are failing Black Californians by the absence of information designed for them.

“That is the bottom line. We need good information. Information that is culturally specific,” said Rock.

Telling people to eat healthy or exercise, he added, falls short when culturally specific alternatives are not provided, and when many residents of urban communities do not feel safe exercising in some neighborhoods – or outside at night.

Dr. Khadijah Lang, a family medicine physician and president of the Golden State Medical Association, agrees that the roots of the crisis run deeper than individual behavior — and blaming patients misses the point.

“We are not genetically predisposed to diabetes,” Lang said. “But the system under which we live increases the likelihood that we will develop it.”

What the Body Needs — What Communities Are Denied

Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 90 to 95% of all diabetes cases, according to the CDC, develops when the body can no longer use insulin effectively to regulate blood sugar. Left unmanaged, it damages nerves, kidneys, eyes, and the cardiovascular system. The hemoglobin A1C test is a blood draw that reveals how the body has processed sugar over the previous three months — not just at the moment of the test. It is the standard tool for both diagnosis and ongoing monitoring.

That distinction matters, Lang emphasized, because patients cannot manipulate three months of blood sugar history the way they might fast for a day before a single blood draw.

“The pill is not meant to undo or control a sugar level that’s being constantly stressed,” Lang said. “It’s meant to work in conjunction with a low-carbohydrate diet and exercise.” She recommended at minimum 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week — breakable into 10-minute sessions for those who need it.

Lang stressed that education must be delivered in language people recognize and can relate to. The goal is to inform them of the choices that serve their health best, she said.

But for many Black Californians, even those informed choices remain out of reach, Lambert said.

“They need access to healthy foods and medication, too” she said.

California has made some critical policy advances. The state has expanded access to the Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), which has transformed diabetes care for state residents. Assembly Bill 365, introduced in 2024, proposed requiring Medi-Cal to cover the costs of CGM and other related medical equipment but it failed in the State Senate. Since then, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) reports that the core Medi-Cal CGM benefit now available to eligible patients was solidified through previous budget actions and pharmacy policy updates.

These measures, while meaningful, have not closed the gap for the communities most at risk, according to advocates.

Control Through Community

Health care advocates conclude that the solution must be communal, culturally grounded, and sustained — not a fad, not a celebrity moment, not a single clinic visit. For example, observed Lang, lifestyle shaped by shared values and collective accountability can move the needle where individual prescriptions have not.

Rock is building infrastructure to match the urgency, establishing local chapters of the African American Diabetes Association across the country, with California next.

“We have to do for self, period,” he said. “Health is wealth. We have to eat to live.”

And Lambert, whose granddaughter unknowingly started all of this for her, keeps showing up.

“Diabetes advocacy is about dignity, education, prevention, and hope,” she said.

Video: Diabetes Disparity Exposed in California

This article is supported by the California Health Care Foundation

(CHCF). Visit www.chcf.org

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Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

Published

4 days ago

July 5, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Arts and Culture

Prescott Circus Theatre Presents Free Summer Performance Series

Now in its 41st year, the Prescott Circus Theatre is a nationally recognized performing arts education program for Oakland youth. The circus offers safe environments that challenge Oakland youth, through circus arts training, to develop the skills and confidence to thrive on stage, in school, and in life.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

Prescott Circus showcase pathways pyramid. Photo courtesy of Prescott Circus.

By Post Staff

The Prescott Circus, Oakland’s longest-running youth circus, is returning this summer with its free shows. Join the Prescott Circus’s young stars as they share their joys and talents through stilt-dancing, tumbling, juggling, and more.

At the heart of this one-hour show, which demonstrates teamwork, pride, and joy, are Oakland Unified School District students ages 8 – 17 from more than 10 different schools

This is accomplished through no-cost school and community programs for more than 300 Oakland youth each year. Performing company members from Prescott, where the program began, perform and make appearances at as many as 40 Bay Area events each year.

The summer program is funded in part by Oakland Fund for Children and Youth, California Arts Council, Port of Oakland, and the West Davis & Bergard Foundation.

Performances will be held Tuesday, July 14, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (ASL interpreted) and Wednesday, July 15, 11 a.m., at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. For free reservations go to

https://PrescottCircusSummerShows.eventbrite.com

For group reservations for camps, childcare centers, senior centers, go to www.prescottcircus.org

A community show will be held Saturday, July 18, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., at DeFremery Park,1651 Adeline St., Oakland.