San Francisco and the Bay Area have long been sites of innovation and collective action, amplifying the pluralism and community-based innovation that define life in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bay Area cities are on the front line in meeting the needs of those experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity and are at the forefront of creating longer-term urban policies that foster diversity and inclusion. Moreover, the need has never been greater for public-private partnerships and innovations from businesses and the broader private-sector in addressing the current reality of homelessness and housing insecurity. The private-sector has many important roles and diverse contributions to offer and inspire further engagement and foster new partnerships that could make an actual difference in the lives of so many individuals and families experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity.  

The Homelessness Awareness Month Community Forum hosted both city and municipal leaders, and the broader private-sector—including corporations, foundations, NGOs, individuals, and civil society actors—as crucial stakeholders in addressing the unmet needs of people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, and their communities. It was conceived as a response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s CA Comeback Plan and his call to “functionally end family homelessness in five years” by investing in homelessness prevention and rental support, and for different sectors to contribute in significant and innovative ways to resolving family homelessness and housing shortages which California faces today. It took place in parallel with National Homelessness Awareness Month, centering on responses to individuals and families experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity at all levels, in all sectors.  

The Homelessness Awareness Month Community Forum hosted high-level city and state representatives from around the San Francisco Bay Area, in addition to thought leaders, business leaders, nonprofit leaders, and civil society representatives. Each session featured best practices, implementation challenges, and notable new or existing multi-stakeholder initiatives and partnerships around family homelessness and affordable housing. Sessions aimed to share expertise, create affinity groups, and build momentum in scope, partnerships, and support for such initiatives.  

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1 November 2021

Shaping Bay Area Priorities with Homelessness and Affordable Housing Leaders

The opening session of the Homelessness Awareness Month Community Forum focused on mapping the state of homelessness and housing insecurity in the San Francisco Bay Area and the historical roots of the present context, with speakers including local homelessness and affordable housing leaders, municipal decision-makers, and private-sector partners. 

  • Kyriell Noon, CEO, Hamilton Families

  • Senator Scott Wiener, California District 11

  • Carolina K. Reid, Associate Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California at Berkeley and Faculty Research Advisor for the Terner Center for Housing Innovation 

  • Cynthia Nagendra, Deputy Director of Planning & Strategy, Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, City and County of San Francisco

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8 November 2021

Innovative Approaches to Overcome Homelessness Challenges

The second session of the Homelessness Awareness Month Community Forum focused on opportunities to innovate homeless service delivery as a response to new and evolving challenges, including workforce development platforms, skills matching and digital literacy initiatives, and developing and utilizing technological tools to improve connectivity for families experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. 

  • Kyriell Noon, CEO, Hamilton Families

  • Megan Abell, Director of Advocacy, TechEquity Collaborative 

  • Del Seymour, Founder, Code Tenderloin

  • Kate Sofis, Director of Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), City and County of San Francisco

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15 November 2021

Changing the Narrative: Creating Positive Discourse on Family Homelessness

The third session of the Homelessness Awareness Month Community Forum focused on the current narrative discourse surrounding families experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, in support of enabling a new, fact-based, positive public discourse, demonstrating the need to tailor messaging to different types of audiences.

  • Kyriell Noon, CEO, Hamilton Families

  • Sheryl Davis, Executive Director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission

  • Alina Harway, Communications Director of the Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California (NPH)

  • Erika Cohn, Founder of Idlewild Films, Inc., Director of “What You’ll Remember” 

  • Elizabeth Herrara, Participant of Hamilton Families, Cinematographer of “What You’ll Remember”

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22 November 2021

A Call-to-Action to Address Racial Equity in Homelessness and Housing Policy

The fourth session of the Homelessness Awareness Month Community Forum dove into a deeper understanding of the connection between structural racism and racial disparities among homeless populations, providing guidance on developing and implementing actionable procedures for addressing racial disparities. 

  • Kyriell Noon, CEO, Hamilton Families

  • Shakirah Simley, Executive Director, Booker T. Washington Community Service Center

  • Joe Wilson, Executive Director, Hospitality House 

  • Sam Dodge, Manager, City and County of San Francisco’s Healthy Streets Operations Center 

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29 November 2021

Philanthropy and Family Homelessness

The fifth and final session of the Homelessness Awareness Month Community Forum focused on the ways in which corporations and private foundations have contributed to the needs of families experiencing homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area. Panelists discussed how foundations are looking at new, more creative and sustainable ways of providing support to the homelessness and affordable housing crises.