Alameda County · 2023, 2024 & 2025

Behind Every Number,
a Person Without a Home

This report uses Alameda County’s Homeless Management Information System data spanning three years — 2023, 2024, and 2025 — to illuminate the people SHCLA exists to serve.

Source: Alameda County HMIS · Ages 18–59 · Three-year period 2023–2025

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The Scale of the Crisis

Nearly 55,000 Adults. Three Years. One County.

Between 2023 and 2025, nearly 55,000 adults aged 18–59 accessed homeless services in Alameda County. These are not statistics — they are neighbors, family members, and community members who needed a safe place to sleep, eat, and heal. More than a third had a diagnosed mental health condition, and nearly half carried some form of disability. The scale of compounding need is immense.

👥 54,991 Total individuals Ages 18–59 · 2023–2025

🧠 19,713 Mental health condition 35.8% of all clients

🏠 16,616 Chronically homeless 30.2% — long-term, persistent need

♿ 25,493 Any disability 46.4% — layered vulnerability

💸 11,644 Zero income 21.2% — no financial foothold

❤ 14,239 Chronic health condition 25.9% — compounding illness

Who is in the system → who needs permanent supportive housing most

All individuals

in Alameda County homeless services

54,991

54,991100%

Any disability

physical or mental

25,493

25,49346.4%

Mental health condition

SHCLA’s primary population

19,713

19,71335.8%

MH + Chronically homeless

longest-term, most acute need

13,133

13,13323.9%

Triple burden

MH + chronic homelessness + no income

4,689

4,6898.5%

Counts reflect unique client combinations across the three-year period 2023–2025. Source: Alameda County HMIS.

Racial Inequity in Homelessness

Who Is Most Affected

Homelessness does not fall equally across communities. Black and African American residents represent 31.1% of all homeless individuals in Alameda County’s system, despite being a far smaller share of the county’s general population. This is a racial equity crisis as much as a housing crisis, and any lasting solution must address both.

Black / African American

31.1%

White

10.1%

Multi-Racial

9.7%

Hispanic / Latino

5.2%

Asian / Asian American

1.7%

Pacific Islander

0.9%

Indigenous

0.8%

Among individuals with a mental health condition specifically, nearly 50% are Black or African American. Housing solutions that do not center racial equity are incomplete. SHCLA’s commitment to community integration and anti-stigma placement directly addresses this reality.

Mental Illness & Homelessness

In Every Age Group, More Than Half

Mental illness among people experiencing homelessness in Alameda County is not confined to a single demographic. In every age cohort from 18 to 64, more than 57% of homeless individuals carry a mental health condition. It is the defining common thread running through the entire system — which is why SHCLA’s model is not a one-time intervention but a systemic response.

Ages 18–24

63.1% have a mental health condition

63.1%

1,517 of 2,406

Ages 25–34

57.0%

4,770 of 8,362

Ages 35–44

59.9%

5,684 of 9,489

Ages 45–54

60.9%

4,637 of 7,612

Ages 55–64

58.4%

3,105 of 5,314

When Everything Compounds

Three Crises. One Person.

For many, homelessness is one hardship. For thousands in Alameda County, it is three crises stacked simultaneously: a mental health condition, years of chronic homelessness, and no income at all. These are the people the system finds hardest to reach — and who most urgently need permanent, stable, supported housing.

35.8%

19,713 people

Mental health condition
SHCLA’s primary population

30.2%

16,616 people

Chronically homeless
In the system for years, not days

21.2%

11,644 people

Zero income
No financial foundation whatsoever

8.5%

4,689 people

All three at once
Mental illness + chronic homelessness + zero income — the most acute, compounded need in the system.

23.9%

13,133 people

Mental health + chronically homeless
The core profile of permanent supportive housing candidates

The Housing Gap

Permanent Supportive Housing Is Mental Health Housing

72.2%

of all individuals who accessed a Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) program in Alameda County across 2023–2025 had a diagnosed mental health condition.

PSH is not a generic housing program — it is, in practice, a mental health intervention. Yet the supply of PSH falls far short of the need. SHCLA’s model — acquiring land permanently through a community land trust, master-leasing to licensed operators, and keeping homes affordable forever — is built precisely to fill this gap in a way that market forces alone cannot.

17,854 individuals accessed PSH programs (2023–2025)

12,885 had a mental health condition — 72.2%

4,969 did not have a reported mental health condition

PSH clients with mental health condition

12,885 — 72.2%

Without / not reported

4,969 — 27.8%

SHCLA Exists Because the Facts and Experiences Demand It

Nearly 20,000 people in Alameda County experienced homelessness alongside a serious mental illness between 2023 and 2025. More than 13,000 were chronically homeless. Thousands had no income, no stability, no foothold. SHCLA’s model of permanent community land trust housing is a carefully designed, data-grounded response to a crisis that the market cannot solve alone.

Learn about SHCLA’s work →