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13 The Housing Crisis The housing crisis in the broader Bay Area affects San Leandro residents, and was mentioned in every stakeholder interview. While housing per se is not in the purview of the Recreation and Human Services Department, housing insecurity exacerbates human service needs and can be a barrier to accessing services. Housing consistently has been the top need among callers to 2-1-1, the resource and referral line, in recent years.24 Housing insecurity exists along a spectrum, including being housing-cost burdened, doubled up, and unsheltered. People who are homeless and without shelter are at the far end of the spectrum of housing insecurity. An estimated 150-200 homeless people live in San Leandro.25 The City of San Leandro has made strides in addressing homelessness through the San Leandro Homeless Compact. Through the Compact, the City of San Leandro, the Rental Housing Association of Southern Alameda County, and Building Futures with Women and Children have collaborated to make available 25 units of long-term, secure housing along with supportive services. To date, 20 formerly chronically homeless people, all of whom are seniors with disabilities, have been housed through the Compact. Other efforts to address the needs of unsheltered residents of San Leandro that the Compact has coordinated have included expansion of the number of nights on which the Warming Shelter operates, and a street outreach team to people to the Warming Shelter, medical and mental health care, food, laundry, and processes for securing identification cards. Housing insecurity that does not reach the level of living without shelter also is detrimental to many aspects of wellbeing. The Alameda County Public Health Department recently highlighted the impact of housing insecurity on health, finding that some residents must choose between unsafe housing and eviction, often living in conditions that exacerbate children’s asthma; that families sometimes cannot find housing that meets the needs of family members with disabilities; and that the stress of housing insecurity is leading to declining mental health among residents.26 A household is considered housing-cost burdened if housing costs account for 30% or more of household income, and severely housing-cost burdened if housing costs account for 50% or more of household income. Renters are group with the highest rates of housing-cost burden. Nearly half of San Leandro’s estimated 14,257 renter-occupied housing units are housing-cost burdened, and close to one in four is severely housing-cost burdened. Rates of housing-cost burden among the estimated 11,826 owner-occupied units with mortgages, however, are not far behind, with 43% housing-cost burdened and more than one in five severely housing-cost burdened. Owner-occupied units without a mortgage are far less likely to be housing-cost burdened; nevertheless, nearly 300 such units are severely housing-cost burdened. An estimated total of 6,155 households in San Leandro spent half or more of their income on housing in the 2011-15 24 Eden I&R (2014). 2-1-1 Annual Report Fiscal Year 2014. Accessed at http://www.edenir.org/reports.html 25 Unpublished document describing the San Leandro Homeless Compact, City of San Leandro. 26 Alameda County Public Health Department and Behavioral Health Care Services (June 2016). Housing and Health for All in Alameda County.