Introduction

The number of people experiencing homelessness in the United States who identify as Latino/a increased by 38% between 2019 and 2023, due to increased housing costs, economic disruption from the COVID pandemic, and displacement of people who had migrated to the United States [1]. The Latino/a population in the U.S. is diverse with regard to citizenship status, language capabilities, and country of origin; these result in differential risk of and pathways to homelessness. A combination of socioeconomic, institutional, and immigration-related barriers and experiences of discrimination elevates the risk of homelessness among the Latino/a population.

Latino/a people face higher poverty rates and lower income and employment opportunities than white Americans [2,3]. They are more likely to be extremely low-income and experience housing cost-burden [4–6]. Hiring discrimination and bias against foreign credentials impair the economic outcomes of even the most educated Latino/a people, especially those who are foreign-born [7,8]. Undocumented legal status contributes to the risk of homelessness by impairing income opportunities, restricting access to safety-net protections, and limiting options to build credit or rental histories [3,9]. Compounding these economic stressors is the severe shortage of affordable housing in the U.S., with only 35 units per 100 extremely low-income households nationwide, and just 24 per 100 in California [4,5,10]. Together, these conditions increase the risk of housing problems in Latino/a populations, including high housing cost burden, living in overcrowded or subpar housing, doubling up with family or friends without rental protection, or experiencing homelessness, defined by the Federal Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transitions to Housing (HEARTH) Act, as living in a shelter or in a place not meant for human habitation (vehicle, outdoors, abandoned building) [11].

The economic and housing market effects of the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the housing conditions of Latino/a populations and contributed to the recent rise in Latino/a homelessness [12,13]. The pandemic disproportionately impacted Latino/a communities across the U.S. and widened pre-existing racial and ethnic disparities [14,15]. Both living in crowded households and being employed as essential or food service workers, common in Latino/a populations, increased exposure to the SARS-Cov-2 virus [16]. Unemployment and income loss disproportionately affected Black and Latino/a workers [9,12]. Many undocumented Latino/a immigrants and mixed-status Latino/a families lacked social security numbers and proof of unemployment; thus, they were excluded from federal relief provisions under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, & Economic Security (CARES) Act [17]. Many of those who qualified for aid were reluctant to participate in these programs due to concerns about the public charge policy that could deny them from obtaining a green card, visa, or citizenship status for requesting aid [14,16,17]. With limited access to these programs, some responded by moving in with family and friends and some entered homelessness [14,17]. These environments render Latino/as who do meet the HEARTH Act definition of homelessness less likely to be included in the Federally mandated Point-in-Time count and in research studies of homelessness that sample from service venues [18]. Stigma, lack of awareness of resources, and a dearth of linguistic and cultural competency among service providers contributes to the underutilization of services among this population [19,20].

There is little known about the lived experience of homelessness among Latino/a people. Understanding the socio-structural conditions that create the risk for homelessness in the Latino/a population and their unique challenges in accessing housing and social safety net services is important for developing solutions to address Latino/a homelessness. Based on qualitative data from a large-scale representative study of homelessness in California, we explore the distinct and complex factors that shape the lived experiences of Latino/a Californians experiencing homelessness.

Methods

The California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH) is the largest representative study of homelessness in the U.S. since the mid-1990s, and the first large-scale study to use a mixed-methods approach (administered questionnaires and paired in-depth interviews). From October 2021 to November 2022, the research team surveyed a representative sample of people experiencing homelessness in eight regions of California (N = 3,200). To recruit participants, we used venue-based sampling supplemented by respondent driven sampling. We recruited participants from a random sample of venues where adults experiencing homelessness congregate (e.g., shelters, community centers, food programs, showers, and unsheltered encampments). We used respondent driven sampling to recruit hard-to-reach populations, including farm workers and day laborers who are overwhelmingly Latino/a [21,22]. The study received approval from the University of California, San Francisco Institutional Review Board (IRB #: 20–33117). Verbal informed consent was obtained from each participant prior to participation in the study. Participants received a verbal explanation of the study’s objectives, protocols, potential risks, measures to maintain confidentiality and privacy, and how their data would be used. Eligibility criteria included being at least 18 years of age and homeless, as defined by the HEARTH Act, ability to provide informed consent, and not having a previous record of participating in the CASPEH [23].

To understand the full context of participants’ experiences and aid in the interpretation of survey data, we developed seven conceptually overlapping qualitative interview-based sub-studies: barriers to housing returns, behavioral health, precipitants of homelessness, Black experiences of homelessness, Latino/a experiences of homelessness, incarceration, and intimate partner violence. We used purposive sampling to select participants for the qualitative interviews (N = 365). Purposive sampling is a technique in qualitative research to identify participants who have information, experiences, or characteristics that are relevant to the aims of the study.

Participants were selected based on a) having completed the survey b) being flagged for a particular qualitative sub-study based on their responses to specific survey questions, and c) the survey interviewer’s assessment of the participant’s ability to discuss the topic at length. Qualitative interviews included a series of open-ended questions to elucidate the respondents’ experiences of homelessness; each sub-study used a unique interview guide. The Latino/a experiences study included topics on familial and social support, immigration and citizenship, language barriers, and discrimination. We intentionally focused our analysis on themes participants discussed most often, excluding topics that were less frequently mentioned such as healthcare access, mental and behavioral health, and other health-related experiences. This approach aligned with our research objectives and the scope of this manuscript.

We administered the qualitative interview portions in English or Spanish. We provided a $30 gift card for participating in the survey and an additional $30 gift card for completing a qualitative interview. All interviews lasted 30–45 minutes each and were audio-recorded and transcribed. Transcriptionists transcribed the Spanish interviews verbatim in Spanish then translated them to English, and Spanish-speaking staff performed quality assurance on the final English-version transcripts.

This paper uses data from qualitative interviews with participants across the qualitative sub-studies who self-identified as Latino/a (n = 84); 35 participated in the Latino/a sub-study and 51 in one of the other studies. Thirty percent were conducted in Spanish. Among the 84 Latino/a participants, 67% identified as cis-men and 32% as cis-women, and 30% were born outside the U.S. (see Table 1). We created a single coding manual to allow for analysis both within and across the sub-studies, because they contained substantial thematic overlap. We used a deductive approach to build a thematically broad group of codes based on the research questions for each sub-study; we then added additional codes inductively by closely reading the interview transcripts. By employing a structured coding manual to organize and categorize the qualitative data, we used an interpretivist codebook approach for our thematic analysis [24]. We then used the coded materials to identify emerging themes from the data [25].

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Table 1. Sample population demographic characteristics (n = 84).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0344036.t001

We coded and analyzed the qualitative interview transcripts using the Dedoose (version 9.0) software platform. We assigned coding teams, consisting of a primary and secondary coder, to each sub-study. The primary coder initially coded the interview transcript. The secondary coder then reviewed and, when relevant, added to the primary coder’s coding decisions. We developed several protocols to ensure intercoder reliability. We report details of our data collection and coding processes elsewhere [26].

Results

Participants described a variety of experiences of homelessness, reflecting the diversity of legal status, country of origin, language, and characteristics of their location within California (e.g., population density, proportion of Latino/a population within communities). Participants’ experiences varied based on whether they were first-generation, monolingual or Spanish-dominant, and/or undocumented. We identified three major themes: 1) limited familial and social support, 2) barriers to housing returns, and 3) job loss precipitating homelessness and barriers to employment. We describe these below.

Discussion

In a large qualitative study of Latino/a adults, recruited purposively from a representative study of adults experiencing homelessness in California, we found that Latino/a participants experienced challenges related to accessing social support networks, underutilized housing and other social services, and faced employment precarity that resulted in homelessness. While people experiencing homelessness who identify as Latino/a have a range of experiences shaped by their immigration experience and status and language capability, they shared a set of experiences that shaped their pathway into and experience of homelessness.

We found that Latino men were hesitant to rely on familial support due to cultural norms that validate self-sufficiency and stoicism. There is substantial literature describing the importance of kin-based networks as sources of mutual aid in Latino/a families, but we found that economic and related factors constrained participants’ ability to use these networks, including concerns about burdening members of their network who themselves faced economic hardship [27–31]. These findings are similar to those of other populations in the United States, including the widespread traits of individualism and self-reliance and the economic precarity faced by low-income households regardless of their racial or ethnic composition. Our findings contribute to the literature by showing the ways in which Latino/a people experiencing homelessness grapple with trying to balance the cultural norms regarding self-reliance and the use of family as a source of support and mutual aid.

We found that Latino/a populations under-utilize services, including housing and homelessness prevention services, supporting nascent research on Latino/a homelessness [19,32–34]. The reasons Latino/a do not access services are complex and differ according to immigration status, language skills, and age [32]. Participants reported that language barriers and the complicated process of completing paperwork made it challenging to access and use services successfully. Participants who accessed housing and homelessness services faced discrimination. Negative and perceived discriminatory encounters with law enforcement officers created additional barriers to safety and housing. The intersectional discrimination that Latino/a people experiencing homelessness face as unhoused people and people of color corresponds with similar forms of prejudice and discrimination among Black populations experiencing homelessness [35]. Our research provides a clear illustration of Olivet and colleagues’ contention that “disproportionate rates of homelessness among people of color can be understood as a symptom of the failure of multiple systems to provide equal opportunity for all racial and ethnic groups” [36].

Lastly, our findings illustrate the relationship between loss of employment and loss of housing and the role of the COVID-19 pandemic in both. Our study supports previous literature showing that Latinos tend to be over-represented in hazardous, low-wage occupations while being under-insured, resulting in an increased likelihood of experiencing work-related injuries and accidents and poorer health outcomes overall [37–39]. Our participants experienced job loss and subsequent loss of housing due to accidents and injuries that occurred on the job or on route to their place of employment. Although Latino/a employees were over-represented among frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, we did not find that COVID-related illness contributed to job loss and subsequent homelessness [17]. Instead, our participants were particularly vulnerable to income loss resulting from COVID-related economic disruptions.

The rise in Latino/a homelessness calls for an increase in policy and programmatic attention. Homelessness and housing systems need to adapt to the changing demographic profile of the homeless population. Latino/a people experience various forms of discrimination, including barriers based on immigration status, concerns about the public charge, increased criminalization, and lack of responsiveness from the homelessness and housing systems. The Trump administration’s reversal of a policy that previously restricted US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in sensitive locations has increased barriers and risks for Latino/a people experiencing homelessness, particularly those who are undocumented. ICE has reportedly begun targeting homeless shelters, which may discourage Latino/a individuals from seeking shelter and support [40]. Strains on homelessness and housing systems across many US cities resulting from the recent influx of primarily Latino/a migrants heightens this urgency [18,41]. There is a need for increased enforcement of employment and fair housing laws, regardless of immigration status, and access to employment and housing benefits for those who qualify. The recent ruling in Grants Pass v Johnson that re-criminalized homelessness will only heighten criminalization of homelessness; our findings suggest that this will disproportionately fall on people of color and those who lack legal status, since these groups experience heightened criminalization and are vulnerable to having their civil rights violated [42]. Housing and homelessness service providers should increase culturally and linguistically tailored services and address the role that discrimination or other forms of unfair treatment may play in accessing these services.

Our study has several limitations. First, while the CASPEH study is representative of the Latino/a population in California, Latino/a in the state may differ from those in other parts of the U.S. in terms of legal status, country of origin, and cultural orientation, among other factors. Additionally, California policies related to housing and homelessness specifically may be unique and these results may not be representative of other regions. Furthermore, California’s high housing costs relative to wages play an outsize role in driving homelessness in the state; the experiences of homelessness among Latino/a residing in states with lower housing costs may be different from what we found. To build rapport and protect participants from unanticipated harm, we did not directly ask them about their immigration status, limiting our ability to draw comparisons and to fully understand how their immigration status impacted their experiences of homelessness. However, participants frequently disclosed their immigration status organically during the interview, which allowed us to take legal status into account during our subsequent analysis. Our study was conducted prior to an increase in migrant asylum-seekers from Latin America and other parts of the world who arrived at the US southern border in 2023 and 2024, whose numbers greatly impacted shelter and other housing services in several US cities. Further, our study took place prior to the Trump administration’s second term, during which several policies have shifted in ways that negatively directly impact this population.

Conclusion

The findings from this study highlight the complex and multifaceted challenges faced by Latino/a adults experiencing homelessness in California. These challenges stem from systemic discrimination, economic precarity, and cultural norms regarding responsibility, familial obligation, and personhood. These norms result in individual and interpersonal tensions between culturally prescribed notions of self-reliance and social support, leading people of Latino/a origin to experience homelessness and to underuse vital services. Further exacerbating these challenges are structural barriers, including language differences, immigration status, and discriminatory practices. While this study has provided valuable insight into the Latino/a experience of homelessness in California, additional research is needed to explore the effects of migration on the homelessness landscape, and the impacts of evolving homelessness and immigration policies. Only by initiating evidence-based measures that address the unique cultural, social, and structural conditions impacting unhoused and precariously housed Latino/a populations can we begin to address the increasing rates of homelessness among this population.

Supporting Information

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our study participants for sharing their stories. We thank the study staff who conducted the research and the members of the community advisory boards who guided our work.