A program launched in 2021 by Los Angeles County aimed at preventing homelessness is demonstrating promising early results, according to a study published on Thursday.
This initiative, called the Homelessness Prevention Unit, utilizes artificial intelligence to sift through extensive government data, identifying individuals at high risk of becoming homeless.
The criteria for assessing risk include factors such as frequent hospitalizations, psychiatric holds, enrollment in welfare programs, and previous incarceration.
After identifying high-risk individuals, outreach workers attempt to engage them and offer support in maintaining their housing.
Participants in the program have access to various forms of assistance, including overdue rent payments, mental health treatment enrollment, and vehicle repairs necessary for employment.
The study compared a group of 335 program enrollees with 1,285 individuals who were eligible but either unreachable or not successfully enrolled for assistance.
On average, enrollees received approximately $6,500 in aid during their participation in the program.
The findings from the pilot phase of this program indicate that enrollees were 71% less likely to end up in homeless shelters or be encountered by outreach teams on the streets in comparison to those who did not enroll.
Janey Rountree, executive director of the California Policy Lab at UCLA and co-author of the study, expressed optimism regarding these initial results.
The study found that only 2% of enrollees wound up in shelters or on the streets, as opposed to 6% of those who did not participate.
While the difference may appear minimal, Rountree highlighted that it underscores the program’s ability to target those facing a significant risk of homelessness more effectively than the general population in Los Angeles.
Rountree stated, “There are no prevention programs nationally that are enrolling people who are this high risk.”
The primary goal was to identify individuals who were merely months away from needing street outreach services or shelter, which inherently results in some of those being assisted still ending up in such environments.
The study also showed that participants were less inclined to experience mental health crises or end up in jail.
However, researchers noted that it remains unclear if the program itself directly caused these improvements, as individuals who were more likely to enroll tended to exhibit fewer psychiatric or criminal justice issues than those who were harder to reach or enroll.
To delve deeper into the program’s effectiveness and whether it is genuinely contributing to a decrease in overall homelessness, researchers are currently conducting a randomized control trial, the results of which are anticipated to be released in 2027.
Experts outside of the study are seeing positive indications from the program.
Margot Kushel, director of the UC San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, acknowledged that the program’s overall effectiveness will not be fully understood until the results of the ongoing trial are available.
For now, she remarked that the current study demonstrates remarkable progress and asserts that they have “cracked the code” in locating individuals at high risk of homelessness.
Kushel noted the program’s impressive capability to enroll an increasing number of participants over time.
Initially, only 1 in 5 single adults and 1 in 4 families that were contacted managed to successfully enroll in the program.
As time progressed, the success rate improved significantly, rising to 40% for single adults and 49% for families.
Reaching individuals at high risk of homelessness presents unique challenges.
Many individuals are preoccupied with urgent health issues or eviction crises and may lack stable phone and internet services.
There are also instances where potential participants may perceive the offered assistance as a scam.
Kushel emphasized that enrolling nearly half of the individuals on the program’s high-risk list represents a notable accomplishment, saying, “I would not have guessed they could do that.”
The Los Angeles region has faced an escalating homelessness crisis in recent years.
Past efforts have largely focused on providing shelter and housing solely for those who are already homeless.
Policy experts advocate that a comprehensive approach, which includes efforts to prevent individuals from losing their housing, is essential to make meaningful strides in reducing homelessness numbers.
Currently, local homelessness prevention programs have been limited in scope and are frequently in danger of losing funding.
Rountree stated that although this study is not the final assessment of the county’s prevention efforts, it emphasizes the necessity of continuing such initiatives.
Kushel concurred, affirming, “We won’t know if this works for a couple more years.
But if I were a betting woman, I would say it will.”
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