Homelessness and Racial Disparities
Minority groups from African and Indigenous populations experience a significantly higher rate of homelessness than Whites due to historical and structural racism. The largest disparity can be found amongst African Americans, who represent 13% of the population, but account for 37% of those experiencing homelessness, and over 50% of homeless families with children. This imbalance […]
Tiny Homes
“Tiny Homes” are a new fad in San Francisco, used to house the homeless in simple cost effective residences. These houses are around 250 square feet, and provide relief for the homeless.. Tiny Houses and Homelessness in San Francisco Affordability: One of the primary reasons for the tiny home movement is saving money. With more […]
Anti Homeless Architecture
In the bustling heart of cities worldwide, subtle but sinister changes have been creeping into the urban landscape. Benches with armrests dividing seats, spikes under bridges, sloped window sills, and hostile vegetation are all part of a growing trend known as anti-homeless architecture. This design strategy, also known as defensive or hostile architecture, is employed […]
LA’s Preventive Homelessness Program
LA has a program that aims to identify and assist individuals at high risk of becoming homeless before they lose their housing, addressing a critical gap in current prevention efforts. The initiative comes at a crucial time, as Los Angeles continues to see rising homelessness numbers despite massive spending and increased housing efforts. On average, […]
The Power of Human Interpretable AI for Homelessness
In the fight against chronic homelessness, London, Canada, has turned to an approach that combines artificial intelligence’s predictive power with a critical need for transparency and interpretability. The HIFIS-RNN-MLP model, developed by researchers to forecast chronic homelessness, is illustrative of making convoluted artificial neural networks trustworthy and easy to explain, precisely when dealing with sensitive […]
Community Insights to Improve Homeless Services
A recent study from St. Louis, Missouri, offers a promising approach to combining available data analytics with community-based input in maximizing service delivery and reducing disparities in homeless assistance. This study focused on the administrative records for over 10,000 households that had entered homelessness services from 2009 to 2012 and used advanced techniques in machine […]
Homelessness in San Francisco
San Francisco is world-renowned for its iconic hills, picturesque bay, and soaring Golden Gate Bridge. However, the city is also increasingly known for another, much more troubling issue – a homelessness crisis that seems to be only getting worse with each passing year. The latest data paints a stark picture. A February 2023 point-in-time count […]
Housing First
Housing First is as a strategy against homelessness. Under the direction of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, this approach seeks to get people into housing before it solves the other challenges they experience. Its main principle is this: people should be provided with food and shelter before they attempt to solve different problems in […]
Housing for those with mental illnesses
Housing for individuals with severe mental illness has undergone a sea change over the past few decades. This review article in the Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare by Geoffrey Nelson provides a comprehensive account of this change and articulates a convincing case that the way forward is supported housing. This transformation does not only […]
Latino Homelessness in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, is known for its diversity and opportunity. However, problems still rise. LA is facing an alarming rise in it’s Latino homelessness. As of 2023, Latinos now comprise 43% of the homeless population in Los Angeles. This stems from systemic challenges. Poverty, the lack of affordable housing, and the devastating impact of the COVID-19 […]