Billions have been spent to tackle homelessness in California, but outdated computer systems riddled with errors can’t even manage basic tasks like locating an available shelter bed. This inefficiency isn’t just a minor glitch; it has life-or-death consequences.
In Los Angeles, the problem is dire, with over 45,000 people living in litter-strewn camps, many battling severe mental illness, substance addictions, or both. These camps have sprawled into nearly every neighborhood, turning entire blocks into RV graveyards.
Technology has woefully lagged behind the long-running crisis. In an era when booking a hotel room or renting a car takes just a few taps on a mobile phone, there’s still no system that provides a comprehensive listing of available shelter beds in Los Angeles County, home to over 20% of the nation’s unhoused people.
Mark Goldin, chief technology officer for Better Angels United, a nonprofit group, described L.A.’s technology as systems that don’t talk to one another, lack accurate data, and aren’t on the same page about what’s real and isn’t real.
The systems can’t answer “exactly how many people are out there at any given time. Where are they?”
For people living on the streets, this could mean the difference between sleeping another night outside or not, a distinction that can be life-threatening.
Adam Miller, a tech entrepreneur and CEO of Better Angels, emphasized that services are not reaching people when they need them or when they are mentally ready to accept them.
Technology has sputtered while the homeless population has soared. Some ask how to combat a problem without reliable data to determine its scope. An annual tally of homeless people in the city recently found a slight decline in the population, but some experts question the accuracy of the data when tents and encampments can be seen just about everywhere.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has identified technological shortcomings as a major obstacle in homelessness programs. She has likened the city’s efforts to address the crisis to “building the plane while flying it.”
Bass said earlier this year that three to five homeless people die every day on the streets of L.A.
On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state agencies to remove homeless encampments on state land, his boldest action since a Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public spaces.
In hopes of filling the void, Better Angels assembled a team experienced in building large-scale software applications. They are constructing a mobile-friendly prototype for outreach workers — to be donated to participating groups in Los Angeles County — followed by systems for shelter operators and a comprehensive shelter bed database.
Since homeless people are transient and difficult to locate for follow-up services, one feature would create a map of places where an individual had been encountered, allowing case managers to narrow the search.
Services are often available, but the problem is linking them with a homeless person in real-time. So, a data profile would show services the individual received in the past, medical issues, and make it easy to contact health workers if needed.
As a secondary benefit — if enough agencies and providers agree to participate — the software could produce analytical information and data visualizations, spotlighting where homeless people are moving around the county or concentrations of where homeless people have gathered.
One key goal for the prototypes is ease of use, even for workers with scant digital literacy. Information entered into the app would be immediately uploaded to the database, eliminating the need for redundant reentries while keeping information current.
Time is often critical. Once a shelter bed is located, there is a 48-hour window for the spot to be claimed, which happens only about half the time. The technology is so inadequate that the agencies attempting to help the homeless sometimes don’t learn a spot is open until it has expired.
Sara Reyes, executive director of SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition, has been impressed with the speed of the Better Angels app, which is in testing, and believes it would cut down on the number of people who miss the housing window and create more reliability for people trying to obtain services.
“I’m hoping Better Angels helps us put the human back into this whole situation,” Reyes said.
