Fear of artificial intelligence (AI) stealing people’s likeness, work, and jobs is prevalent. However, Los Angeles is taking a different approach by utilizing AI to combat homelessness. According to a report cited by KTLA, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services aims to prevent around 20 people from falling into homelessness every day. The “first-of-its-kind” program uses machine learning to identify individuals who are at the highest risk based on various factors, such as arrests, emergency room visits, substance abuse disorders, mental health crisis care, public aid requests, and more, as stated by NPR. Case managers then reach out to these individuals, offering financial assistance of $1,000 per month for four to six months in order to help them stabilize their living conditions.
According to NPR, “the county never reaches half the people on its lists.” The issue of unstable living situations often leads to changes in contact information and addresses. Dana Vanderford from the department’s Homelessness Prevention unit explains that some individuals who are contacted “have understandable mistrust of systems” and reject assistance. However, over the past two years, the pilot program has successfully helped 560 people, and a majority of them have remained housed, NPR reports. One participant, a retired handyman who took in his three grandsons due to their parents’ drug addiction, referred to the program as a blessing and praised his case manager as a “life-saver”. The financial aid provided through third-party vendors can be utilized for rent, utilities, debt bills, groceries, and other necessary expenses, without requiring any repayment from the participants.
The program currently has a budget of $31 million, primarily obtained from pandemic aid, but it is expected to expire in 2026. UCLA’s California Policy Lab, responsible for developing the AI prediction tool, plans to conduct a long-term study to assess the program’s success around that time. The study will analyze whether the AI accurately identifies individuals who face a high risk of homelessness and will compare the program participants with individuals facing similar instability without receiving assistance. If the results are positive, the program could be expanded and serve as a model for other regions. In fact, San Diego County has already voted to establish its own similar program using predictive analytics, as reported by StateScoop. For every 10 individuals who escape homelessness in San Diego, an additional 13 individuals become homeless for the first time. (Read more homelessness stories.)
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