LA County awards $1.3 million for technology solutions to combat homelessness

Los Angeles County has announced the award winners for its Technology Innovation Challenge, aimed at creating partnerships with the technology sector to improve the delivery of homelessness services.

The four selected initiatives focus on streamlining services and access to data to improve outcomes.

The winners will share US$1.375 million in grant funding to develop solutions to help the County and its partners in tackling homelessness. Each company will receive between US$200,000 and US$500,000.

Recent figures show that despite ongoing investment in support, the homelessness crisis in LA is worsening. The 2020 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, published in June by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), found that over 66,000 people in the County are homeless, up 12.7 percent on the previous year. The city of Los Angeles saw a 16.1 percent rise to 41,290 people.

The Technology Innovation Challenge was launched in November 2019, aiming to find “human-centred”, scalable solutions in four key areas of homelessness services delivery: providing a centralised customer portal; delivering customer-driven mobile digital services; geomapping hub and resources; and operational reporting of performance outcomes. The awards are funded through LA County’s Measure H sales tax, passed in 2017 to provide revenue for services and programmes focused on preventing and combatting homelessness.

The winner in the Centralized Customer Portal category is One Degree, for the One-LA-Connection project. One-LA-Connection (OLAC), a partnership between non-profits One Degree and Alluma, is a web-based and mobile-accessible hub for Los Angeles County residents experiencing homelessness to be screened for, apply for and manage services.

Technology company Akido Labs was selected in the Customer-Driven Mobile Digital Services category for the Connect initiative. Akido Labs is partnering with the non-profit homeless services provider HOPICS to implement the Connect platform in South LA, aiming to make it easier for clients and caseworkers to access homelessness data, and enable service providers to tailor interventions based on data.

“Real-world problems”

LA HelpLink from agency Huemen Design was the winning entry in both the Geomapping Hub & Resources and Operational Reporting of Performance Outcomes categories.

Via solar-powered digital hubs, homeless individuals can create a profile and input their immediate and longer-term needs. The platform pulls together employee and service availability, inventory and eligibility information to allow staff to quickly select a shelter and assign a caseworker, who can work with the client via real-time chat. The system also allows the caseworker to track progress over time and for the County to assess the effectiveness of placements and programmes.

The solutions were evaluated by a panel of homeless services and technology experts, with final selection by Phil Ansell, Director, Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative; Heidi Marston, Executive Director, LAHSA; and William Kehoe, Los Angeles County Chief Information Officer.

“These award-winning entries demonstrate the power of technology and innovation to help us solve real-world problems experienced by real people,” Ansell said.

“We know homelessness is dynamic and our response to this crisis needs to reflect that. Technological innovation is one of the best ways for us to remain responsive. LAHSA is eager to partner with the winners of this challenge to drive creative solutions that will help us collectively serve our unhoused neighbours,” Marston added.

The winning projects will now be customised for LA County’s needs for implementation from January 2021.