![]() On this call, the man mentions he's renting from a relative and recently had a seizure. Juarez says that's hard - to say, sorry, this is for prevention only. The program never reaches about half the people on its lists, then some turn down the offer. LUDDEN: It's a win just to connect with someone. JUAREZ: Things like rent, utilities, groceries, other kind of month-to-month expenses. That's money not given directly but to third parties to cover bills. She explains the program, how it offers a case manager to work with people for four to six months and figure out how to spend 4 to $6,000 in aid. She knows it can take a minute to process what's happening. LUDDEN: Elizabeth Juarez is cheerful and patient. LUDDEN: So 16 case managers reach out to them with letters and cold calls.ĮLIZABETH JUAREZ: Hi. Our clients are extremely unlikely to reach out for help. VANDERFORD: We have clients who have understandable mistrust of systems, have experienced generational trauma. ![]() Vanderford says these are mostly people not part of any other prevention programs. Then, using machine learning, it comes up with a list of those thought to be most at risk for losing their homes. LUDDEN: Also, addiction diagnosis and treatment, and who signs up for public benefits like food aid. A pilot program tracks data from seven agencies.ĭANA VANDERFORD: Emergency room visits, crisis stabilization homes for their mental health, arrests. It was from the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, where Dana Vanderford helps lead Homelessness Prevention. VOLANTIN: Sounds kind of shady, you know? LUDDEN: That's where they were when Dulce's mom told them she'd gotten a phone call, something about homelessness, she said, and a program to help you. VALARIE ZAYAS: It's like a motel, but it's dormitory-style living. LUDDEN: Eventually, Valarie says, they rented just a bed at a place on Venice Beach. You know what I mean? And then, like, by the seventh day, you don't have anything in your pocket no more, no food, no this, not that. Dulce says they donated plasma and sold some of their clothes to pay for motels.ĭULCE VOLANTIN: You know, you stay at a motel room for three days, it's more than $200. They'd slept in their car - then lost it - stayed too long with family. But Dulce had bad bouts of mental illness. They'd both been involved with gangs, had met in prison and were over-the-moon happy to have found love. JENNIFER LUDDEN, BYLINE: Last year, Dulce Volantin and her partner, Valarie Zayas, were getting desperate. It is using artificial intelligence to predict who's most likely to land on the streets and then stepping in to help before that happens. Homelessness numbers in Los Angeles keep going up despite massive spending on the problem, so the county is trying a first-of-its-kind experiment in prevention.
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