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Last month, the city of Santa Monica ventured out to find the "ten most vulnerable" homeless people (similarly, Los Angeles began to search for the fifty most vulnerable). After finding 277 homeless in the small beachside city, they identified 110 who were vulnerable, meaning those who are most likely to die on the streets.
A survey determined a vulnerability score that gave weight to several variables, including length of homelessness and physical and mental health status, to predict an individual’s likelihood of dying on the streets unless permanently housed, according to Bringing It Home, the city's homeless newsletter.
The most vulnerable person identified was a 49-year old white male with a chronic health condition who grew up in foster care and came to Santa Monica 30 years ago.
The ten most vulnerable will be housed as quickly as possible. Then in groups of ten, the city will work there way up the list. "One-hundred-ten people is something we can get to work on in Santa Monica," said Julie Rusk, Human Services Division Manager, who noted the importance of changing the perception that homelessness is a problem that can't be solved. "There's no reason we can't house 110 people."
The full report can be downloaded here from the Human Services Division Homelessness webpage.
Photo by brian boulous via Flickr
