What if you could stop homelessness before it started?
October 23, 2018
CTA is part of the Data for Good movement. We’re doing our part to help people turn their lives around. The solutions we create help organizations collaborate and safely remove the data siloes so people can get the help they need.
Technology and its solutions can be an abstract issue. To see how technology can be used to help fight homelessness, let’s take a closer look at a real story.
You’ve seen the tents on the outskirts of town, a desperate, last attempt at staying safe and dry.
We want you to meet Sarah, one of the inhabitants.
Knowing her story, you’ll see how easy it is to fall into this downward spiral. You’ll also see hope.
Sarah is someone who was building a normal life. Along the way she experienced a string of bad events: domestic violence, high medical bills, eviction.
Her story happens all too often. Once you start that downward spiral, it’s hard to stop. We need to reverse the path as soon as possible.
What happens when someone like Sarah tries to get help?
You face hurdle after hurdle. You’re sent to a shelter, only to find it’s full. You qualify for food stamps, but they need an in-person interview. You don’t have transportation so you miss the appointment, and the help goes to someone else. The fact is, if you’re not already in the system, it’s incredible difficult to access support.
This is where we come in. Empowering collaborations.
We can’t solve domestic violence or high medical and housing costs. But, we can empower collaborations between agencies so people like Sarah get the help they need before it’s too late.
How CTA’s Data for Good Solutions helped Sarah:
- Building out Coordinated Entry. We integrated databases and empowered collaboration among partnering agencies. Now you can get any type help no matter which agency you first approach. No more siloes means no more dead-ends.
- Mobile Outreach. Using the HOME app, outreach workers did a VI-SPDAT data on Sarah and quickly got her the help she needed: emergency shelter, food, bath and laundry.
- Timely Services. Once at the shelter, the clinic discovered Sarah was pregnant. Thanks to Coordinated Entry, she was able to get pre-natal services and medical attention for her young child.
Where is Sarah now?
Today Sarah and her family are in Transitional Housing. They’re getting support services and working toward Permanent Housing.
Data for Good works.
The technological solutions we create have already helped local organizations collaborate and quickly help thousands of people like Sarah. With your funding we can bring this solution to many thousands more. Stopping homelessness before it happens is far more cost effective and humane than waiting until it’s too late.
Please join us in working to end homelessness. Whether you’re a funder or a coder, you can help CTA expand and support:
- Data Integration
- Data analytics
- Open-source data warehouse
When you know more, you can do more.
Talk to us about your goals. See how a data integration project can help you reach them.
