Homelessness remains one of the most urgent challenges facing Los Angeles County. Each year, most people entering services are either new to the system or returning after time away, an ongoing inflow that underscores why prevention is essential. Permanent solutions to homelessness must go beyond rehousing efforts and include strategies to prevent it before it occurs.
This policy brief provides an update on the Homelessness Prevention Unit (HPU), a program launched in 2021, which uses a first-of-its-kind predictive model to proactively reach people at the highest risk of becoming homeless and connect them to stabilizing services before they lose their housing.
This report focuses on preliminary outcomes from the HPU’s pilot phase, before the launch of the formal randomized controlled trial. During this period, enrollment in the program was associated with improved outcomes related to housing stability, homelessness, and other adverse events. While these early results are promising, the limitations of the methods used highlight the need for rigorous evaluation through the ongoing randomized trial, expected to conclude in 2027.