Preventative Case Management

Simple UI for case managers viewing information about at-risk community members.

Inspiration

From initial research and interviews, our team found that increasing case managers' abilities to prevent someone from becoming homeless was the area in which our limited time at this venue could make the biggest difference. We wanted to create a tool that could make our communities proactive vs. reactive.

From the brief,

"25% of our region's homelessness could have been prevented"

"About one third [of the total homeless population in winter 2015] were sleeping on the streets"

The more we can better our communities' abilities to prevent homelessness, the more we can free up resources for those still sleeping on the streets.

What it does

The Preventative Care Management web tool is a simple UI connecting data from utilities like Ameren or Laclede Gas to a homelessness predictor utility to a simple UI for tracking a case manager's progress in reaching out to those at risk.

Current Homelessness Information Systems collect data after people become homeless. By working with utilities, we can gather data to make better prediction models centered around the time before homelessness, and to focus resources on reaching out to those whose housing situation is most insecure.

After determining who is most at risk and distributing limited resources to prevention, the Preventative Care Management tool works as a first step in transitioning community members into the Continuum of Care.

In the cases where we are able to prevent homelessness, this win-win-win situation benefits all three parties involved: the at-risk community member, the Continuum of Care, and the Utility company.