PROJECTS
Impact of Hotels as Non-Congregate Emergency Shelters: An analysis of investments in hotels as emergency shelter in King County, Washington during the COVID-19 pandemic
In April 2020, King County, Washington took an unprecedented step to respond to the COVID19 pandemic. King County Executive Dow Constantine and Public Health Officer Dr. Jeffrey Duchin acted to move more than 700 people out of high-density congregate emergency shelters and into hotel rooms. Since then, over 400 more individuals have also been served. This intervention was part of a regional effort to de-intensify the shelter system to limit the transmission of the virus and protect vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness.
I acted as a qualitative researcher for this report. Using client-level data from public health and housing services data sources, I showed that moving clients into hotel rooms helped reduce the spread of COVID19. King County is continuing to invest in hotel rooms for its unsheltered population as a direct outcome of this project.
Date completed: 2020
Data, Dashboards, and Intentional Design – Telling the Story of King County’s Homeless Response System
I presented at the Fall 2019 National Human Services and Data Consortium (NHSDC) conference on designing effective data dashboards.
The session summary:
This session will walk participants through the evolution of DCHS’s homeless response system dashboards – from a series of disconnected visuals to a streamlined story. We will share lessons learned and best practices from our experience working with design organisations and community stakeholders as well as developing new methods for analysing homelessness data. We will provide guidance for other communities getting started with their own dashboards and offer solutions for addressing potential barriers along the way.
Date completed: 2019
Youth & Family Homelessness Prevention Initiative: Randomised Control Trial
The King County government in Seattle hired the Lab for Economic Opportunities, Notre Dame to implement a randomised control trial that would evaluate the success of the Youth & Family Homelessness Prevention Initiative (YFHPI) in keeping households from becoming homeless.
I worked as the King County data lead and provided client-level insights and analysis to the Notre Dame team. I also coordinated with state agencies on getting access to additional data sources, which required institutional review board approval.
Date completed: Ongoing
College Success Awards: Celebrating high schools that prepare students to succeed in college
This report analyses educational metrics like college enrolment, retention rates, and other data points to determine which states are preparing a diverse range of students for post-secondary success. My role included coordinating with the Departments of Education in multiple states to collect the data needed to create the report.
Date completed: 2018