NYC is launching a digital tool to better understand why homelessness is rising
“Around 62,000 homeless people live in New York City, and the city’s ‘demand for shelter’ has shot up 79 percent in the last 10 years. But the city’s government — along with community organizations Project Hospitality and BronxWorks — hopes an app will help them get a better handle on why the homeless population is growing, and how they might begin to reverse the trend. The app, as Wired reported, is called StreetSmart. It’s essentially a database that allows city officials and nonprofit employees to compile and share information about individual homeless people that will illuminate what those individuals need. The app will allow social workers to note a person’s medical needs, housing history, services they’re looking for or may have declined in the past, and any family members that they might be able to contact. Social workers will also be able to access that information in the app if it’s been previously recorded.”