This article came my way via text. A friend of mine, knowing about my passion for homelessness, says to me, "What are they doing about homelessness in New York? This is crazy! I, too, was upset. If she could have been found sooner, I believe the outcome may have been different for her and her family—my condolences to them. No one should have to find out about their loved one this way.
Though this article discusses a homeless woman who died while living on the streets of New York who had the means to have a place to live, the question remains, Why wasn't she able to be found? Her father, a private investigator, and her mother's estate was looking for her since 2016. What ,(if anything) could have been done better to locate this woman?
I think about the tools that are used by investigators. What systems did the investigators use? Most people leave some digital trail, whether it was at a hospital, a cell phone number. Did the investigators know that the woman could be homeless? More importantly, was the technology used to conduct this investigation, and could her demise have been prevented if existing technology/ systems were used to help locate her?
Here are a few systems that could have helped:
Lexis Nexis: They provide organizations information to ensure compliance, avoid fraud, and for law enforcement purposes. This system has many rules and restrictions. Depending on your amount of clearance, you can find just about anything or anyone. This system is available to law enforcement and could have been used as a way to build the trail to find this woman and help her before her demise.
Learn more: https://www.lexisnexis.com/en-us/gateway.page
HHS Worker Connect- This technology may have been challenging to gain access to; however, this is an intra-agency system which alllows for New York City agencies to share information. The agencies that are part of this system are the Human Resources Administration, New York City Health and Hospitals, NYC Administration for Children's Services and the Department of Homeless Services. This system is for NYC employees only and is also restrictive. This database also could have let to contacting NYC Department of Homeless services to see if there was any record of her.
Learn More:
Approximately 2 to 4 thousand homeless adults are living outdoors in New York. No one knows who actually how many people are homeless and living on the street, and there does not seem to be a record of who everyone is. Though there are systems that contain records of homeless individuals, there is an area of opportunity to find out how to identify those living on the street in a better way. The NY Post article was a tragic story, but it further propelled me into thinking about technology and homelessness in a new way. What are your thoughts? Let's talk about it.
If you want to read the full article, please see the link below.
https://nypost.com/2021/06/03/oregon-woman-died-homeless-while-she-had-884k-in-unclaimed-funds/?utm
There seems to be many tools available to help search for those who are homeless. Perhaps more qualified staff should be given access to help expand search efforts. Overall this article was very informative.
ReplyDeleteThank you for responding. I totally agree. It's interesting because there are different public and private sector companies and agencies that would benefit from these resources but I am not sure if everyone is aware of it or if they have the budget.
DeleteI believe that the decision last year in NYC to shift homeless outreach away from the police and put it solely on social service agencies was a mistake, the two entities need to work hand in hand on this. When citizens or business owners call about a homeless person they’re usually going to call the police, not a social service agency directly so it would be helpful to have the police and all of their technology dedicating funds toward helping these people get back on track and not just shuffling them down the street or arresting them for petty crimes.
ReplyDeleteActually , I think you are correct however, NYPD and Homeless services are currently working together on this again. I am not sure if you are in New York but people can actually call 311 instead and a social service agency would be called instead of the police. Should the social service agency need NYPD assistance, they are called.
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