A Gap Analysis Evaluating Project Homekey’s Time-effectiveness in Housing Homeless in Los Angeles

Abstract

California has been long burdened with the highest rate of homelessness in the United States. However, in recent years, a new housing initiative, Project Homekey, has begun converting city-purchased hotel and motel properties into individual units to temporarily house California’s financially insecure individuals. The nascent program has shown promise, however, due to its recent creation, much of the research surrounding the program focuses on its cost-effectiveness rather than its time-effectiveness in reducing homeless numbers within Los Angeles. Using a gap analysis approach, this study aimed to fill this gap while focusing on 9 recently bought properties within the city of Los Angeles. Publicly accessible city files were used to find and calculate the average rate of stay for Project Homekey inhabitants, and with knowledge of the amount of converted units per property as well as the current homeless population – unsheltered and total – within each city council district of Los Angeles, it was estimated how many years it would take to house each city district’s homeless population. Finally, a gap analysis SWOT tool was employed to study the overall soundness of the program in relation to its time effectiveness, and to point out areas of improvement and areas of success. Ultimately, it was concluded that Project Homekey, although estimated to take decades to resolve Los Angeles’s Homeless population, was a viable solution to the arduous issue. Nonetheless, due to the constraint of available resources, there are several limitations as to the extent of the conclusion’s applicability.