The Homeland Security Advisory Council hosted its 7th annual Crisis Management Case Challenge on homelessness and public health in Los Angeles. Twenty-two teams prepared a policy brief addressing the crisis management case and six finalists presented their recommendations to a panel of subject matter experts on Thursday, November 7, 2019 at the University of Southern California. 

Three graduate students affiliated with the Center for Health and Humanitarian Systems (CHHS) at Georgia Tech were selected as finalists: Amanda Chu and Daniel Kim are Ph.D. and M.S. students in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, advised by CHHS Director and Professor Pinar Keskinocak. Jin Noh is an M.S. student in health systems.

The students’ policy memorandum focuses on short- and long-term policies. The short term policies present suggestions for increasing access to clean water and bathroom services, improving trash sanitation practices, and empowering all people involved in addressing homelessness. The long-term policy highlights the need for a centralized data-driven program for strategic organization and coordination of public services to address homelessness in a more individual, personal manner. This approach will require investment and involvement of key private-public partnerships and inclusive outreach programs for success.

The ISyE team received a $2,000 cash prize for their first-place win.