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ABSTRACT
Skid Row is an impoverished neighborhood in Los Angeles, also known as the homeless capital of America. Those experiencing homelessness have compounding needs that are largely unmet by existing safety-net systems. The goal of this study is to evaluate the needs of homeless individuals in the Skid Row community, to better tailor services for the homeless population residing in the area. For the study, the International Collegiate Health Initiative (ICHI), a 501(c)-3 nonprofit, conducted a community needs assessment and a comprehensive review of the literature regarding community-based solutions to addressing unmet needs of this population. A cross-sectional survey approach was utilized to conduct a community needs assessment of adults residing in Skid Row. The subsequent descriptive analysis of the data collected reveal unmet needs of individual’s health, social, and employment situations among unhoused individuals in Skid Row. Potential exists for the needs of the unhoused population to be met through various community efforts and public health interventions. The identified service priorities for mental health care, medical care, and employment services, are verified by prior literature which identifies high frequency of mental health issues, substance use, and underemployment in the population.
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Notes on contributors
Ahmad Elhaija
Ahmad Elhaija is a graduate of the UCLA class of 2021, graduating with honors in Psychobiology, and an M.D. candidate at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He has extensive research and volunteer leadership experience with immigrant, refugee, and underserved populations. Upon entering UCLA as an undergraduate in June 2017, he founded the 501(c)3 non-profit organization the International Collegiate Health Initiative (ICHI) with the mission to develop innovative safety-net healthcare systems that empower individuals to serve their own communities. For his work leading ICHI he received numerous leadership in service awards and prestigious scholarships. He currently serves as the CEO of ICHI. His long term goal is to improve access to healthcare in underserved communities across the United States and worldwide.
Nathan Chu
Nathan Chu is an undergraduate at UCLA with research experience involving global health and underserved populations in Los Angeles.
Hafifa Siddiq
Hafifa Siddiq, PhD, MSN, RN is a nurse scientist and community-engaged health services researcher. She is Assistant Professor at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) School of Nursing. Broadly, her research focuses on social determinants of health, forced displacement, and psychosocial wellbeing among immigrants and refugees. Dr. Siddiq’s current projects examines post-migration stressors and mental health services utilization of older adults from Afghanistan and the Middle East North Africa (MENA). Dr. Siddiq is passionate about impactful community-based research, training future clinicians, and re-imaging how mental health care is integrated across health systems and communities.