Describing Trajectories of Homeless Service Use in Hawai'i Using Latent Class Growth Analysis.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Sociology
• Social Work

Background:

• Homelessness is a significant issue in Hawai'i and across the U.S.
• Many individuals and families experiencing homelessness utilize statewide support services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore diverse patterns of homeless service system navigation.
• To identify distinct trajectories of service use among new users.

Main Methods:

• Utilized administrative data from Hawai'i's homeless service system.
• Tracked a cohort of 4,655 new adult service users from FY 2010 to FY 2014.
• Employed latent class growth analysis and multinomial logistic regression.

Main Results:

• Identified four distinct service use patterns: low (85.2%), typical transitional shelter (9.7%), atypical transitional (2.7%), and potential chronic (2.4%).
• Examined associations between demographic, family, background, and health variables with service use patterns.

Conclusions:

• Distinct profiles of service use exist within the homeless population.
• Findings can inform targeted interventions and resource allocation for homeless services.