How do you solve the toughest cases of homelessness?

In 2016, the City of Santa Monica created a team of specialists to work full-time on housing one specific subset of the homeless population: people who generate the most 911 calls.

By targeting those who use the most taxpayer-funded emergency services, city officials aimed to save both money and lives. The most expensive people are often also the most vulnerable and most likely to die on the streets without a serious intervention. Now research shows the effort is paying off.

The team started three years ago with a list of the city’s 26 most expensive homeless people, calculated using data from the police and fire departments, as well as local hospitals. Since then, the team has permanently housed 19 people and added 11 new names to its list.

The study predicts that those savings will grow over time — a conclusion that echoes the findings of a similar experiment in Los Angeles County a decade ago.

While the program hit some early bumps (including having to expand its list to more than 100 people in order to meet its goal of housing 50), a county analysis found that Project 50 also saved money and lives. It cost about $3 million over two years, but saved approximately $3.2 million by eliminating 911 calls, hospital and jail stays.

But in May 2009, LA County’s five-member board of supervisors voted to shelve the program, partly because of concerns over its upfront costs.