OR to Fight Homelessness
Abraham Lincoln long ago charged the nation with the duty to “care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan.” NPS Operations Research (OR) student Marine Corps Maj. David Coté has tried to do just that in his seven years of work as a volunteer with the Veteran’s Village of San Diego (VVSD), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping homeless veterans access the resources and assistance they need to get back on their feet.
Upon learning about data analysis and modeling in his OR curriculum at NPS, Coté found a way to apply his studies to the cause that had long been close to his heart. Come graduation in December, Coté’s master’s thesis research will have produced a tangible model for helping treatment providers identify homeless veterans most at risk for early exit from a treatment program.
