Estimating Quantile Fields for a Simulated Model of a Homeless Care System

We construct a simulation model of a homeless care system to determine the amount of new housing and emergency shelter needed to support the growing unsheltered population in Alameda County, California. To quantify the performance of the system, we assess the number of people having unmet need via an estimate of the quantile field using a recently developed batching method. This approach helps right-size the amount of housing and shelter resources needed to quickly provide services to the unsheltered population. We find that with a large investment in housing to help the system reach steady state, current levels of emergency shelter may be sufficient to serve those with unmet need.