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Depression impacts the ability and desire of people to seek treatment for their illness or maintain a healthy lifestyle to prevent illness. The flip side of that, however, is that treating underlying depression [can lead to better outcomes](https://grandchallenges.ucla.edu/depression/problem/) as a patient's capacity for self-advocacy and self-care increases!

Depression may worsen health outcomes for all of the above

Depression can negatively impact health outcomes for what other common disease(s)?

Rising housing costs and increasing population density in urban centers like Los Angeles have led to an uptick in housing insecurity and homelessness. In Los Angeles County, [27% of all residents](https://luskin.ucla.edu/rising-housing-costs-cause-serious-concerns-especially-for-young-people-new-ucla-luskin-survey-finds/) fear losing their home, and the number among 18–29-year-olds can be as high as 38%. The good news is that innovative and efficient housing solutions can alleviate some of this pressure if we begin to invest _now_ in smarter housing!

27% were concerned about becoming homeless

What percent of Los Angeles County residents reported concerns about becoming homeless over the past year?

California relies on the Sierra Nevada snowpack for 60% of its fresh water. A 64% decrease in the snowpack by the end of the century, as researchers [predict](https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/project/climate-change-sierra-nevada/), would undoubtedly lead to severe droughts throughout the state. However, common-sense efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions before the end of the century can dramatically decrease this number and avert drought conditions!

A 64% decrease in snowpack volume in the Sierra Nevadas would lead to severe drought

Global warming could reduce the snowpack volume in the Sierra Nevada mountains by up to 64%, causing which climate condition?

According to the USDA, [42 million people in America](https://ph.ucla.edu/news/magazine/2017/springsummer/article/food-thought) live in houses that have uncertain access to food. But help is on the way! New efforts in sustainable urban farming aim to cut that percentage dramatically in coming decades.

Forty-two million Americans experience food insecurity

How many people in the United States live in food-insecure households?

The flue gas billowing from the smokestacks of the world's power plants is the single [largest source](http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-researchers-turn-carbon-dioxide-into-sustainable-concrete) of harmful greenhouse gas emissions in the world, meaning it is a massive driver of man-made climate change. There are some exciting new technologies that show promise in curbing these emissions, and some even have the potential to convert them from harmful waste into beneficial resources!

Power plants

What is the world's largest source of harmful greenhouse gas emissions?

The Department of Health and Human Services classifies a ["shortage" of doctors](http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/immigrant-doctors-help-bridge-physician-shortage) as a ratio of 1 to 3,500 for a given geographical area. California alone has 607 of these designated "shortage areas." Luckily there are programs that help medical professionals educated in other countries to become doctors in the US in order to provide much-needed medical treatment in these areas!

A "shortage" of doctors is classified as a ratio of 1 primary care physician for each 3,000–3,500 patients

A "shortage" of primary care physicians exists in a geographical area when only one doctor is available to treat what number of patients?

According to the research of the [Million Dollar Hoods](http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/new-leader-of-bunche-center-shines-spotlight-on-justice-employment-for-african-americans) program, the LAPD and the LA County Sheriff's Department spent $500,000,000 jailing South Central Los Angeles residents during the period between 2010 and 2015. The total cost of jailing in LA County is in the billions. This kind of detailed insight is what leads to meaningful reform at both state and local levels!

California spent $500 million of public money just on jailing residents of South Central

How much public money was spent on incarceration in Los Angeles County's most heavily policed neighborhood between 2010 and 2015?

J.R. DeShazo, professor of public policy, and Gaurav Sant, Henry Samueli Fellow in Civil and Environmental Engineering, lead a multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and policy researchers who have discovered a method to convert harmful carbon emissions into a [sustainable concrete-like substance](http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-researchers-turn-carbon-dioxide-into-sustainable-concrete) using 3D printing.

These scientists are turning CO2 emissions into 3D-printed concrete

The [Hunger Project](https://volunteer.ucla.edu/mongelli-award-spring-18-the-hunger-project/#more-22493) is a student-led and operated initiative that provides a wide range of services to homeless populations in the Los Angeles area, aiming not only to mitigate the effects of homelessness by providing food and clothing, but also to help the homeless reintegrate into society through mental health assistance and legislative advocacy in local government.

These students provide services to address both the causes and the effects of homelessness

The [Mobile Clinic Project](https://www.mobileclinicproject.org/), founded by medical students at UCLA in the year 2000, has grown into a coalition of public health, medical, and undergraduate students who have provided social and health care resources to LA's at-risk and homeless populations for the past 18 years and counting.

These medical students started a health clinic for people without access to basic treatment

Professor Kelly Lytle Hernández has brought her [Million Dollar Hoods](http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/new-leader-of-bunche-center-shines-spotlight-on-justice-employment-for-african-americans) research project to the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA. The project uses arrest data to estimate the costs of over-policing and mass incarceration in Los Angeles on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis, shedding light on both the racial and economic impacts of America's incarceration culture.

This professor is using arrest data to show the wasted costs of mass incarceration

All images courtesy of Getty Images except where otherwise noted.

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Take This Quiz About Society's Biggest Challenges And We'll Show You Someone Trying To Solve Them

The problems we face are big, but the spirit of optimism to conquer them is even bigger! Learn more about how UCLA optimists change the world!

Take This Quiz About Society's Biggest Challenges And We'll Show You Someone Trying To Solve Them

The problems we face are big, but the spirit of optimism to conquer them is even bigger! Learn more about how UCLA optimists change the world!

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