LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – A local woman, an engineering graduate who had a previous career in data analytics, sheds light on the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles County.

Romana Peet, 48, said she holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in industrial engineering and operations research from the University of California at Berkeley. In the past, she worked as a statistician.

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His current home is a tent set up in Westminster Park. She has been homeless since 2017.

“I mean, I never even imagined myself living outside before,” said Peet.

Her story is now garnering a lot of attention online after being shared on YouTube.

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When the house she rented in Ojai, California burned down in Thomas’ fire, she and her boyfriend were distraught.

After her boyfriend passed away, leaving much of what they still had in her name, she couldn’t get much help after the fire.

“I was just lonely and depressed and it was a weird crossroads,” she said on Sunday.

Peet said she has dealt with mental health and addiction issues, but has taken programs for both.

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She started a GoFundMe to raise money for housing and utilities so she can return to work. As of Sunday, she had raised nearly $ 14,000.