technology for good: frugal innovation and apps for the homeless natalie linnell, silvia figueira...
TRANSCRIPT
Technology for Good:
Frugal Innovation and Apps for the Homeless
Natalie Linnell, Silvia Figueira
Santa Clara University
Talk Outline
StreetConnectSMS Announcements Hackathon
Text messaging broadcast system for NGOs serving the homeless
Allows NGOs to send mass texts to clients who have registered
Clients can interact with system using
SMS only System built to meet specific needs of
this population
FIL and CTA partnership Started as class project College students building
technology for the homeless?
Partnership: The Frugal Innovation Lab
Research group at Santa Clara University
focused on humanitarian applicationsThe Community Technology Alliance (CTA)
San Jose-based NGO that helps other NGOs serving the homeless and low-income to adopt technology
Tech-savvy NGO and people-savvy technologists
The homeless are difficult to reach
NGOs who serve the homeless find it difficult to get information to clientsRely on word-of mouth and regular schedulesEspecially difficult for intermittent or one-time
services ○ Medical van○ Job fairs
Usual methods of advertising don’t work○ High-tech (web, email, social media) doesn’t work○ Low-tech (mailing) doesn’t work
“Medium tech”:Text messaging
Why text messaging? CTA-Conducted Survey
Homeless have cell phones, but not smart phones○ Though we expect more smart phones in the future
AA
Text alert system for NGOs and the homeless We decided to build our own solution rather
than using a commercial serviceCost Privacy issues
○ NGOs have access to sensitive information○ NGOs already host their DBs with CTA
Integration with DBs○ Hosted at CTA○ Reporting
Specific needs of the homeless population/NGOs
Our system
Clients can register and subscribe to topics through Web or SMSText “add food”
NGOs send out alerts through Web
Also developing an app version for those who do have smart phones
Specific needs of the homeless
No passwordsOne-time code
No addressBut location is important
Don’t want to give out personal infoOnly phone number is required
May not have access to Web even to register
Lessons learned from our first deployment Provide alerts in both English
and Spanish Allow client to specify a
maximum number of monthly messages sent
Some NGOs want to use something more like an email clientAlternative version for this use
caseIssue: Customization vs
generality?
Current work
Deploy more widelyCommitment to “the last mile”Many student-built projects never go beyond
prototype Transition server to CTA Come up with revenue model to offset server
costs. Expand app version to allow for pull of
information, not just push Tie in to existing HMIS database
Deploy more widelyCommitment to “the last mile”Many student-built projects never go beyond
prototype Transition server to CTA Come up with revenue model to offset server
costs. Expand app version to allow for pull of
information, not just push Tie in to existing HMIS database
Project ideas
Smartphones: CTA is working to get smartphones to distribute, and support for cheap plansHaving apps to deploy is helpful in making
this happen
Expanding Streetconnect: Hack for the Homeless
Student interest in a hackathon Next step of Streetconnect Idea: How can an app use the information
from HMIS in a pull fashion?
Proposed projects
Met with CTA, Downtown Streets Team
Clinic FinderAllowing the client to find free or low-cost
clinics that suit their needs Meal Reminders
Notifying users of when meals are available near them
Hack for the Homeless Student organized 24 hours of coding
5pm Friday to 5pm SaturdayTutorials from industry professionals and
consultation with NGO professional Friday night 50 students participated
SCU and SJSU 12 teams finished (1-4 students on each team) 7 teams won prizes
$1000, $500, $350, $350, $250, $125, Windows Phones, Android phones, external hard drives
Projects Judges from CTA, IEEE Special Interest
Group in Humanitarian Technologies, industry partners
Students came up with their own ideas!
Winning project: Homeless Helpline
Opposite direction: Lower-tech than SMSVoice interface for HMIS
User calls number, is prompted for zip code and desired service.
Text-to-speech presents the services to the user
Text message followup with address
2nd place project: Care Buddy
Android app Ties into HMIS to allow the user to
search for services Ties into google maps to show
location and directions “From the Wall” feature allows
restaurants and other organizations to post promotions, etc.
Summary Text messaging broadcast system Allows NGOs to send mass texts to clients who
have registered Clients can interact with system using text only System built to meet specific needs of this
population Next steps out of Hackathon:
Allow users to pull infoSmartphone appsVoice calls