UX Design For Seattle Homeless
HELP is a UX design for Seattle Homeless I worked with Misha on for five weeks. I did personal research as a starting point.
Who are the homeless
I started with a question that — what is homelessness? There is more than one "official" definition of homelessness. In this project, I use the following: A homeless person is an individual without permanent housing who may live on the streets; stay in a shelter, mission, single room occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle; or in any other unstable or non-permanent situation. [Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C., 254b)] There are groups of people who experience homelessness in different ways. But accessible and affordable housing is the critical underlying need for all these situations.
Health, housing, and homelessness
Since for this project, we care a lot about medical health, the next question for me is what is the relationship between health, housing, and homelessness. So first, Poor health can cause homelessness when people have insufficient income to afford to house. This may be the result of being unable to work. Second, living on the street or in shelters exacerbates existing health problems and causes new ones. Also, it will bring the risk of communicable disease and violence because of crowded living conditions and the lack of privacy or security. Medications are often stolen or lost due to rain or other factors. In many ways, housing itself can be considered a form of health care.
National health care for the homeless program
There is a national health care solution for the homeless called Health Care for the Homeless Program, which started in 1985. The intention was to determine if a specialized model of delivering services could improve the health of the homeless. The projects receive support from federal funding, community health centers, and primary care projects. Like other health center projects, they are community-based and patient-directed nonprofit organizations and provide comprehensive primary care and supportive services. There are more than 1 million homeless served each year. The homeless can get health care at any health center in their community. Here is a search tool to find a health center. I searched Seattle and chose the distance, a bunch of health care providers showed up.
Homelessness in Seattle
Seattle's homelessness issue, in particular, is painfully obvious. King County has the third-largest homeless population in the US. In 2017, there were 11,643 homeless as well as 5,485 unsheltered people counted in King County. As of 2018, the region is spending about a billion a year to fight homelessness. The City of Seattle spends about $40 million to help prevent homelessness.
Can mobile apps help the homeless
The last question for me is that can mobile apps help the homeless. Apps for the homeless might sound a bit weird, but the answer is yes. Cheap smartphones, outreach programs, and youth homelessness mean that many people have a phone but no home. I did a case study on apps for the homeless.
1️⃣ OurCalling (Dallas)
2️⃣ StreetLight Chicago
3️⃣ HelpFinder NYC
4️⃣ Catch-all 311 (NY)
5️⃣ Concern (San Francisco's Tenderloin District)
6️⃣ Link-SF (San Francisco)
What we will build
Based on research findings, our solution is designing a free mobile app used by both homeless and social service providers. Our app will give timely information about the resources of health care, food, rest needs, etc. Also, it will send alerts for weather emergencies or other issues to meet the needs of security.
Another part of the solution is targeted to provide physiological needs. We think a van going around giving out care packages would be helpful. Our app will connect providers with volunteers to form "rescue teams." Also, it will inform the homeless about where the van will be. Users can report a shelter location with our app for the truck to visit.
Potential key features
👉 Today
1️⃣ Where the Van — locations, time, description
2️⃣ Free medals — locations, time, description
3️⃣ Seasonal care — locations, time, description
👉 Report
1️⃣ A camp location for Van to visit info, pictures, description
👉 Van
1️⃣ Volunteer — for opportunities to serve with Van
2️⃣ Donate
3️⃣ Feedback
👉 Alert
1️⃣ Weather emergencies
2️⃣ Traffic delays
3️⃣ Fire alert
4️⃣ Events calendar
👉 Resources
1️⃣ Search by — locations, category, qualification — Beds/family beds, Food, Clothing, Health Centers, General Services, Employment Services, Education Services, Legal Aid, Internet/computer access
2️⃣ Map view & list view
3️⃣ Detailed information
4️⃣ Submit a new resource
5️⃣ Report a problem
Potential items in care packages
1️⃣ Sock & towels
2️⃣ Travel-size toiletries (i.e., deodorant, soap, toothpaste, hand wipes)
3️⃣ Toilet paper
4️⃣ Sleeping bags
5️⃣ First aid items
6️⃣ Clothes presentable for work – both physical labor and office work
7️⃣ Underwear in all sizes for men and women
8️⃣ Informal clothing, appropriate for the season
9️⃣ Reusable bags
🔟 Recycled "Altoids tins with items such as Q-tips, Bandaids, alcohol pads, fingernail clippers, needle and thread to hand out to homeless individuals."
A solution to improve the health of the homeless in Seattle
Inspired by the Beatles album by the same name, we chose to call our project HELP because it represents the cry for all living individuals, the disappointment and dissatisfaction, and the expectation of being able to get help and get out of difficulties. We used orange as a primary color in our advertising because it calls to mind feelings of excitement, enthusiasm, and warmth.
In these two weeks, Misha has been doing advertising efforts, care packages, and vehicle design. I was working on the customer journey map, onboarding, and hi-fi prototype. We started with an empathy map to gain a deeper insight into the needs of health care for the homeless.
Turning First-Timers Into Regulars
Then, I did a study on how first-time homeless users could be more effectively turned into regulars through improving their customer journey. I created two personas based on this customers group to keep the study concise. The study is based on my on-site research as well as the 2016-17 Healthcare Needs Assessment for Homeless in Seattle & King County.
An app for homeless people might sound a bit weird. But in several cities, they can use mobile apps to find food, shelter, and other resources. To drive new users to download such an app, it is crucial to provide them with inspiring touchpoints. These touchpoints should convey that,
1️⃣ A bunch of existing resources of health care services and other basic needs is ready for them.
2️⃣ Using the app would make it easier to get health care.
3️⃣ It's free for everyone.
4️⃣ Many volunteers are ready to help if they can't handle the app system.
5️⃣ Also that it looks awesome.
At the first stage, users will see advertising efforts (posters, pamphlets, tote bags, etc.) and the van going around giving care packages. They may also hear from friends about our services. All those are working as a trigger for the homeless to download the app by scanning the QR code on the poster or pamphlet. If there is a similar app in the marketing, users might think, "It seems like a professional tool. I know another one is cool too. I'll check which one is better." At this point, good UI and reviews would play an important role.
After getting started, first-time users may feel a bit overwhelmed by accepting a new services system. Our volunteers from the van will help people one on one to go through the app and book health care services. At this point, we need more mobile social workers who are willing to meet clients where they are at.
Here is the onboarding for the app.
Our app is a free mobile app for both the homeless and the helpers. For homeless users, they can get timely information about the resources of health care services and other basic needs. Also, users can see alerts for weather emergencies or other issues to meet the needs of security.
Our van is going around giving out care packages providing basic needs. Users can check here to see where it will be and track the van. The Report feature sends the GPS of shelter locations for the van to visit. Also, volunteers who serve with the van can use our app to meet the homeless one on one and help them navigate the health care system.
Having chosen the status of users (click "For Homeless" or "For Helper" button), the first-time homeless users can register to get service easily while the helper users can register to be a volunteer. After login, users will enter the homepage dashboard.
The hi-fi prototype task flow is based on one of our personas. Kody, a 20-year-old male homeless, needs to find dental care to get an examination and treatment with the Resources feature. Primary feature task flow
