Final Student Project
Mass. Helpers
- Research to identify some of the main issues that unhoused people face, as we knew designing a complete solution to housing insecurity wouldn’t be within our scope.
- With research in mind, we ideated a few solutions and chose one
- Prototype: a pamphlet of resources with a map of the Cambridge area.
TEAM 11
Iman
Jahkiya
Coach
Rashida Momoh
Mentor
Mattin Delavar
ISSUE DEFINITION
What is the issue?
Housing insecurity
Why is it important?
- Cambridge is experiencing a housing crisis
- $44/hour needed for a 2 bedroom apartment, more than 3x the MA minimum wage (Cambridge Community Foundation)
- Major health risks for those without shelter
- Prevalent in our own city – many of us interact with the homeless, or know someone who has been at some point in life
- It’s an issue that can and will get worse if not given attention
- It’s of an umbrella over a bunch of other other issues, people experiencing homelessness often also deal with other issues (ex: health, hygiene, mental health, financial issues, social stigma, etc)
RESEARCH
Summary
Our research method consisted of
- formulating surveys that would help us identify needs amongst the unhoused community and those who helped them
- Conducting 1-on-1 interviews with people who are involved with homelessness in one way or another to dig deeper into the issue
Insights
- Common concerns of the people surveyed: Shelter and food
- Surprisingly, this was also one of the things people thought was going well
- 100% of respondents feel that COVID has exacerbated the issue
Survey Summary
We created a survey with 11 questions, some multiple choice style and also open end questions where people could leave comments, to identify the interests and needs of both unhoused people and people working within the community. We specifically wanted to see which issues they felt were the most pressing. With information from the survey, we will see which areas people are struggling in and use this to ideate and create solutions. Here are some graphs from the surveys.
Covid somewhat has negatively impacted the homeless population we work with because we had to decrease the amount of residents due to safety concerns.
Some of the services we provide is weekly case management with a case manager to discuss ways to become self sufficient. The women have up to one year to secure employment, save funds and gather any resources that will lead them to that.” to discuss ways to become self sufficient. The women have up to one year to secure employment, save funds and gather any resources that will lead them to that.
…We also connect them to resources such as affordable housing support, childcare, therapy etc.
DEFINE
Not having shelter can cause a lot of difficulties; we’re trying to find one way to make the experience a little better.
- Helping people without shelter find access to resources: help getting housing, transitional homes
- Prototyping something that would help improve current living situations of people who are not yet sheltered.
- Product designing, designing/refurbishing a space, system/web design?
IDEATION
Key Questions
- How might we improve an aspect of the homeless experience that we’ve researched?
- How might we help homeless people find shelter?
Ideation
Product Design
- Multipurpose jacket + sleeping bag
- Care packages containing a variety of things but focusing on items that could be of immediate use: Hygiene related items, clothing, and food as well
Web Design
- Using social media or some other online platform to connect youth to volunteering opportunities
- Connecting willing restaurants to soup kitchens (probably digitally) so they can supply them with food to give out.
Other ideas
- Some sort of a navigation tool/pop up which highlights places that homeless people can receive aid
- The information could be presented in different forms, like brochures that would be available so people can take the info on the go
PROTOTYPE
Precedents
- Stuck with a folded brochure design and searched for designs we liked
- Things we liked and wanted to recreate: Large map, list of locations, overall very visually friendly
Initial Prototypes
Testing
Method
Sending screenshots over email with guiding questions for feedback
Insights
- Adding shelter, housing, and healthcare graphics on the front as well to grab people’s attention
- Adding QR codes for some resources to appeal to a younger demographic too
- Including contact information like phone numbers
- Days and times for some of the locations
Most Recent Prototype
- Added symbols to the front panel as suggested in order to make it more clear as to what the contents will be
- Added a QR code, not linked to a website but helps us organize it better
- Changed the map – it is a map of Boston however it is a more accurate model of what we would like to have. There are still small images but they are not the focus of the map
REFLECTION
What would we do differently?
Spend more time interviewing and talking to people in our research phase
What do we like about the project?
It’s versatility, the project itself is a pamphlet but the idea could take many different forms: paper, digital, physical, etc
What do we wish we could do with the project?
Get more hands-on experience – visiting shelters and being able to actually interact with the people we want to help
NEXT STEPS
Continue Testing
- Gauge usability & legibility & form fit
Continue Researching
- Content for the flyer specifically
Continue Iterating
- Producing new versions of the flyer and testing
