无家可归的人 Hackathon

Stone's team pitched an idea to use an app to streamline 和 increase collaboration among resources 和 services for people experiencing 无家可归. Another team proposed a microloan program that would help people in crisis pay for rent 和 other necessities. But when the teams were scored on feasibility, innovation 和 impact, it was another app idea that won the gr和 prize. Because people may st和 outside a shelter for hours only to find out space isn't available, the winning team presented an app that, 实时地, would update shelter-bed availability citywide; beds could be reserved through mobile phones 和 kiosks.

"In the hackathon setting, you don't make a mistake — you try 和 fail forward," 本德 says. "You get feedback, you take a couple of steps back 和 try again until you come up with an idea that is new 和 exciting."

"The great value of this exercise was generating awareness 和 elevating empathy for a major 社会 issue among people who might not otherwise invest so much time in learning about it," adds steering committee member Jennifer Wilson, a first-year GSSW PhD student who previously managed an emergency shelter. "There were a lot of participants — engineers, 计算机科学 和 international development students — for whom this isn't a primary focus. I believe this elevated their sense of connection to this issue 和 increased their motivation to act, 做某事, 参与."

Increasing awareness 和 reducing the stigma of 无家可归 were the event's overall goals, 和威尔逊, along with GSSW doctoral student 乔恩ah DeChants, developed pre- 和 post-event surveys to help gauge participants' awareness of, 和 attitudes about, 无家可归. Although analysis won't be complete until late summer, anecdotal feedback indicates that students want more events of this type — with more information, 更多的讨论, more time to develop 和 refine their ideas, 和 opportunities to move ideas forward. 本德, GSSW Dean Am和a Moore McBride 和 Project X-ITE 教师 Fellow Matt Rutherford are exploring the possibility of a course, certificate program or other venue for more interdisciplinary experiences like the 无家可归的人 Hackathon.

"This kind of experiential learning shouldn't be supplementary to our education — it should be core,威尔逊说. "It would be great for the University to continue exploring these types of learning opportunities, as I think they're incredibly effective. One student said that in her entire master's experience, this was the most practical 和 engaging thing she's done."