Using Technology To Address Homelessness | Aidan Levan | TEDxMeritAcademy

TL;DR

An app aims to reduce homelessness by reuniting homeless individuals with their families through crowdsourcing, enhancing community connections.

Transcript

Transcriber: Ozay Ozaydin Reviewer: Selin Tüfekçi In Santa Clara County, there are almost 10,000 homeless people. Around 7400 of them live on the street and not in a shelter. 764 are youth and 1200 are members of unhoused families. A 37% increase from last year. In California, there are almost 172,000 homeless people. A shocking 23% of the nation's... Read More

Key Insights

• 🥺 Homelessness stems from various factors like job loss, abuse, and expensive housing, leading to disconnection from families.
• 😀 The Loved Ones Are Found app utilizes crowdsourcing to facilitate the reunion of homeless individuals with their loved ones.
• 😀 Two-way authentication in the app ensures safe communication between reunited individuals and their families.
• 😚 Future implementations include online support services and expansion to locate runaways and lost individuals.
• 😀 Community engagement through the app aims to reduce homelessness and enhance social connections.
• 😀 Collaboration with government agencies and social organizations is crucial for the app's success in reuniting families.
• 🎁 Technology, like the Loved Ones Are Found app, presents opportunities to address social problems and improve community connections.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Nearly 10,000 homeless people in Santa Clara County, and 172,000 in California, struggle due to job loss, abuse, and costly housing.

• The Loved Ones Are Found app seeks to reconnect homeless individuals with their families, providing solutions to reduce homelessness and support healthy transitions.

• Crowdsourcing efforts allow users to post about missing loved ones or share sightings, fostering community engagement in reuniting families.