MY ROLE Lead UX Designer, UX Researcher
Project Overview
THE PROBLEM
It is very hard to navigate finding shelter options in Denver, CO for unhoused people with limited resources.
THE GOAL
These interactive, digital screens in public spaces will allow unhoused people to find and navigate to shelters with real-time bed count availabilities. This will help them find shelter more easily themselves without having to search through a complex resource system online.
Understanding the User
I conducted secondary research to gather insights into the unhoused population in Denver, what shelter options are available, and figure out what existing tools/resources there are for this population to be able to find shelter.
Colorado has the 7th highest housing shortage in the U.S. and Denver has a shortage of nearly 70,000 units. Without paying more than 30% of income on housing, a household must earn $74,554 per year. Household incomes vary tremendously depending on race, where median income for a Black household was only $49,081 and Latinx only $55,206. While the cost of living in Denver has risen rapidly, wages have not. Someone making the avg. minimum wage of $14.17 would have to work 102 hrs/wk to afford a 2-bedroom apartment in Denver. Denver is the 2nd most gentrified city in the U.S. POCs experience higher rates of trauma and mental health issues. Colorado spends $1B annually on its prison system, which has “housed” more people than affordable housing programs in the state.
The Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHI) Homeless Report for 2023 found that ~9k people experienced homelessness and over 30,000 people accessed services related to homelessness. 1,689 students identified as experiencing homelessness. Their largest data source shows that the leading cause or contributing factor of homelessness is relationship problems or family breakups. 88% of people experiencing homelessness in the Denver area were last housed in Colorado.
Denver Public Libraries are available for people to use internet services. “Resource Navigators” are people who travel to the libraries during specific times of the week to help those who are unhoused to find resources. Mile High United Way’s 211 Call Center is a multilingual and confidential service that connects individuals to critical resources including shelter. Their database of resources is updated daily and they claim to have provided 133,895 referrals for critical resources to individuals and families in 2023.
BARRIERS TO RESOURCES
People have to have access to internet or have a phone available to access the shelter information they need.
LIMITED AVAILABILITIES
There are limited beds in shelters and space fills up. If a person is needed to find resources, those people are only available during certain times of the day or week.
TOO MANY RESOURCES
It is hard to find updated shelter information with thousands of resources online.
UNAVAILABLE DIRECTIONS
Government websites only list shelter addresses and phone numbers in the area. They don’t provide maps or an option to easily find directions to the shelters.
User Personas
Personas were developed based on insights collected through my research, not by interviews conducted.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Maria is a migrant and single mother who needs a safe shelter for her son because she needs to go on job interviews.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Tyler is a young man with mental illness who needs shelter and health services because he wants to feel better and find a stable job.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Naomi is a teen on her own who needs a safe environment because she doesn’t want to be a victim of abuse.
User Flow
PRIMARY USER TASK
Use the digital screen to find a shelter nearby with available beds and access directions to that shelter that can be easily followed.
Wireframes
I needed users to easily find shelter that’s available to them based on their needs. I also needed to figure out how to maintain navigation throughout the experience that was easy to find and access no matter where they were in their user journey. I played around with various ideas.
HOME SCREEN
For the home screen, I wanted to focus on finding a shelter quickly. I believe a list of options, with important details like bed count, is the best way to do that. It’s important to include onboarding details as an overlay to help users navigate this new experience.
SEARCH
I want to be able to provide users the opportunity to choose shelters based on their needs, but do it simply. By allowing a few filters for them to choose from, it will help narrow down their choices.
DIRECTIONS
Unhoused people who don’t have internet or mobile phones have to either memorize or write down directions. Directions have to be simple and easy to follow. I wanted to provide a mix of visual (map) and listed directions to provide options that best suits the user’s way of processing information.
Usability Study
Unfortunately, I did not have the time and resources available to properly conduct a usability study. This case study is primarily a proof of concept, based on research, that would be tested on the unhoused population in Denver, CO. Tests would conclude whether or not this could be a more useful and accessible tool for them to find shelter. Sweden tried a similar approach a few years ago, and I would love to compile data around this concept and see if it would work.
Design Mockups
I used the City of Denver’s website as my brand guidelines to follow in order to maintain consistency. I wanted this experience to be as accessible as possible. I included onboarding pop-ups to guide users through the interactive experience since nothing like this has been launched in Denver before.
I also kept and expanded an idea from my wireframes. I included the option to move the experience up or down on the screen, depending on the person standing or sitting in a wheelchair so they can interact comfortably. I got this idea by going to my neighborhood car wash. The interactive screen there allows me to select the menu items to be moved down so I can reach my selections more comfortably while sitting in my car.
Key Takeaways
IMPACT
I feel this product could really make a positive impact in the Denver Community and provide a way for the unhoused population to access shelter more easily.
WHAT I LEARNED
Homelessness is a major issue in Denver and I learned just how bad it is through my research. I would love to see a better way for unhoused people to access shelter more easily, and I think this product could be an interesting solution. If Denver is providing resources for people that can only be accessed through existing barriers, then that’s not solving a problem. Through this process, I learned how to think about a solution that allows people to access information directly, with no barriers to information and I really enjoyed it.
Next Steps
The findings from tests conducted could be brought to Denver’s Department of Human Services in order to pitch the overall idea for more accessible shelter information. A pilot program could begin by placing these digital screens outside a few shelters or in a couple nearby city parks to see how people use them. If they found that more unhoused people are finding shelter more easily, a government-based budget plan would be needed to roll this out on a larger scale. Cost management for potential vandalization occurrences may have to be addressed as more screens become available to use throughout the city.