CareConnect: Providing Navigation through Public Benefits
Providing navigation for obtaining housing and social benefits, for unhoused and other socially at-risk individuals in the community
Keywords: Housing, Case Management, Public Benefits
Stable housing is the primary health determinant for unhoused individuals, yet they face complex barriers to securing housing and other essential benefits; re-entry into homelessness is also common without long-term support. Currently, case managers provide guidance but are capacity-limited, increasing wait-times. We aim to address this by developing a SMS- and web-based assistant to determine benefit eligibility, write applications, and provide guidance while living independently, usable both by those applying for benefits and case managers.
Skillset needs: Working with unhoused and other socially at-risk populations, Understanding public benefit systems and application processes (for housing vouchers, SNAP, health insurance, ID applications, and others), Communicating with local organizations working on homelessness, Organizing community-based projects, Establishing IRB protocols, Experience in backend engineering (specifically integrating machine learning algorithms into mobile communication systems)
Contact: Aravind Krishnan