Social Impact Project

Beam

The fight against women returning to homelessness

Product Goal and Vision

An app that provides practical and emotional support to women who have received supporting housing. By connecting users to services and mentors. To give users back control of their wellness, build their confidence and help them to form beneficial connections.

Help non-profit charity organisations to widen their reach to new clients and service users.

My role

Researcher
Brand Designer
Product Designer

Deliverables

Landing Screen
Explore Screen
Habit Tracking Screen
Get Help Screen

Scope

Create an app that aims to eliminate pressures associated with homelessness.

Women experiencing homelessness that have moved into new accommodations need a way to ensure successful local community integration.

Tools

Figma
Pencil and Paper
InVision

Background

What is homelessness?

The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the word homeless as “without a home and, therefore, typically living on the streets.”

“Women experiencing homelessness are living in a state of survival often without access to services and in high-risk environments where they are frequently subjected to violence and abuse.”
Joanne Bretherton, from the University of York’s Centre for Housing Policy

The Double Diamond Method

Helped me to understand customers, and their problems and explore creativity to find innovative ways to solve their problems.

Discover

Define

Mind Mapping

Research

Understanding the Market

227,000 people experienced homelessness in England, Scotland and Wales in 2021. But homelessness is difficult to quantify. There are many different types of homelessness.
(Estimation by Crisis)

Bigissue.com, April 2022

“People sleeping on the street are almost 17 times more likely to have been victims of violence and 15 times more likely to have suffered verbal abuse in the past year compared to the general public.”

-Crisis UK

Possible reasons for homelessness

Mental or physical illness
Losing a job
Relationship breakdown
Social (lack of affordable housing, poverty, unemployment)
Leaving prison, care or the army
Domestic violence
Eviction
Substance abuse

Research Insights

Health

74% of women who are homeless have a physical health issue, and 64% were experiencing mental health issues.

Develop

“Among homeless people, the mean age at death was 45.9 years for males and 41.6 years for females in 2020.”

-Shelter UK

Deliver

The User

Women who have moved into accommodation after experiencing homelessness rough.

Core user needs

Encouragement

Stay positive and motivated.

Easy access

Access to services including health and wellbeing.

Safety

To feel safe, inspired and connected.

Empathy Map

Discover

Using divergent thinking broadly, keeping an open mind, and considering anything and everything to gain insight into the problem without assumption.

Lack of Safety

“Women experiencing homelessness are living in a state of survival, often without access to services and in high-risk environments where they are frequently subjected to violence and abuse.”

Joanne Bretherton, from the University of York’s Centre for Housing Policy

Risks

Homeless people are more likely to die young, with an average age of death of 47 years old and even lower for homeless women at 43, compared to 77 for the general population, 74 for men and 80 for women.

University of Sheffield and Crisis UK, 2012

Access to Services

Tailored

Each person needs are different and include different sectors including, emotional, physical and educational, financial support.

education, housing, justice, and health and wellbeing services support people to put in place the things they need to move forwards and build positive futures.

Community

User Persona

Sarah, 19

“I don’t want to loose the place I am in, I cant imagine going back to living how i was living”

Women only activities in safe environments to build connections and feel supported. eg cooking classes.

Wants

To find employment and stability
To thrive and not spiral into addiction
To get sober
To keep the supporting living accommodation
To break the cycle of returning to homelessness

To feel safe
Access to services (medical, education, legal etc)
Support with building a better life
A sense of purpose
Sustainable and positive change
Help and encouragement
A bespoke plan to rebuild a healthy life

User Journey

Pain Points

Unfamiliar environment and struggling to live alone, becoming more isolated
Feeling judged and forgotten by society.
Struggling with mental health issues
Having a lack of stability
Managing finances and attending appointments
Looking after their new home and fear of being evicted.

Opportunities

Needs

A supportive community with events and meet-ups
Access to guidance and support specific to their unique needs
Find tips and resources
Mentors and advice from women
FUBU ( support, events, advice, help from women who have experienced homelessness) to build hope and empower the community.

Discover

Define

Problem Statement

Women return to homelessness after being housed due to feeling unsafe, isolation/loneliness, eviction, mental health issues or issues with substance abuse.

5 Why's

Why are women homeless?

Because they suffer financial, physical, mental and relationship breakdowns.

2. Why do they have these breakdowns?

Because they suffer financial, physical, mental and relationship breakdowns.

Provide support and empower women who are vulnerable to homelessness.

Problem Definition

Develop

Deliver

5. Why is it difficult for women to adjust to their assisted accommodation?

They need more tailored, personalised support that will take into account gender needs and have easy access.

Define

Convergent thinking — think narrowly, bring back focus and identify one or two key problems and solutions.

Hypothesis

If we can help women who have received accommodation feel supported and safe, we can lower the chances of them returning to homelessness.

3. Why do they feel isolated?

Because of the social stigma associate with homelessness they feel trapped.

4. Why do they feel trapped?

Because of the social stigma associated with homelessness they feel trapped.

How Might We HMW

Create an app that doesn’t require users to have a smartphone by providing multiple touchpoint.

Women often form relationships to feel safe while homeless. When placed into assisted accommodation, they are removed from everything they have grown to know and rely on.
Leaving them to feel vulnerable and isolated. This often leads to them returning to homelessness to feel safe.

Preliminary Idea

Provide a sustainable holistic solution for women at risk of homelessness to help them to build confidence and have access to support, tools and services.

Discover

Define

Value Propersision

Grow

Users create routines and track habits that are beneficial to their unique needs needs.

For women that are homeless or at risk of homelessness that need access to physical and emotional support. Beam is a portal of free workshops, advice, connections and services that provides users with tips and a support system to build positive and sustainable change.

Develop

Deliver