Sketch Exercise

       This sketch exercise focused around the problems of being homeless focused in Providence, RI. Using just one video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Bi5rzDs1zE) as the primary source for our brainstorming. I grouped up with Pierre Lai and Alex Nam to summarize some of the main points of the video by looking for clues in what they were saying and their behaviors. With this, we branched off to find smaller problem points such as identification issues and the constant battle against time. Our problem statement focuses on these issues:

“With the rise of homelessness and a lack of permanent housing in Providence, emergency shelters have become greatly overpopulated. The homeless depend on these shelters because of the difficulties in obtaining a stable income and home. Time conflicts and limited transportation placed by homelessness further hinder their ability to obtain a stable lifestyle and ultimately a “normal” life. With so many different conditional needs that are interdependent to each other, meeting them all at the same time to escape homelessness can be extremely arduous.”

       As can be seen above, our group decided to quickly generate our ideas on post-its for many of the small problem points that we found in the video. After some critiquing, we each picked our areas of interests and developed them individually.

       The first idea that I was drawn to was a system for getting homeless people blue collar jobs that required easy and simple skill sets. This system is very similar to the system used often in California. A customer wants to hire someone to help him make a deck in the back yard. The customer would go to, lets say Home Depot, and buys the materials needed. In the parking lot, there is a small tent or shelter with a volunteer supervisor. The customer can request help and the supervisor will find the best match for the job. The supervisor also teaches the workers and provides them with simple tools. The system also serves as a rest spot for the workers during their wait.
   
       Some issues I found were that in order to ensure safety and pay, a government backing would be best but will they be willing? There is also the issue of finding companies such as Home Depot who would be willing to allow such a service. With that in mind, I began to tackle a smaller problem point that I was personally interested in.

      

       My apartment is located in downtown Providence right next to the bus station, Kennedy Plaza. Everyday I walk by and someone (homeless and young people alike) always asks for some change for their bus ride. Giving just change to someone can be daunting (would they really spend it on something good?) but I was always curious to know if they really needed "bus money"Although I can't be sure if they are all being truthful, in the video it was clear that many homeless people spent a lot of time on the bus to and from soup kitchens and emergency shelters. They also talked about how they constantly "hurry up and wait"through out their day and I wondered if sometimes they couldn't get on the bus at all. With this in mind I began to develop a project that enabled homeless people (and anyone desperate) to obtain free transportation without trouble.

     Anyone who has spare change and want to help the homeless can throw in their coins into the machine. A homeless person can and press the button (also photographing the fingerprint) to obtain a free pass. The machine only gives out one ticket per person for a set amount of time (need further research).The graphics serve to raise awareness and to also indirectly prevent abuse. With this system, homeless people save money and possibly time. Bus stations also keep their revenue by taking the money in the machine, while everyday people can be assured that their money is being used for a good cause. Although iterations with more interaction for the donator was originally thought of, I felt that they just added more to the cost of the product. I also hoped that the graphics will be informative enough to motivate people to help the homeless. There are still some issues with how expensive it would be to make a button that also identified people, and there is always the chance that people would abuse this system.

     Throughout the project, I actually had one looming thought over me. The problem points that we focused on were problems that should be addressed, however, the main problem that should be cured (and will ultimately fix the smaller problems) is to move the homeless into permanent homes. Keeping this in mind, most of the ideas solving these problems almost seemed futile.