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Helping Hands

A Solution for Those in Need




Problem Statement

Government agencies and charities fall short of effectively collaborating, sharing data, conveying important information and staying current with situations that affect at-risk members of the public. At-risk individuals give up on help when those organizations either lack clarity, lack accountability, seem confusing or remain entirely unknown.

The existing process for anyone seeking help from charities relies on pre-existing knowledge and haphazard availability of information. The process only gets worse when seeking government assistance.
Similarly, volunteers must rely on haphazard communication and unmaintained websites for insight on where to go and what to do. Once they begin a role, they find it governed by chaotic mismanagement and a further dirth of communication.
Providers of government assistance or charities often do not have the resources, knowledge or availability to properly maintain a digital presence that makes the necessary information readily available and easily understood.


Characteristics

Government Services and Charities do not achieve their outreach/service goals when...

  • People don’t know they exist or don’t know what programs are available
  • Their online presence is lacking, confusing or non-existent
  • Trust and/or transparency is lacking
  • Staff/volunteers are poorly trained and lack situational awareness
  • Changes are not communicated properly
  • Collaboration is non-existent

Help is available. Why can't anyone find it?

Solution Statement

The Helping Hands platform will aim to simplify the process of connecting those in need with the appropriate resources by discovering the user’s specific circumstances and tailoring a unique solution for their dilemma.

Characteristics

  • Questions to answers: Guided Links
  • Near real-time updates: Online Forum for each page
  • Service provider fills templated info or server scrapes web data
  • Link and explain legal/policy caveats
  • HelpMe button connection to provider

Presentations

Slideshows and diagrams traversing the problem set...


Original Problem Presentation

Download Powerpoint...

Feasibility Presentation v1

Download Powerpoint...

Feasibility Presentation v2

Download Powerpoint...

Design Presentation

Download Powerpoint...

Prototype Presentation

Download Powerpoint...

Deliverables

Iterating through the problem and defining solutions...

Feasibility

Current Process Flow
Current Process Flow
Solution Process Flow
Current Process Flow
User Risk Matrix
Current Process Flow
Technical Risks Matrix
Current Process Flow
Security Risk Matrix
Current Process Flow
Prototype MFCD
Current Process Flow
Collaboration Matrix
Current Process Flow

Algorithms

Search Algorithm
Current Process Flow
Localization Algorithm
Current Process Flow
Webscraping Algorithm
Current Process Flow
Metrics Algorithm
Current Process Flow

Work Breakdown Structures

Overview Breakdown
Current Process Flow
Algorithm Breakdown
Current Process Flow
Testing Breakdown
Current Process Flow
Database Schema
Current Process Flow
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Labs

Describing the solution...


Lab 1 Collaborative outline:



Individual Labs (PDF downloads):

Alex Bonn

Lab 1 Draft

Alex Brown

Lab 1 Draft

Kenny Dang

Lab 1 Draft

Natalie Graser

Lab 1 Draft

Wesley Irelαnd

Lab 1 Draft

Marissa Loya

Lab 1 Draft

Wesley O'steen

Lab 1 Draft

User Stories


As an at-risk user seeking help...

  • ...I want a way to convey what kind of help I need and receive guidance towards that help.
  • ...I want to filter search results to my essential needs.
  • ...I want to be able to see a map showing locations of nearby services.
  • ...I want to see any feedback on whether a location is safe.
  • ...I want to be able to ask for outreach services to come and help me where I am.

As a user looking to volunteer...

  • ...I want to see a map showing locations of places needing volunteers.
  • ...I want an indication of what types of volunteer roles are available.
  • ...I want to see any notifications or expectations from an organization to potential volunteers like me.
  • ...I want to see some community feedback on an organization or location before I show up.

As a user representing a program or organization...

  • ...I want to be able to easily convey information about our services and what we provide.
  • ...I want the option to get communication on who needs our outreach and where.
  • ...I want to see feedback about our organization.
  • ...I want to see metrics about user traffic to our program site.

As a general user...

  • ...I want to be able to browse content without a requirement to log into an account.
  • ...When I see misleading information on an organization's page, I want the means to convey how it is misleading, and preferably without the requirement to login.

Meet the Team

Team Green Members

Alex Bonn

Back-End Developer

Alex is a senior in the computer science program at Old Dominion University and plans to work as a software developer after graduation at the end of 2022. He has almost 10 years of IT experience including 5 years in the Navy. Alex currently works as a systems engineer where his primary responsibility is to provide Linux systems administration to a large network of Red Hat servers.

Alex Brown

Technical Writer

Alex Brown has held numerous positions in the service industry, giving him unique insight into consumer psychology and customer facing operations. He has also served 4 years in the United States Navy. Alex is now a senior undergraduate in Computer Science at Old Dominion University.

Kenny Dang

Front-End Developer

Kenny Dang is currently a junior majoring in computer science at Old Dominion University. He recently obtained a position at the Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program for the summer. He is eager to gain experience in a professional work setting and to develop and refine his technical skills. After graduation, he plans to pursue a career in web-development, front-end development, or UX/UI design.

Natalie Graser

DevOps Engineer

Natalie is currently a senior in the Computer Science program at Old Dominion University while simultaneously beginning her Masters degree in the same through ODU's linked program. After gaining experience as a DevOps engineer for a small company, Natalie now mostly works with hardware in support of the cloud for Amazon Web Services (AWS). From her time spent at a small military school, Northern Virginia Community College, ODU, and in her professional career, Natalie has gained experience in a broad range of programming languages and computer science fundamentals.

Wesley Irelαnd

Project Lead

Wesley has ten years of experience working directly on Linux systems administration, networking, virtualization and embedded systems. Before that, he spent nine years in the military. Wesley is now a senior undergradate in Computer Science at Old Dominion University.

Marissa Loya

Database Architect

Marissa is a senior undergraduate student in Computer Science at Old Dominion University. She has professional experience in customer service, database maintenance, data-entry, and currently interns part-time for Jefferson Lab’s Industrial Hygienist Department in Newport News, VA. After completing her undergraduate program in December, 2022, Marissa hopes to obtain a permanent position in Project Management or Quality Assurance in the IT field.

Wesley O'Steen

Back-End Developer

Wesley O'Steen is a senior undergraduate student at ODU studying Computer Science. Since enlisting in the Army in 2014, he's had training on using and maintaining surveillance systems to include small unmanned aerial vehicles and advanced camera technology. During that time, he has also worked with a variety of programming languages. After graduating, Wesley hopes to continue working with computers in the Army.


Glossary

  • 501c3 Organization - An organization or group that is tax exempt, often due to providing charitable services through non-profit or not-for-profit methods.
  • At-risk Individual - A person with ongoing risks to health or safety.
  • API/Google API - Application programming interface is a connection between computers or between computer programs. Programmatic interfaces to Google Cloud Platform services.
  • Google Maps - A free-to-use service on the World-Wide Web that provides map display, locations and localization.
  • GUI (Graphical User Interface) - A human-computer interface that uses windows, icons, and menus that can be manipulated by a mouse (and often to a limited extent by a keyboard as well).
  • Spam – Unwanted, unsolicited digital communication sent in bulk, often by an automated program.
  • Stakeholder - Person with an interest or concern in something, especially a business.
  • Uniform Resource Locator – URL; a human-readable name used by internet protocols to locate an asset on the internet.
  • Major Functional Component Diagram - Used in modeling the physical aspects of object-oriented systems that are used for visualizing, specifying, and documenting component-based systems.
  • Web Server - Software and hardware that uses HTTP and other protocols to respond to client requests made over the World Wide Web.
  • Web Scraping - Automatic method to obtain large amounts of data from websites.

References


[1] National Coalition for the Homeless. 2022. Homelessness in America. [online] Available at: [Accessed 20 January 2022].
[2] Homeless Deaths Count. 2022. Homeless Deaths Count. [online] Available at: [Accessed 20 January 2022].
[3] Ashcroft, R., Sur, D., Greenblatt, A. and Donahue, P., 2022. The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Social Workers at the Frontline: A Survey of Canadian Social Workers. [online] Available at: [Accessed 20 January 2022]
[4] Office of Policy Development and Research, 2022. Strategies for Improving Homeless People's Access to Mainstream Benefits and Services. [online] Huduser.gov. Available at: [Accessed 20 January 2022].
[5] The Charity CFO, 2022. Nonprofit Legal Pitfalls: A Complete Guide to Avoid Disaster. [online] Thecharitycfo.com. Available at: [Accessed 20 January 2022].
[6] Rhoades, H., Wenzel, S., Rice, E., Winetrobe, H. and Henwood, B., 2022. No digital divide? Technology use among homeless adults. [online] Socialinnovation.usc.edu. Available at: [Accessed 20 January 2022].
[7] David, 2020. The Top Ten Digital Challenges Facing the Charity Sector. [online] medium.com. Available at [Accessed 20 January 2022]
[8] https://www.usich.gov/homelessness-statistics/va/
[9] Minton, S. and Giannarelli, L., 2019. Five Things You May Not Know About the US Social Safety Net. [online] urban.org. Available at:
[10] https://www.edelman.com/trust/2020-trust-barometer