- Social Innovation Fellowship
Concentration
Award Year
Rhode Island & Massachusetts
TextUp is a software communication tool that: - Empowers people who are homeless with the most accurate, up-to-date information on local services - Creates two-way, real-time, and privacy-protected channels for communication between service providers and people experiencing homelessness - And streamlines the administrative work of social service providers so more time can be spent on supporting those in need
In the suburbs north of Detroit, the east-west running roads are named after how far they are from the center of the city. I grew up on 18 Mile Road, eighteen miles from the heart of Detroit. In these suburbs, that mile number means a lot more than just distance. Eighteen miles was enough to provide me with the resources I needed to thrive: a well-funded school district, parks to play in, and safe streets to walk down at night. But it wasn’t far enough to shield me from recognizing the stark distinction of Haves and Have Nots in my community, a distinction made along mile markers.
I joined TextUp because it provided me the opportunity to bridge the gap between Haves and Have Nots in a dynamic way. TextUp aims to redefine the way the homeless are served by assuring resources- time, money, and effort- are allocated in the most efficient way possible. It’s reworking a system that is already doing so much good, to simply do that good more effectively.