Urban Matters participates in its first Hack-a-thon!!!

No we’re not tech geeks, although we secretly wish we were, but it’s true, Stephanie and Katie spent 48 hours this past weekend hacking it up with new friends and colleagues.  It was quintessential in meeting every one of our core values here at Urban Matters, especially collaborating deliberately. The aim of the hackathon was “to help reshape the systems of exchange in Mid-Market by supporting disadvantaged residents in overcoming inefficiencies and barriers to their prosperity,” as stated by Creative Currency, the curator of this amazing event.  The event is also supported by the Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, the HUB SF, the City of San Francisco (Office of Innovation and the Mayor's Office of Workforce Development), Shareable, and American Express; all stellar organizations that are positively shaping change.

Out of the 48 hours of hacking came a very powerful story of Sarah, a young homeless female we met while walking around the area to gather site information.  The event that unfolded in the short 15 minute walk made apparent that the problem that we were trying to tackle was a public health issue - not a piece of technology -  the lack of access to water.  So RefreshSF was conceived, a public health awareness campaign marked by a dignity station that provides pop-up refreshing stations in existing vacant lots for the public. These will be places where residents of Mid-Market and the Tenderloin along with the general public can go to shower, rinse off, clean themselves and refresh. As we hacked out our ideas it became apparent that our most important goal for this weekend was to provide a solution that had the lowest barrier of entry, which ended up being a hardwired place, one that lacked digital bells and whistles. 

Having said that, we also proposed a technology component that uses existing infrastructure - Clipper Card. Check out the presentation here: http://www.refreshsf.org/ 

We are so thrilled to be working on this project, to be collaborating with amazing institutions that are helping support us and provide the biggest impact on lives.  Team RefreshSF is meeting this weekend to discuss our next steps.  Stay tuned, it’s a project you don’t want to miss out on.  

So, how many of you took a shower this morning? In the last 48 hrs? 

It’s a privilege you and I share every day, one we take for granted.

- i heart cities