iHomelessSolution

Inspiration

I believe that a swift-based application for iOS would be one of the most accessible ways for the companies to coordinate. The interface is easy to use, and easy to understand. Keeping it simple will always be the best way to reach out to wider audiences.

What it does

This app allows both Aid providers, and users that are in need to use this app. It has two separate logins for the admins and the users, each with different features. Both admins and the users have access to a map of the local shelters, along with their phone numbers right there in the map. Then The users have the ability to "check in" at the homeless shelter, which then would sync their data to that shelter. The user is also able to view their own data, and call a shelter if necessary, with a built-in contact list of the shelters. The admin has a few more powerful features, such as being able to view how many spots are available at the shelters around it (due to the check-in feature on the user), and the ability to search the info of the people they help is very powerful as well.

How I built it

Well through hard work and only 1.5 hours of sleep over the past few nights, I worked as the lone ranger on this project, developing it from scratch in Xcode on my computer. I have created only one or two apps before, and they were very simple, starter apps, so I consider this a huge accomplishment for myself!

Challenges I ran into

So because I was developing this application in Swift, there is not much documentation on the internet on the syntax of it. So whenever I ran into an error that I've never seen before, I had to really investigate through the apple api documentation online in order to find the answer. Because of the relative constant change of Swift (now Swift 3), it was a lot more of a challenge for me than say, Java.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I am very proud of this application, because in less than 48 hours I believe I put out a solid piece of software for only working by myself. It was a pretty steep learning curve for some of the challenges, and now i am proud that I have something to hold in my hand to show the world.

What I learned

I really enjoy mobile development. I don't know if it is just being able to hold the final product in your own hand, or what but it definitely is something that I want to continue in the future. Now about the homeless problem. I learned that this is a lot more complex of a problem than 99% of the world realizes. Just reading into the data and trying to decipher it alone was a mess, let alone the people that have to make the best with what they have got with terrible misfortune. I definitely have a new sense of appreciation for the volunteers and people that try to help the people affected by poverty.

What's next for iHomelessSolution

Well Hopefully the judges like it and see how easy of an interface it is. It is simple, yet it can be powerful in the right hands, with the administrators having the ability to search the information of the people they help, or the a more accurate tracking system of the homeless, by allowing them to check-in if they happen to have their own phone, or they could check in on an iOS device at the shelter when they arrive. This interconnection would be crucial to help the communication and resource management between these homeless shelters.

Built With

• swift