Neighborhood Net

Inspiration

What it does

How we built it

Challenges we ran into

Accomplishments that we're proud of

What we learned

What's next for Neighborhood Net

Inspiration

San Francisco’s unhoused population often struggles to find real-time, trustworthy information about food, shelter, and hygiene services. Meanwhile, shelters and food banks lack a unified way to share resource availability. We were inspired to build a tool that bridges this gap — giving dignity back to those in need while easing the burden on providers.

What it does

Neighborhood Net is a digital platform that connects people experiencing homelessness with the nearest available food, shelter, and hygiene resources. It features:

🗺️ An interactive map with real-time data on beds, food, and showers

🛏️ A backend for providers to update occupancy and inventory

🤖 A chatbot for users to ask questions like “Where can I sleep tonight?”

📲 Registration portals for individuals and organizations

How we built it

We used:

React + Tailwind for a fast, responsive frontend

Mapbox for real-time geospatial visualization of shelters and food banks

Supabase as our backend and database platform

Python (FastAPI) for handling API routes and chatbot logic

OpenAI API to power a friendly, natural-language chatbot

Lovable to manage collaborative workflows and design consistency

Real San Francisco data (shelters, food banks, addresses, capacities) was formatted in CSV and dynamically linked to the live UI

Challenges we ran into

Integrating Mapbox and syncing filters, markers, and live data

Learning Supabase and managing real-time updates and permissions

Linking each facility's metadata with actual inventory and occupancy info

Creating a chatbot that’s both helpful and context-aware

Balancing the UX between accessibility and administrative power

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a working MVP that can support real-world deployment

Integrated real-time updates across shelters and food banks

Created a seamless chatbot that adapts to user needs

Designed with empathy — for users with low tech access and for exhausted service workers

What we learned

Supabase can be an efficient alternative to Firebase with the right tooling

Mapbox integrations are powerful but demand careful state management

Civic tech must always prioritize simplicity and trust

Even basic CSV data becomes meaningful when made navigable and visual

What's next for Neighborhood Net

Build SMS and voice support for unhoused users without smartphones

Launch a mobile-first interface for easier street-level usage

Add verified provider logins and analytics dashboards

Expand into job placement, healthcare, and document assistance

Collaborate with local governments to pilot in more cities

Built With

• lovable