Help Our Friends

Inspiration

We wanted to create a platform that connects people experiencing homelessness with supporters who can directly fulfill their needs. We were inspired by the potential for technology to restore dignity and hope.

What it does

Help Our Friends enables unhoused individuals to create profiles and post requests for essential items such as shelter, food, clothing, and medical aid. Donors can easily view, filter, and pledge to fulfill these requests. Dynamic sorting and Google Maps integration make it fast and human-centered.

How we built it

We built the platform using VSCode with Python (Flask) for the backend, JavaScript for live dynamic updates, HTML/CSS for the frontend design, and MySQL for managing user and request data.

Challenges we ran into

We faced challenges setting up MySQL and connecting it properly to Flask, as well as deciding which programming languages and frameworks would best support dynamic features. Through documentation, testing, and collaboration, we overcame these hurdles and successfully integrated all parts.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Successfully creating a full-stack platform with real-time filtering and database-backed requests, building a secure login system with session-based authentication, integrating Google Maps API to help locate nearby shelters, and implementing dynamic filters for sorting requests by urgency and category without page reloads.

What we learned

We deepened our skills in Flask web development, MySQL database management, secure session handling, AJAX communication in JavaScript, and external API integration like Google Maps. We also learned how important backend organization is when working with real-time features.

What's next for Help Our Friends

Allowing donors to pledge specific items toward posted requests, adding automatic translation of help requests into users’ native languages, and implementing notifications to alert donors and requesters when pledges are made.