OpenArms

Inspiration

In recent years, housing costs have increased while mental health has been on the decline. Recognizing these struggles, we are here to support vulnerable individuals.

What it does

OpenArms connects individuals experiencing homelessness or at risk to homelessness to vital resources, including shelters, food banks, and harm reduction services, through a user-friendly web-app.

How we built it

We built OpenArms using many web development technologies, including JavaScript, HTML, CSS as well as libraries such as React and Leaflet. Additionally, to create an AI fur-friend we used OpenAI API.

Challenges we ran into

Implementing different API's into the code. Connecting different languages onto the GitHub and having it all work as one seamless web-app.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud to have developed a functional prototype of within the timeframe. We are proud of challenging ourselves and learning new libraries and frameworks we were not familiar with prior to this hackathon.

What we learned

We gained insights into the complexities of homelessness. It is not easy to have a simple straightforward solution. Instead, we must take into account different situations and think realistically of how and when our web-app will be used.

What's next for OpenArms

Moving forward, we plan to further refine OpenArms based on feedback and collaborate with local communities and organizations. We would like to have our web-app displayed in public areas such the subway, bus stops, and libraries so that everyone can have access to it and not necessarily need a device or internet access. Additionally, we aim to secure funding and partnerships to support the ongoing development and sustainability of the platform.

Built With

• css
• figma
• html
• javascript
• leaflet.js
• openai
• react