SafeSpace

Anonymous Reporting View
Home View
Chatbot View
Resource Finder View
Evidence Reporting View
Safe Location Finder View
Safe Plan Maker View

Inspiration

My mother spent 23 years of her life in an abusive home, where she had no ability to escape or leave because of financial restrictions. When she opened up to me about her experiences, I was devastated that something could happen to someone I loved so much, but had no control over. This app was an idea that we came up with to make sure that nothing even similar would happen to anyone else - this app is our measure taken toward making sure that we are able to properly communicate and provide survivors with the resources they need.

What it does

The app has 6 different functionalities - It has the ability to be able to anonymously report any crime or violent action to all police stations and hospitals within a 5 mile radius of the User's current location. Another view has all resources the User could possibly need in order to seek help or any next steps in order to get help or advice for their situation. Our app also has a functional ChatBot that responds to prompts issued by the User and provides them with 24/7 access to this resource in case their access to other resources are taken away in their situations. It also gives the User access to a map that doesn't track their history or keep a copy of it and provides tailored results of important landmarks or areas they can seek refuge from their abuser(s). Another View is the option to create a personalized plan for safety with predetermined prompts and the ability to store and re-visit their responses. The last feature that the app has is to document any evidence or record of events that took place and when they did in order to keep a paper-less, untraceable log of events to re-visit if needed later.

How we built it

I made this app using XCode and used Swift UI as a programming language in order to create an interactable User Interface that is simple enough for even a child to handle, if needed.

Challenges we ran into

I had issues figuring out how to request the location of the User because it was not working, and crashed the whole program multiple times, but after sitting for a couple of hours and working through the bugs, I was finally able to code all situations of whether the location request was accepted or denied.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I am extremely proud of 2 things - first, the ChatBot, because it took hours getting the responses and layout to look perfect and I was extremely relieved when I finally found the solution! And my favorite feature is the apps ability to seem like a regular Makeup app, but once opened and the first view bypassed, then the real functionality of the app is shown.

What we learned

This project helped me learn how many people are so affected by such a horrible situation, and how an app with collated resources can help them realize the steps needed to be taken to their eventual freedom so they don't feel stuck in their horrible situations.

What's next for SafeSpace

I want to be able to make the ChatBot fully functional and allow Users' to be able to ask any questions that also aren't related just to their safety in order for them to get another opinion.