ShelterSearch wins Rep. Barbara Lee’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 12th District

I signed up to volunteer at two youth shelters: Larkin Street in San Francisco and Youth Spirit Artworks (YSA) in Oakland. On my first day as a technology intern at Larkin Street, I confronted a harsh reality. Outside the shelter were tents occupied by youth, some visibly struggling with substance abuse, others gripped by the fear of not knowing where to turn for support.

My perspective on homelessness further widened when I began working with Youth Spirit Artworks. I collaborated with people who weren’t just passionate about helping out but had also lived through the trauma of being unhoused. They shared personal stories of the anxiety that came with not knowing where they would sleep at night. However, they used their experience as a catalyst to help others, eventually joining YSA to make a difference for youth like them. YSA’s mission showed me the transformative power of the right support, reinforcing my desire to help.

As I dug in, I saw the gaps in the current homelessness response system. Critical information on shelter location, services, and accessibility was scattered across various websites, often outdated or inaccurate. For youth already dealing with trauma and anxiety, navigating this information is hard. They need a single platform that provides clear answers to pressing questions such as ‘Where can I find shelter?’ ‘When can I go?’ and ‘What services can I get?’ These seem like basic questions, but for unhoused youth, having these answers could be the difference between feeling hopeless and finding hope.

 That’s when I decided to build ShelterSearch, an app designed to streamline the shelter search process for unhoused youth. The goal of ShelterSearch is to transform what can be one of the most traumatic experiences of a young person’s life into one filled with hope. By providing easy access to shelter information, the app eliminates the stressful, confusing search for support, allowing youth to focus on taking the first step toward safety and healing.”