#Forthe1in10 Hidden Homeless Video Series
From my time working with Ample Labs, I learned the face of homelessness isn't just what you see on the streets. According to Stats Canada,1 in 10 Canadians have experienced homelessness in their lifetime. Based on real stories and conversations with Torontonians, at-risk youth and first responders, I wrote and produced this video series to demystify hidden homelessness.
The Interview: Caroline is a recent business grad who has been job searching during the pandemic without much luck. She doesn’t qualify for CERB and without family support, she has been scraping by through favours from friends. Job hunting has never been so stressful.
Date night: Lily is a gig worker who has been struggling to find new work during COVID-19. Even though she is making enough for herself, she cannot afford rent, groceries and support her sick, aging mother in a senior home. She puts her mother's needs first, so she is getting free meals for herself wherever she can, even on dates.
Holiday Party: Dan is an intern at a startup who lives with his family. One evening, his mom discovers a photo of him with his boyfriend. Horrified, she cannot accept her son’s sexuality and disowns him. Dan has no place to go so he sleeps at his office for a while. With offices closed because of COVID-19, Dan is scared and doesn't know where to go for help.
Oftentimes, people who face housing insecurity don’t want to identify themselves. Why? Future landlords and employers may look down on them even if they are good candidates. Although we made the web-app Chalmers to empower those in need to find help easier, we also want to encourage an open conversation and greater awareness of hidden homelessness.
To help people learn more about the reality behind this series, I wrote this article on how to support those struggling in silence.
To help people learn more about the reality behind this series, I wrote this article on how to support those struggling in silence.
Read the rest here.
This series was shared by Parkdale Life (40k followers) and received over 9.6 k views across social media channels (5.4x our following) and +1042 clicks to learn more, sparking important conversations.
To date, Chalmers has helped over 50 000 Ontarians get personalized help, and is expanding to help more people in North America. To get a better sense of the types of users Chalmers helps, see my illustrated Chalmers Suite user personas. Below is an impact report I wrote and produced.
Chalmers Users: UX Research Article
In 2019, our UX research team started planning a project on interviewing Chalmers users. The first interviews were scheduled for March 2020, right when the lockdown began. Here is a look at the stories behind the personas developped from these twelve one-on-one interviews, as well as a Q&A with our team:
See how Jade's story continues here (includes Q&A with team).
To learn more, read the full user personas and journey.
To learn more, read the full user personas and journey.
Chalmers Suite: LA Technology Innovation Challenge Grant
As a non-profit, Ample Labs regularly applies for grants. I wrote and produced the video portion of our L.A. pitch, distilling our mission into 90 seconds.
A big thank you to an amazing team of volunteers for helping out on set, donating props, food and transportation.
Founding Story: When the Woman on the Streets is Mom
Before I was hired as a content creator, I started volunteering for Ample Labs in Mar 2018 to learn more about hidden homelessness. Since then, I have been growing our community (12x in 1 year) and spreading the mission of empowering those of us facing homelessness.
This is one of the first articles I wrote about the founder, CG who's own mother faced homelessness. It was featured on Noteworthy and used in our crowdfunding campaign, which raised over 140% of our $10 000 goal.
This is one of the first articles I wrote about the founder, CG who's own mother faced homelessness. It was featured on Noteworthy and used in our crowdfunding campaign, which raised over 140% of our $10 000 goal.
Read the rest on Noteworthy
This article is continuously being used in emails and messages to potential sponsors and partners for Ample Labs.
Crowdfunding Campaign and Engagement
For three months, I supported the crowdfunding team with building out and managing our campaign. I helped write and refine the messaging for our #chatbotforchange campaign, then did media outreach and continuous community engagement through social media. We were featured on BlogTO, Toronto Star and Forbes!
Social Media Organic Growth + Research
For the past year, I have been in charge of building our community on social media and coordinating content with designers and videographers.
1 year organic growth:
-9x followers on Facebook
-3.5x followers on Twitter
-12x followers on LinkedIn
- Started our Instagram (+430 followers)
Here are some content and engagement highlights below:
1 year organic growth:
-9x followers on Facebook
-3.5x followers on Twitter
-12x followers on LinkedIn
- Started our Instagram (+430 followers)
Here are some content and engagement highlights below:
We are currently working on ways to help our community during the COVID19 pandemic. Stay tuned for more tech for good!