Austin, TX

Within our thriving, prosperous city, there is a visible housing crisis. Many people are one setback away from experiencing homelessness and many residents in our city are already experiencing homelessness. Living on the streets in Austin is not easy. Basic challenges like finding a safe place to sleep and getting something to eat come well before accessing the wide array of recovery services like day work and temporary or permanent supportive housing. Those services that often take a back seat to survival are crucial to a chance at transitioning out of homelessness and are sometimes difficult to access because of the very common challenge of maintaining important documents while sleeping outside.

We are fortunate in this city to have many eager service providers making their services accessible by whatever means necessary. Unfortunately, there are some services and benefits that cannot be obtained without proper identification and documents. Even as a homeowner, it’s hard enough keeping track of the extensive thread of documents we are subject to as we go from our jobs to doctor appointments to the DMV or to pay our taxes. Now consider that people who sleep outside are also expected to maintain these records to access the services they need with the added vulnerability to thieves and weather in addition to human error. It seems to me that in 2018, there should be a digital solution to protect our most vulnerable and ensure they can access the services they need with minimal difficulty.

The problem is compounded when considering that losing an I.D., social security card, or birth certificate means more than not being able to complete a benefits application when it’s needed. It takes time and money to replace documents, both of which are scarce resources on the streets. People who have dealt with this problem say it takes an average of two weeks to replace an ID given the opportunity cost of time needed to save up for the replacement fee and bus ticket, to save up and take time off from work and to take transportation to the Department of Public Safety, and later to save up and take transportation to the shelter where their replacement will be mailed. Two weeks may not seem very long to someone who is housed, but for someone experiencing homelessness, that’s two weeks without food support, or housing, or healthcare; two more weeks living through and managing the psychological and physical health effects of living on the streets. All of these spent resources are a huge set-back in the recovery process.

Recovering documents is an expense to our service providers as well. It is estimated that service providers like the Trinity Center and Sunrise Community Center spend roughly $10,000 annually on fees to recover identification documents, not including staffing hours. It is so important that service providers perform this service because identification documents are key to participating in further steps of the recovery process and to gaining access to housing, employment, health insurance, health care, and food.

Not being able to fulfill these basic human needs makes our housing crisis that much more critical. Austin’s housing crisis has brought us to a point where homeless population is increasing by 5% annually when our total population growth is is increasing by 3% annually. One piece of the housing crisis for our residents experiencing homelessness, self-determining identity, is a problem I believe we can and should tackle in the immediate future.

I envision a way for Austinites to own their identity digitally, and to be able to store and share their documents in a safe and secure way; I believe we can do this with blockchain technology. I can imagine a platform for people who aren’t housed, or at risk of losing their housing to use a digital identity to apply for housing, food support, health insurance without worrying about having to start over with their identity. I imagine a way for service providers to complete applications more efficiently because their client had all their needed documents digitally at the time of application. Digital identity on the blockchain has already been used for keeping track of vaccinations in refugee camps, for voting in Estonia, and is being tested in cities and states all over the U.S for various government services. Expediting service processes has foreseeable benefits across the city; for service organizations as well as for housed residents; but I see Austin being the first city to design this service for our most vulnerable, those who need it most.

Photo Credit: Isra Khan & Michael Henderson

Austin has been given an opportunity from Bloomberg Philanthropies to test this idea. We need the best developers and technology innovators in Austin to help us hack the crisis. The City of Austin Innovation Office and Dell Medical School are hosting a hackathon to bring together Austin’s technology talent and those who know the crisis best; our service providers and people experiencing homelessness. The Mayor’s Blockchain Challenge is an opportunity to help the City build and design options for maintaining identity through blockchain and to explore broader capabilities for homelessness service delivery.

I know Austin has the heart and tech capacity to bring identity into the digital era, while designing for our most vulnerable. Join us July 27th-29th for a collaborative and dynamic weekend at the Mayor’s Blockchain Challenge for a chance to win prizes, to meet leading executives in technology, and to use your skills and compassion to help our city examine and address this critical issue.