The West Sacramento Police Department (WSPD) was seeking a mobile app that would allow Police Officers to more effectively serve the homeless. In particular, WSPD wanted to enhance their existing process by adding a mobile component that could  facilitate real time eligibility interviews with social service agencies from the field via-video conference. The app would also  provide immediate access to information about the availability of resources and social services and ideally allow officers to print out vouchers for transportation, food, and/or shelter based on the individual’s need, and map where the homeless are encountered in order to provide continuously improving service to the community.

To fully understand the department’s process, the Appledore team tagged along with officers and social service workers from the department on outreach efforts. They focused on understanding  how department staff interacted with folks in need, what data needed to be collected, and what services they provided.

Building off their collaborative workflow and management software tool, Appledore co-developed Outreach Grid, a mobile platform that coordinates homelessness information. The platform features an intake tool, which allows the officer or service provider to collect information in the field, including GPS coordinates, and store history about a client or homeless encampment.