San Mateo County received a state award for its innovative mobile application that helps community workers improve service to homeless residents, a tool that seeks to provide shelter to all those in need.
Thus, the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) awarded the Challenge Award to San Mateo County for the SMC HOME (Homeless Outreach and Mobile Engagement) app, a collaborative effort between the Human Services Agency's Homeless Center and the GIS team of the Information Services Department.
The county was one of 14 honorees chosen from a group of 389 in the state's 58 counties.
The Challenge Awards highlight innovative and unique programs developed by California counties.
According to a statement from the county, those involved in the development of the award-winning application said it is already showing benefits.
“The HOME app is a powerful communication tool that streamlines the county's rapid response process to assist homeless people in San Mateo County,” said Claire Cunningham, director of the Human Services Agency.
“As we collect data, we develop maps that show where homeless people congregate so we can target our outreach efforts,” he added.
While the app is for internal use and not for the public, the county said it is a novel piece of technology that allows outreach teams to quickly respond to reports of unsheltered people in need.
In that sense, he explained that the teams learn the type of location, the number of people and any safety concerns so that workers can be deployed with the appropriate resources, such as emergency items or hygiene kits.
As a result, workers can optimize and accelerate their responses to those in need.
The app also helps the county capture real-time information on the precise location of homeless outreach requests, making it more efficient over previous reporting that was done via phone calls or email.
In 2023 alone, the app has handled 94 quick response requests: 63 percent for campgrounds; 25 percent for people living on the streets outside the encampments; and 12 percent for those who live in vehicles, the county said.
The state association praised the county for its work.
?All counties applaud San Mateo County for its innovation and dedication. Congratulations on winning the prestigious 2023 Challenge Award? said Graham Knaus, CEO of CSAC.
In May 2023, the app received a similar award with an Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties.
"While I am proud of my team and HSA for collectively building this program, what makes me even more proud is the number of people we are now able to help in a more timely manner," said ISD Principal Mike Wentworth. “We created the infrastructure, but the real success is helping our neighbors.”
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