NY STEP - DREAM for the homeless - Multidisciplinary App Building

Overview: In this challenge, students from Computer Science, Nursing, Psychology, and Cybersecurity team up to design and build a real-world application that supports first responders interacting with all kinds of homeless individuals and families, including those experiencing violent or high-risk situations. The challenge goes beyond building software. It enables you to learn how to collaborate across disciplines, balance ethical care with real-world constraints, and design technology that is secure, trauma-informed, and practical under pressure. You gain hands-on experience in effective communication, data security, clinical awareness, and technical rigor. Just like you would in a professional environment! "Working with students from completely different majors made me realize how much better solutions are when you actually listen to each other." – Rachida A., Challenge participant 💬 By the end of the project, you don't just walk away with a working prototype, you leave with the incredible experience of building something that could genuinely make homeless people's lives better and more humane, while making it easier for first responders to serve the people they're called for. 🤝✨ See the Challenge in Action: https://www.renderforest.com/watch-113369403?quality=720 See the presentation https://gamma.app/docs/Homeless-Bed-Tracker-Challenge-j0cfpwunuy1fvho -- Problem Statement First responders often face high-risk situations involving homeless individuals with mental health challenges - and do not know easily where beds are available for them. There is a lack of integrated tools that: * Provide real-time guidance on available beds * Respect medical, psychological, legal, and ethical boundaries for safe, humane interactions * Secure sensitive data while remaining usable in the field This challenge addresses that gap through a multidisciplinary, experiential learning approach. Current Situation: How It Works Now The Problem in Action: When a first responder encounters a homeless individual in crisis: 1. Fragmented Information: Shelter bed availability is scattered across multiple phone numbers, websites, and city databases with no centralized system 2. Manual Calling: Responders must call shelters one-by-one to find available beds, wasting critical time 3. No Context: There's no record of previous interactions, mental health history, or what de-escalation approaches have worked before 4. Safety Risks: Responders approach potentially violent situations without adequate background information or guidance 5. Privacy Concerns: When information does exist, it's often stored insecurely or shared inappropriately Example Scenario: Officer Martinez responds to a call about an aggressive homeless individual near a subway station. She has no information about this person's mental health status, no guidance on de-escalation, and spends 45 minutes calling 8 different shelters to find an available bed. By the time she finds one, the individual has left the scene. Your Challenge: Build a system that solves these problems while respecting medical ethics, privacy laws, and the dignity of vulnerable populations. -- Cohort Roles & Responsibilities 1. Computer Science Cohort Role: Application & system builders Responsibilities: * Build the core application and backend services * Integrate Knowledge Graph (KG) queries into the app for bed availability and individual history * Translate real-world requirements into scalable software * Collaborate closely with domain experts to refine features How You'll Collaborate: * Week 1-2: You'll be assigned to cross-functional teams (see Team Structure below) * Weekly Cross-Cohort Sessions: Scheduled meetings where you'll work directly with Nursing, Psychology, and Cybersecurity students * Shared Documentation: All teams will use a shared requirements document where domain experts describe what they need and you translate it to technical specs * Mentor Touchpoints: Connect with technical mentors and domain experts like Analee Etheredge (NYC Health) during scheduled sessions Skills Developed: Full-stack development, APIs, data modeling, cross-functional teamwork, translating domain expertise into code Resources Available: * NSF Proto-OKN documentation * DREAM KG (Knowledge Graph for homeless services) * FRINK framework tutorials * Knowledge Graph integration guides * API documentation for shelter databases Mentoring: * College cohorts from QCC can mentor high-school cohorts from MEC * Technical mentors available during scheduled office hours -- 2. Nursing Cohort Role: Healthcare & domain experts Special angle for Psychology and Nursing students: https://www.renderforest.com/watch-113352178?quality=720 Responsibilities: * Provide medical and care-related insights * Define what is appropriate, ethical, and legal regarding health data (HIPAA compliance, consent, confidentiality) * Communicate healthcare needs clearly to technical teams * Practice professional project communication and leadership * Determine what medical information can/should be displayed to first responders How You'll Collaborate: * Week 1-2: Join your assigned cross-functional team * Requirements Workshops: Lead sessions explaining healthcare constraints to CS students * Review Sessions: Evaluate prototypes to ensure medical ethics are maintained * Documentation Role: Maintain the "Healthcare Boundaries" section of the shared project documentation Skills Developed: Interdisciplinary communication, applied healthcare ethics, systems thinking, translating clinical knowledge for non-medical audiences Example Contributions: * "First responders should see: recent hospital visits (yes/no), NOT diagnosis details" * "Consent must be obtained before storing any medical information" * "Here's what constitutes a medical emergency vs. a behavioral crisis" -- 3. Psychology Cohort Role: Mental health & behavioral experts Special angle for Psychology and Nursing students: https://www.renderforest.com/watch-113352178?quality=720 Responsibilities: * Design guidance for interacting with violent or distressed individuals * Define de-escalation and non-judgmental communication strategies * Help document what works for individuals over time (intervention history) * Embed trauma-informed and mental-health-aware practices into the app * Advise on ethical considerations around recording behavioral information How You'll Collaborate: * Week 1-2: Join your assigned cross-functional team * Scenario Design: Create realistic interaction scenarios for CS students to build features around * App Content: Write the actual de-escalation guidance that will appear in the app * Testing: Evaluate prototypes for trauma-informed design Skills Developed: Applied psychology, behavioral analysis, real-world impact design, translating psychological principles into actionable technology Example Contributions: * De-escalation flowcharts for the app * Crisis intervention protocols * Guidelines for recording behavioral notes ethically * Red flags that indicate when to call for additional mental health support -- 4. Cybersecurity Cohort Role: Security & privacy specialists Responsibilities: * Secure the application and underlying data * Address authentication, authorization, and access control (who can see what?) * Protect sensitive personal and health-related information * Balance usability with security and compliance (HIPAA, city data regulations) * Conduct security reviews of code and database design How You'll Collaborate: * Week 1-2: Join your assigned cross-functional team * Security Reviews: Evaluate CS team's code weekly for vulnerabilities * Policy Documentation: Work with Nursing cohort to translate HIPAA requirements into technical security controls * Testing: Conduct penetration testing on prototypes Skills Developed: Application security, privacy engineering, risk assessment, communicating security requirements to developers Example Contributions: * "All health data must be encrypted at rest and in transit" * "Implement role-based access control: first responders see X, shelter staff see Y" * "Here's how to securely log access to sensitive information" -- Team Structure You will work in cross-functional teams of 4-5 students: * 1-2 Computer Science students * 1 Nursing student * 1 Psychology student * 1 Cybersecurity student Team Meetings: * Scheduled during weekly project sessions * Teams set their own additional meeting times as needed * Mentor-facilitated sessions every 2 weeks Communication Expectations: * Respond to team members within 24 hours * Document all decisions in shared team space * Use professional communication standards (templates provided) Learning Outcomes Students gain: * Real-world, portfolio-ready project experience * Cross-functional teamwork and professional etiquette * Exposure to ethical, legal, and security constraints * Experience working on socially impactful technology * Understanding of how different disciplines approach the same problem * Professional communication skills across technical and non-technical domains Impact & Value * For students: Accelerated, experiential learning through real challenges that matter * For educators: Turnkey multidisciplinary project with real outcomes & NSF support * For researchers & partners: A platform to prototype ideas and gather insights * For society: Safer, more humane first-responder interactions with vulnerable populations * For homeless individuals: Better access to services, more respectful care, documented progress over time Getting Started Week 1: Orientation, team formation, introduction to the problem Week 2: Understanding shelters, services, and the Knowledge Graph Week 3: First cross-cohort collaboration workshop Week 4+: Build, iterate, test with mentor feedback Mentoring Available: * Weekly office hours with technical mentors * Domain experts like Analee Etheredge and her NYC Health team * Peer mentoring (QCC students mentor MEC students) * AI Chatbot for quick questions Final Deliverable: Pitching Ceremony with: * Research team * NY STEP parties * Nonprofit partners * City of New York representatives * Your working prototype, presentation, code repository, and demonstration video