mRelief is an open source, user-facing web and SMS application, dedicated to solving social service challenges using technology in the city of Chicago. Our nonprofit status is through fiscal sponsor, Good City. Our platform, which we created through adept visual design and software development, is mobilizing relief for low-income people by providing them a platform to easily determine their eligibility for social service programs. If they qualify, they are directed to their next step. If not, they are referred to a local community resource to pursue alternatives.
Our organization has been seed funded by the Smart Chicago Collaborative, a civic organization devoted to improving lives in Chicago through technology. Smart Chicago also hosts our Twilio account which enables non-internet users to determine their eligibility through text messaging. Smart Chicago provides avenues for user feedback through 800 Chicago residents in 77 community areas. Through Smart Chicago, we are also in conversations with Cyber Navigators in Chicago Public Libraries to further reach those who would most benefit from our tool.
Another partner instrumental in helping us to provide accurate information is Purple Binder. They are an application that matches people with community services that keep them healthy. Purple Binder, a non-profit leader in the Midwest, provides accurate resources through sophisticated search techniques and data scraping of civic data provided through open data portals. With their help, we will provide users with resources that are more accurate than printed fliers that agencies often don’t have the capacity to update thus reducing the high referral rate.