About the event
This event builds on the London Homeless Hack but seeks to engage the NorthWest digital community in helping to reduce the specific problems in Manchester.
Why take part?
Rough sleeping in Greater Manchester has shot up a massive 41% in the last year, figures from January 2017 revealed. Numbers have now QUADRUPLED since 2010, rising steadily each year. Figures - based on estimates carried out on one night in November 2016 - showed 189 people now sleeping rough in Greater Manchester, up from 134 from 2015. Four in ten rough sleepers are in Manchester, where numbers rose from 70 to 78 in 2016 - and are now more than 11 times the figure for 2010.
Manchester City Council has a focus on addressing homelessness in Manchester. Mayor Andy Burnam's pledge to end rough sleeping in Greater Manchester by 2020 formed a key pillar of his Mayoral campaign. His commitment to the issue saw him create the Greater Manchester mayor’s homelessness fund. The money raised being distributed to frontline services through the Greater Manchester Homelessness Action Network.
The aim of this hack is to give designers and developers a chance to contribute to the important work that’s already happening in Manchester, through Manchester City Council’s Greater Manchester Homelessness Action Network and the Action Groups and programmes underway from organisations such as Street Support, Albert Kennedy Trust and Not Just Soup.
You’ll have the chance to work across a range of challenges with researchers, policy teams, subject matter experts and open data specialists to explore ways to help. Teams can be self-organising or pre-registered, so whether you’re a lone coder or part of a team, you’re welcome to join.
You will present your concept or prototype at the end of the hack and a team of judges will pick the best, based on feasibility and innovation.
How it will work
Experts from charities, local business and local authorities will come together with service designers, policy professionals, data analysts, developers, researchers and people with lived experience to see if we can create some useful things to help.
There will be people who know what's needed, people who know what data is available and where to find it, and people who can take on the ideas and prototypes from the event and find ways to make them happen.
You need to bring your own laptop and are also free to play around with any devices, sensors etc. Valtech has kindly offered use of their amazing offices for both days, so access to guest wi-fi, whiteboards and display screens will be available. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t done this before. Experience hack veterans will be around to mention and facilitate discussion on both days.
Schedule
Friday
10:00 to 11.30: Presentations from experts and policy makers who work on homelessness to help hackers understand what's needed, what’s already being down and what the obstacles are.
11.30 – 12.30: Presentation of hack challenges and available data
12.30 to 13.30: Lunch and chance for everyone to talk about their ideas
17:00 to late: Form teams and get to work
Saturday
09:30 to 15:00: Work in self-organising teams to frame the problem, design solutions and build working concepts and prototypes
15:00 16.30 - Show and tell
17:00 – Winners and closing
Everyone with energy and ideas is welcome
This will be an inclusive, open and collaborative event. #Homelesshack is not only for people with special technical skills - come along if you have ideas, energy and any relevant skills or knowledge to offer. Please don't worry if it's your first time at an event like this - everyone is welcome and there will be plenty of help and support on offer.
The event is free but capacity is limited to 80, so it is first come, first served.
Want to sponsor the event?
If you'd like to sponsor or support this event in any way, please get in touch with us and we'll be happy to help.
Sponsors and Supporters
