If you missed last week’s mRelief presentation at OpenGov Hack Night – we’ve got the video below:
Twitter was a big fan of the project! Here’s a sampling of the tweets below
Year: 2014
Tomorrow: The Red Cross and Open Source Technology
At tomorrow’s OpenGov Hack Night, the Red Cross’ Jim McGowan will be talking about how the Red Cross is using open source technology to improve the way they handle disaster services.
Red Cross Truck, Photo By C. Holmes
The Chicago Area Red Cross has been looking at how they can utilize technology to improve disaster response for awhile now.
Launch of Roll With Me
The Smart Chicago Collaborative is proud to announce the launch of Roll With Me – an app that gives transit directions for the those who use wheelchairs.
mRelief: Mobilizing social service relief in Chicago
Last week marked the launch of mRelief, a site that simplifies the social service qualifying process with an easy-to-use form that can be accessed online and through SMS. Residents can check to see if they’re eligible for a variety of programs including food stamps, medicaid, WIC, and more. Here’s the press release by mRelief creators on day of launch.
mRelief is made by an all-woman team hailing from different backgrounds and walks of life dedicated to making an impact with technology. Smart Chicago has supported mRelief under our CivicWorks Project funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
mRelief is already deployed at the Martin Luther King Jr Community Services Center. The Community Service Centers are run by the City of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services. DFSS Community Service Centers help individuals and families in need access a wide range of resources from shelter, food and clothing to domestic violence assistance, job training/placement and services for the formerly incarcerated. Staff members are using mRelief to help streamline the process of evaluating their eligibility. The mRelief team has also partnered with Purple Binder to refer residents to other useful local resources if they are ineligible for public assistance.
Join the City of Chicago’s Department of Innovation and Technology
The City of Chicago’s Department of Innovation and Technology is hiring a Senior Database Analyst to help coordinate the operationalization of their data research.
City Hall, Photo by Chris Smith
We talked with Chief Data Officer Tom Schenk Jr to learn more about the work of the Department of Innovation and Technology and the position he’s hiring for.
Complete Info on Chicago Park District Advisory Councils
The next meeting of Open Gov Chicago(-land), set for Thursday, November 20, 2014, is going to do a deep-dive on Chicago Park District Advisory Councils. Here’s a description:
Our next meetup will be the first in a new series that focuses on learning about and helping grassroots groups that interact with official government functions.
First up is the Park District Advisory Council. There are 194 advisory councils covering the entire city, and they are populated by regular Chicago residents who care about their neighborhoods. We will hear from people who run these councils, find out what kind of data and technology they use, and figure out we can help.
As part of this new series, we’ve done some research on councils. We’ve taken a look at it from a technology view, hoping to kick off some thoughts in the civic tech community on how we might be helpful.
Humboldt Park Formal Garden
