One of the first moments in which I realized this app would not get off the ground was in a meeting with a pastor from the city of Federal Way, WA. He is a massive individual, standing at 6’4” and an even bigger presence in conversation with a booming voice. Surprisingly, his heart is bigger than his stature. I presented to him the app and showed him on the map several options of care for homeless individuals in his city of Federal Way (about 20 miles south of Seattle). As I used the app to show organizations nearby, he had a tear rolling down his eye. I asked somewhat surprised if he was okay. He explained on the way to our meeting he met two homeless individuals in a parking lot and didn’t know how to engage with them. He then confessed that his church doesn’t know how to either. He ALSO confessed that he didn’t even know most of the organizations I had shown that can assist with this societal problem. He asked if I would demonstrate the app to a team of leaders in the community–faith leaders, business leaders, health providers and community organizers. I felt this was a great plan and a great way to get the ball rolling for people to utilize the app. Presentations always received such a great response, it was powerful for people to see potential solutions on a map–a lot of imagination was sparked and I was asked to attend monthly meetings to speak into the matters of how to engage. However, people didn’t use the app. And this became the theme over the course of the next two years: I would present it to interested parties, to utilize, but no one would jump on board with implementing or utilizing the app. This was frustrating, but at the same time I realized that I did not use it either outside the context of showing it to others. Why is this the case? What I soon discovered was two different threads of issues for the app: On the technical side–our team had to manually enter the information for the organizations, churches and non-profits available. This led to a LOT of data entry that had to be maintained and scrubbed. Many of the organizations were small and at that time barely had a website maintained to provide information that would be useful. This model was not sustainable or scalable. People who were interested in perhaps using it were not interested in uploading data for the site. One of the first moments I realized the app wouldn’t get off the ground was during a meeting with a pastor from Federal Way, WA. He’s a massive man — 6’4” with a booming voice — but his heart is even bigger than his stature. I presented the app and walked him through the map, showing several organizations that provide care for unhoused individuals in his community (about 20 miles south of Seattle). As I demonstrated the app, a tear fell down his cheek. I paused, a bit surprised, and asked if he was all right. He explained that on his way to our meeting, he had encountered two unhoused individuals in a parking lot and hadn’t known how to connect with them. He then admitted his church didn’t know how to either — nor was he even aware of many of the organizations I had just displayed. He asked me if I’d be willing to demonstrate the app to a group of community stakeholders — faith leaders, business leaders, health care providers, and community organizers. I saw this as a great opportunity to foster collaboration and hopefully make a real impact. The presentations were always well-received; people were excited by the potential for a tool that could illuminate available resources. I was frequently invited back to community meetings to contribute to the ongoing dialogue. However, despite the enthusiasm, few people actually used the app. This pattern continued over the course of two years: I presented, stakeholders nodded in affirmation — but nobody implemented or sustained its use. This was frustrating, but it forced me to reflect honestly on the core issues. I hadn’t used the app myself outside of demonstration sessions — and I began to ask: Why? I discovered two main barriers: On the technical side, our team was manually entering information about organizations, churches, and non-profits. This process was labor-intensive and difficult to keep up to date, especially when many organizations had limited or poor web presences. This made the platform less sustainable and less scalable. On the user side, while the app was visually helpful and informative — especially for those already passionate about helping unhoused individuals — the average person was unsure how or unwilling to engage directly with people experiencing homelessness. The app didn’t solve the underlying problem: how to foster a human connection or enable action. Instead, it simply presented information — without guiding users toward a way to make a measurable difference.