Increasing affordable housing access by reducing the time spent on applications.
WHO:
Caroline Caselli, CEO/Founder of Haven Connect
WHAT:
Caroline Caselli is a former social worker who assisted homeless families applying for affordable housing in San Francisco. She saw first-hand the faults in a system that was still entirely reliant on paper applications, which lead to housing waitlists that could take up to 10 years for placement, or complete removal from lists that would require applicants to reapply.
HOW:
After lobbying the the State of California to allow e-signatures on affordable housing applications, she founded Haven Connect in 2014. Now operating in seven state across the United States, Haven Connect plans to expand to the nearly 20 states that allow e-signatures, as well as lobby for national policy change. Ultimately, Caroline's mission is to increase affordable housing access by reducing the time spent on applications.
WHEN:
2014
HOW:
Haven Connect is like TurboTax for Affordable Housing. It's a platform that connects low-income applicants and affordable housing property managers, and makes it easier for property managers to fill their affordable units faster. Property managers can easily keep in touch with applicants as they wait the 2-10 years to get into housing, and have seen up to a 70% reduction in phone calls. On the flip side, low-income applicants can update their information online, which insures they'll be contacted when housing is available.
WHERE: United States
SOCIAL MEDIA:
https://www.facebook.com/havenconnect1/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/haven-connect/about/
Twitter: @havenconnect
