Cincinnati Region Hacking Homelessness™
June 6 and 7

Vision: We envision a Cincinnati Region that has solved the problem of homelessness and all people have a safe place to reside.

Mission: We will accomplish this vision by gathering the Wisdom of the Community especially including those who are not usually considered part of the solution.
Despite national and local efforts to address homelessness, it remains a problem. In fact, on any given night, more than 550,000 people experience homelessness in the United States. New solutions are needed to reduce and end homelessness. We believe the best ideas can be found at the local level.
To this end, The Cincinnati Region Hacking Homelessness will be held June 6 and 7 at the Gallagher Student Center at Xavier University.
We will gather 100 community members for this weekend event. We will guide and support them in their efforts to define the problems leading to and caused by homelessness from the community viewpoint.
Afterwards, new ideas will be used to develop creative solutions and partnerships to improve the situation. The attendees will be intentionally chosen to represent all sectors of society to allow the most innovative and informed ideas to be developed.
After the weekend, our expectation is to support “15, 1% solutions.” These may include for-profit companies, non-profit companies, social ventures, or programs to implement solutions based on the passion, skills and enthusiasm of participants. We will plan future actions and develop measures to monitor our success “moving the needle.”
Care to join us?
Some of the Stakeholders to Engage for this Event
- Homeless
- Families of homeless
- Previously homeless
- Contractors/builders
- Homeless advocates
- Government agents (City, county, state, country/nation)
- Local politicians
- Nonprofits
- Business owners
- Service providers
- Foundations
- College students
- Military supporters
- Military veterans
- Mental health advocates
- Churches/Religious groups
- Anti-trafficking groups
- Prisoner reintegration advocates
- Drug advocates
- Employment advocates
- Abuse related advocates
- Motivational speakers
- Neighborhood associations/Community Alliances
- Libraries
- Arts groups or organizations
- Universities, colleges, K-12 schools
- Farmers’ markets
- Men’s and women’s groups
- Media, radio personalities
- Local unions (teachers, law enforcement, etc.)
- Sports teams
- Donors, funders, foundations
- Law enforcement
- Libertarians, Democrats, Republicans, Charterites
- Business Coaches
- Entrepreneurs
- Sexual Orientation

Proposed Participants
- Affected populations: 12
- NPOs large: 4
- NPOs small: 12
- Government: 8
- Business Large: 4
- Business Small: 12
- Funding Experts: 10
- Service providers: 10
- Practitioners (experts): 6
- Members of the public: 20
Draft Agenda
0th Day Evening |
Social Experiential Event |
|
REFINING THE PROBLEM AND SOLUTION
STATEMENTS |
1st Day Morning |
Welcome and speakers (1 hr) Brain dump (30 minutes) - What are biggest needs? - What are solutions? Innovation Thinking (“What’s The Big Idea” Game) (2 hr) - Random seat assignments - What are biggest needs? - What are solutions? |
1st Day Lunch |
Roundtables - Marketing - Legal - Financial - Etc. |
1st Day Afternoon |
Review and update: 1. Sphere of Influence Mapping 2. Top Causes of Homelessness 3. Homeless Journey (Steps out of Homelessness) 4. Needs Assessment 5. Solution set |
1st Day Closeout |
Voting for tentative solution set to pursue Talkers |
1st Day Dinner |
Vendor Tables Support Tables |
1st Day Evening |
Social Experiential Event(s) Hackathon |
|
IDENTIFYING SOLUTIONS AND PLANNING
IMPLEMENTATION |
2nd Day Morning |
Identify solution paths - Silo (industry) working groups - Randomly mixed working groups - Solution specific working groups How can we impact… Top Three Solutions Top Three Challenges Top Three Fund Resources |
2nd Day Lunch |
Topic breakout groups -
NPO training -
Business training -
Social venture training -
Government Interaction training - Job training |
2nd Day Afternoon |
30—60—90 Day Action Plan (what) Roles and Responsibilities (how) Monthly Review Process (accountability) |