Hee Jin is a social worker in a three-member on-site support team at Busan Hopelight, a local homeless welfare center. Her team is responsible for identifying and assisting homeless individuals in all 16 districts in Busan. However, with so much work needing to be done by such a small team, Hee Jin has been having trouble evaluating the severity of issues faced by each homeless person, prioritizing the most needy homeless individuals, and keeping track of their locations.


To assess the severity of their situations and update their locations, Hee Jin has to roam over Busan and visit homeless individuals around the city, which is both physically exhausting and time-consuming. During her on-site visits, Hee Jin can’t enter new data nor access existing data on the homeless such as places they have been to and the severity of issues they face because Busan Hopelight doesn’t have a mobile database. As a result, Hee Jin and her team members must write down everything by hand during their visits.


Thinking that something must be done to make the process more efficient, Hee Jin comes up with an idea that may aggregate her team’s time-consuming tasks on a single platform. She ends up helping to develop a demo version of a mobile application that allows her team to enter new data and access existing data on the homeless during their on-site visits. Now, it has become easier for Hee Jin’s team to accumulate data on the homeless. With the accumulation of data on the homeless’ location, Hee Jin’s team can now identify areas with a high concentration of homeless people at a given time.


However, the demo app doesn’t address all of Hee Jin’s concerns. Hee Jin still needs to make countless on-site visits to update data on the homeless. Hee Jin identifies labor shortage as a core problem she needs to address, and convinces Busan Hopelight to recruit college student volunteers known as “Supporters.” Upon admission, Supporters receive extensive training on working with the homeless, and only those that receive a training certificate are allowed to volunteer for Busan Hopelight.


The demo app expands to become a more comprehensive mobile app called, “Find & Help.” In addition to Hee Jin’s team, Supporters can also use Find & Help. Supporters use it for two purposes: enter data on homeless people they find such as their needs and concerns, or press an Emergency SOS button that immediately alerts Busan Hopelight. By supplying more data to the app, Supporters are helping Hee Jin’s team deal with its social worker shortage. Supporters are also eligible to receive “VMS (Volunteer Management Service) student volunteer hour certificates” depending on their time commitment.


When Supporters enter data on homeless individuals on the spot, Find & Help instantly captures their GPS location using the “Location Map System.” To protect the homeless’ privacy, Find & Help sends the location of the homeless without identifying their features. As Hee Jin’s team can recognize areas with the most homelessness, they can now visit as many homeless individuals as possible in a limited period of time, increasing their productivity.


All the data that Supporters enter on Find & Help are instantly aggregated and accessed by Hee Jin’s team at Busan Hopelight. The swiftness with which data aggregation and access takes place allows Hee Jin’s team to provide assistance to the homeless more quickly.


By helping social workers like Hee Jin as well as Supporters identify and assist homeless individuals faster than ever, more homeless people have been able to seek shelter, medical service and employment. By preparing the homeless for independent living, the city of Busan has also been able to reduce the public cost of addressing homelessness.

The Busan CIC is leading a team consisting of Busan IT Promotion Agency (BIPA), Busan Hopelight, the IT Convergence Lab of Dongseo University (DSU) and others to develop a mobile application called, “Find & Help,” which will help social workers at Busan Hopelight identify and assist homeless individuals faster than ever.

Social workers at Busan Hopelight, the largest homeless welfare center in Busan, are responsible for collecting data on homeless people and preparing them for independent living. However, the social workers faced a number of obstacles that prevented them from assisting homeless people in an efficient manner. First and foremost, as Busan Hopelight’s few social workers were responsible for covering the homeless in all 16 districts in Busan, the organization faced a manpower shortage. As a result, the social workers had trouble prioritizing the neediest homeless individuals and evaluating the severity of the issues each homeless person faced. Second, the social workers were required to keep track of the locations of the homeless people to provide timely assistance. However, since they did not have a mobile database where they could store the information, the social workers had no choice but to write down the locations and other relevant details of the homeless by hand on their notepads during their on-site visits. This meant that every on-site visit was physically exhausting and time-consuming.

The Busan CIC created a team that comprised BIPA, Busan Hopelight, the IT Convergence Lab of DSU and others to launch the Hopeless Challenge. Using the Amazon Working Backwards process, the Busan CIC delivered an Innovation Workshop as well as a Solution Workshop, and conducted end-user interviews with social workers at Busan Hopelight to define the problem and develop a creative solution.

The prototype that the team is developing is a mobile application called, “Find & Help.” Find & Help can be used by two groups of people: the social workers at Busan Hopelight, and student volunteers for the organization, who are called, “Supporters.”

As Find & Help also plays the role of a database, Busan Hopelight’s social workers can see all the data on homeless people on a single device. This will facilitate their on-site visits, as Find & Help will calculate the most efficient route the social workers can take, so that they can reach as many homeless people as possible in a given day. Data aggregation also means that the social workers will be able to identify areas with the highest concentration of homeless people at a given time – allowing social workers to more effectively provide emergency services.

Supporters, who are college students that successfully pass through the selection process, must receive extensive training on assisting homeless individuals before using Find & Help. Once they receive a training completion certificate, Supporters can use the app for two different purposes: enter the location of the homeless they find, or press a SOS button when they see a homeless individual needing emergency help. When Supporters enter the location data of the homeless, the homeless’ personal details will be received by social workers at Busan Hopelight, accelerating the time it takes for them to accumulate and analyze data on homeless people around the city. In addition, by supplying more data to the app, student volunteers are helping Busan Hopelight deal with its social worker shortage. By helping social and Supporters identify and assist homeless individuals faster than ever, more homeless people will be able to seek shelter, medical service and employment. By preparing more homeless for independent living, the city of Busan will be able to reduce the public cost of addressing homelessness.

As part of the solution design process, a fictional Press Release and Frequently Asked Questions document was used to create a vision of what the solution could accomplish.

Busan Hopelight’s New Mobile App Increases Outreach Efficiency
BUSAN, South Korea – Nov. 22, 2021. Busan Hopelight, the largest homeless welfare center in Busan, launched Find & Help, a mobile application that helps its social workers and student volunteers identify and assist homeless individuals faster than ever. With just a few clicks on the app, Busan Hopelight’s social workers can view a map that shows the location and details of homeless people in Busan through the “location map” system on the app. As the map also displays the shortest route to the locations of the homeless, social workers can use the app to provide support to the homeless more quickly. Additionally, the second group of users – student volunteers known as “Supporters,” can use Find & Help to report the locations of homeless people and request emergency assistance to the homeless when necessary.

According to South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2019, there were more than 1,700 homeless people in Busan, the third-highest number in the country. The problems that the homeless in Busan encounter are manifold, including poor personal hygiene, unemployment, illnesses and loss of medical insurance. The severity and diversity of the problems the homeless face require much attention, but Busan Hopelight was not able to maximize its resources for its outreach. The center has lacked both social workers (compared to the number of homeless in Busan) and a platform that aggregated homeless people’s data. As a result, Busan Hopelight’s small number of social workers collected and shared data of the homeless by hand in the past.

Now, Find & Help offers a digital platform on which Busan Hopelight’s social workers can locate homeless people online and find the shortest route to their locations.

Jiyoon Lee, Team Leader at Busan Hopelight, said, “My team used to waste so much time trying to remember the locations of homeless people and taking roundabout routes there. This app has now enabled me to not only reach more homeless people every day, but also access data on where my team has been, and who we have met during our outreach.

In addition, Supporters, who are student volunteers selected by Busan Hopelight can use Find & Help for two purposes: enter locations of the homeless, or press a SOS button that immediately sends a message to Busan Hopelight. By supplying more data to the app, student volunteers are helping Busan Hopelight deal with its social worker shortage.

Jeongyoun Choi, a Pusan National University student who has been a Supporter for a month, said, “Find & Help provides a wonderful opportunity for people like me who want to support the homeless, but don’t have a social worker license, to have a positive and tangible impact on the lives of the homeless. I have already identified and entered 20 different locations of the homeless on Find & Help, and I will definitely use the SOS button if I believe a homeless individual needs urgent support.”

According to Busan Hopelight, Find & Help will expand to include features that aim to support the center’s homeless prevention programs. By identifying individuals at risk of homelessness, the app can allow Busan Hopelight to take preventive measures and help the city of Busan reduce the public cost of addressing homelessness.

Students interested in supporting the lives of the homeless should visit http://hopelight.or.kr/ to apply to become a Supporter for Busan Hopelight. Supporters will be eligible to receive student volunteer hours, depending on their time commitment.

Q.Who does the project target?
A.The project targets homeless individuals regardless of their age and gender. The homeless are socially disadvantaged individuals who have lost their residence and are forced to reside on the streets, consequently experiencing difficulties obtaining basic life necessities. Many of the homeless have lost their medical insurance, residence registration certification, and are exposed to diseases and harsh weather conditions. Some of them do not recognize the severity of their conditions due to their alcoholism, depression and schizophrenia.

Q.What is the location map system?
A.With no permanent housing, the homeless have to constantly move to places that shield themselves from heavy rain and strong winds. Their mobility makes it difficult for social workers to provide support (consultation, safety check, residence and medical care, etc.) on a regular basis. Using the map application pre-installed on mobile devices, the location map system identifies the density of homelessness in hazardous areas in certain situations (for instance, when there is flooding and/or a landslide). In addition, the location map will be operated to assist the homeless in returning to their respective communities by storing data on the homeless’ personal requests, requirements and welfare resources.

Q.How is the system managed?
A.The app is first used by Busan Hopelight’s social workers and Supporters, who will help enter the data of the homeless onto the app. Amazon Web Services’ Busan Cloud Innovation Center will provide cloud computing support and add servers that are used for collecting information and data. Stakeholders in this project will continuously exchange feedbacks to improve the app as well as welfare programs for the homeless.

Q.Are there any issues of stable control or legal issues regarding personal information?
A.Information registered on the application and web services is saved in the information control systems operated by Amazon Web Services. Professional supplementation technologies for preventing disclosure or misuse/abuse of personal information are permanently applied, and such information is not used for purposes other than to support the welfare of the homeless. Photos, names, locations, and histories of services of the homeless are recorded in the system, which are only used for welfare support, prevention of overlapped benefits of services, and proper response to urgent situations. Oral consent and signatures are mandatory under the Personal Information Protection Act. This process is overseen by expert consultants licensed in social welfare, and digital consent from the homeless is requested on the application (app) for mobile phones (for official use). Please note that registration is not forced upon the homeless with intellectual disorders, mental diseases, or those denying consent. Information of some of the homeless may, however, be recorded in pseudonyms to respond to accidents such as death from the cold, total exhaustion, infectious diseases and others requiring operation. Collecting information for responding to safety accidents of the homeless is allowed, and such personal information will be protected pursuant to the Welfare and Support for the Independence on the Homelessness Act (Act No. 16242).

Q.What are the prerequisites for participating in the project as a Supporter?
A.The objective of this project is to provide welfare support to a special class of the homeless. Therefore, supporters should be 18 years old or older, since voluntary activities for this project are not executed for humanism education or aptitude development. Applications will not accrue bonus points for having participated in voluntary activities in the past. Understanding or basic knowledge of a socially disadvantaged class may, however, is preferred. Applicants majoring in social welfare subjects (e.g. psychology, and mental health) may also be preferred. Students wishing to provide support to a local community should not hesitate to visit Busan Hopelight’s website.

Q.Which activities will Supporters engage in, and when will these activities take place?
A.Supporters will report any homeless individuals found in places such as parks or subway stations in Busan to the app, and monitor the safety conditions of such people. Supporters will not be responsible for providing direct consultation services or performing any relief activities. Supporters will perform their roles mostly near their homes or places frequented by themselves (e.g., universities and cafes). Students are encouraged to form groups of two, and they are required to volunteer as a Supporter for a minimum of 6 months, with an option to extend their service period by 3 months. Each Supporter can extend his or her service period twice. The duration of their volunteer work should be at least 2 hours per session, with two sessions taking place every week. If the homeless is found during hours other than the Supporter’s specified activity hours, such additional activities will also be included in the Supporter’s required volunteer hours. Furthermore, Supports can also support the welfare activities for the homeless in other ways by launching online campaigns.

Q.How are Supporters recruited?
A.The basic process of supporter recruiting is as follows: Student applies -> Busan Hopelight receives application -> Busan Hopelight conducts online interview with applicants -> Successful applicants become Supporters. Busan Hopelight will follow local social distancing policies for COVID-19 prevention purposes. Supporters will attend basic training courses upon their acceptance. Supporters that enroll in the training courses are by default registered on VMS (certification center of community services) so that their volunteer work is formally recognized. Safety insurance will be purchased for accidents (e.g. traffic accidents) during service activities, and awards will be given to supporters who achieve excellent performance with a devoted mindset. Travel expenses will not be reimbursed, since these activities do not require travel.