Innovative homelessness solutions

Traceable cashless donations, Japanese capsule style accommodation and upcycled decommissioned rescue boats were some of the leading ideas to emerge from a hack homelessness event held in Trinity College Dublin.

Representatives from homelessness and housing organisations, as well as social innovation coaches and mentors joined over 100 students at Trinity College Dublin recently to take part in a hackathon aimed at developing high-impact solutions to tackle homelessness.

Over 48 hours, students ranging from undergraduates to PhD candidates worked together to come up with innovative solutions, with two eventual winners being granted €10,000 to develop their ideas in the coming months.

The two winning projects were the Ecosytem and the Homeless Wallet.

The judging panel was made up of Gavan Drohan, Head of Student Entrepreneurship at Tangent, Kevin Gregory from Focus Ireland; Amy Power from the Social Innovation Fund; and Tim Crowley from O’Cualann Housing Alliance.

“I am consistently impressed by how enthusiastic and engaged our students are. In just one weekend, 48 hours really, we had eight different and considered solutions relating to homelessness, one of the most complex social issues Ireland faces today,” says Drohan.

“We’re thrilled to offer development funding to the two winning solutions, and to move them from idea to impact this summer.”