Purpose

Families looking for affordable housing now have reliable information on open units, eligibility requirements, and application steps

One Degree and Compass Family Services partnered to create One Home, a free nonprofit website where anyone can find a home they're eligible for, share housing information with others, and download housing applications.



Target Audience

1. Low-income families searching and applying for affordable housing

2. Social workers searching and tracking applications for their clients

3. Property owners listing their available units and applications

Process

1. Research

We interviewed Compass staff about their monthly affordable housing lists

Compass housing specialists created a PDF every month with the details of available affordable units. They called housing providers directly and entered the data manually. These lists were used by dozens of other Bay Area organizations and were known for the accuracy. However, once published, the lists were static, impossible to search and refine, and didn't reflect the latest information.

2. Wireframes & mockups

I drew wireframes for the housing search process and got feedback from my team

I already had the data structure from Compass's existing lists, so I reserched a few other housing sites, and sketched out wireframes of how someone could search, find and apply for housing.

3. Prototype & usability studies

I created a clickable prototype and ran usability studies with Compass staff and clients

Once the wireframes had been refined, I created mockups and used Invision to make a clickable prototype of the desktop and mobile site. I then conducted usability studies with 5 community members and 5 case workers.

4. Development & QA

I used the prototypes to communicate the designs to the engineers and guide the QA process

After making a few tweaks from the usability studies, I shared the prototype with our engineering and team and communicated a CSS style structure. They made a first pass using the Bootstrap framework, then I checked out a branch of code and made refinements to the CSS. Once we had a working version, we began testing the site on different devices and browser versions.

5. Launch

We launched the site, held trainings for Compass staff, and scheduled regular check-in's for feedback

Zendesk invited us to announce the site at a gathering of local nonprofits, businesses, and press, and was covered by TechCrunch. Afterwards, we held several Compass staff and community member trainings at the Twitter NeighborNest. We also met routinely with Compass housing specialists to get feedback and make changes accordingly.

6. Results & follow-up

Over 21,400 housing applications have been downloaded since launch – that's 1,500 per month

Many properties have applications that must be picked up in person, so that represents only a fraction of the total applications accessed. 20,000 people have made over 70,000 searches with a 45% return rate. Compass staff said the site has saved them and their clients countless hours of time.

“We’re very excited about One Home. We’re literally going from piecemealing static housing lists every month to a search engine with an interactive map showing up-to-date availability.”

– Erica Kisch, Executive Director of Compass Family Services

“It was so useful to have a site that actually helps you get onto those waitlists. Why doesn't everyone know about One Home?”

– Tracie, community member

“Clients can come into our office, sit alongside their case manager, and use One Home to explore neighborhoods and get housing leads that they can follow up on in their own time.”

– Compass Case Manager