Service Design for the Homeless

Design thinking and service design are powerful problem solving tools. Putting people’s interests center-stage is crucial. However, a designer’s toolkit is not only suitable to improve services in retail, banking or traveling. As a team of students we set out to work for those often overlooked by society: the homeless in Berlin.

Research

Designing a service for other people requires understanding of their lives and habits, what is important to them, and what obstacles they are confronted with. 
Me and four of my friends decided to go to the Bahnhofsmission at Bahnhof Zoo to meet their subjects in person. The Bahnhofsmission is a German aid organization. People in need can come around, be their guests, and receive clothing, food and additional guidance – everything free of charge. The design team talked to the staff as well as to guests, getting to know their stories and their experiences with the service of the Bahnhofsmission. All of them were hugely friendly and supportive, enabling us to gain valuable insights.

Findings

What did the team learn from the interviews? The Bahnhofsmission offers a great service for people in need. They know their audience well and really make an effort for them. Nevertheless, there is an Achilles’ heel: their help can only be as good as donations allow it to be. You likely don’t know that your old underwear is urgently needed. Even your half empty shower gel. That’s why there is a lack of these items. On top, donors have to go the Bahnhofsmission’s location to handover their stuff, which means additional effort and fewer donations.

Idea

The team decided to work on that Achilles’ heel: “How can we motivate people to donate what is needed? How can we make sure that people in need receive what they require? What has to be done to establish a more solid donation base for the Bahnhofsmission?”

Donating should be easier and more transparent: “Wouldn’t it be nice to donate while you are on your way to the metro? Knowing that your contributions reach those who need it most?” That’s why the team came up with the idea of “Give & Go”.

Putting “Give & Go” into practice

For now, “Give & Go” is still a concept. However, the management of the Bahnhofsmission is really excited about the idea. I also introduced the project during one of our Brainfood sessions receiving encouraging feedback on how to put the concept into practice. Therefore the team got down to work, aiming to launch it by holiday season this year.

Stay tuned and keep up with their progress: Charlotte, Kathleen, Laura, Chris and me set up a webpage for “Give & Go”.

“Give & Go” was originally developed as a study project in collaboration between University of Applied Sciences Potsdam and service design agency IXDS. The project was developed within one week in autumn 2014. Since then, the team keeps working on Give & Go, aiming to launch it until advent season 2015. “Give & Go” was invented by Charlotte Gruchot, Kathleen Ahrens, Laura Abbate, Chris Klement and Henrik Hagedorn.