New app helps people experiencing homelessness find open shelters in real time

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A new Tucson app called Nexus for Hope uses real-time data to help outreach workers find open shelter beds for people experiencing homelessness.

The Nexus for Hope app is designed to help people experiencing homelessness in Tucson find an open shelter bed quickly, plugging into existing homeless management systems used by shelters across the city to make it easier for them to work together.

Josh Jacobsen, the app’s creator and a member of the Tucson Crime Free Coalition, said the technology is the next step toward solving the housing crisis.

“We looked at it through the perspective of people that are experiencing homelessness, the nonprofits, law enforcement, and all of the groups that help,” Jacobsen said
“People are getting lost in the system, and it’s frustrating and time-consuming.”

That frustration is something Gabriel Rojas knows firsthand. Rojas said it is hard to find an open shelter.

“They just come in and give you hopes and then sign some papers, but I’ve been on a waiting list for five years,” Rojas said.

Rojas says he’s not the only one out here waiting in Midtown.

“There’s got to be at least 100 people out here.”

Jacobsen says the app uses real-time data to search for open beds, helping outreach workers match people to a safe place for the night without having to make dozens of calls.

Local nonprofit La Frontera provided feedback on the app and the ways it can help their outreach efforts. La Frontera CEO Dan Ranieri said the goal is to connect people to the right resources at the right time.

“So the whole goal of any of this is to get the individual to the right place at the right time….And we’re not particularly good at that right now,” Ranieri said.

Ranieri said the app is a step in the right direction.

“It may not be the ultimate answer, but it’s a lot better than what we have now and it kind of gets us moving in the right direction,” Ranieri said.

Gospel Rescue Mission Coordinator Bruce Beikman said the app could help shelters across the city stay connected.

“If we had that app in real time, we could share some of that, which would be very helpful to a lot of the other organizations in town,” Beikman said. “And I think at the end of the day, that’s how the Tucson community wins.”

The app is ready to launch, but Jacobsen said it will take funding and the teamwork of shelters across the city to keep it updated.

“There’s a lot of really great hardworking navigators and nonprofits, and really what we’re trying to do is we’re trying to make their jobs easier,” Jacobsen said.