Santa Clara County Housing Authority
Reducing the burden for public housing tenants through a digital solution
Making rental assistance a little less complicated
Millions of low-income households in America receive rental assistance through the Section 8 housing program. But the experience for applicants and tenants can be burdensome, requiring extensive paperwork and ongoing visits to the housing authority. This can be particularly difficult for families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities.
The Santa Clara County Housing Authority (SCCHA) wanted to do something about this. They asked Daylight and two capable partners to design and build a digital solution that would help people do far more on their phones—and far less on paper and in the agency office. Daylight, Code Name Collective and Blackbird collaboratively designed and built a tool for people with varied accessibility needs and digital competencies.
The result is an effective product that helps everyday people in need and still works within a complex, heavily regulated government system. The app was launched in 2019 and has helped thousands of low-income individuals quickly accomplish tasks on their phones that would otherwise have required an office visit. This has been particularly valuable during the Covid19 pandemic. The SCCHA app is providing a hopeful blueprint for housing authorities across the state and country seeking to digitize and streamline their experience and processes.
Greater transparency translates to less tenant anxiety and reduced administrative burden
"Did you receive my request?"
"When will it be processed?"
"How much rent do I have to pay?"
Daylight conducted qualitative research with both users and administrators of Santa Clara’s Section 8 housing program. Through this research, it became apparent how much time the housing staff were spending on in-person and phone requests from tenants seeking simple status updates. Housing is a critical need; any uncertainty or lag in communication tends to cause anxiety for tenants, which results in time-consuming overcommunication for housing staff. A digital tool capable of providing personalized, up-to-date information could reduce tenants’ uneasiness, and streamline housing staff’s workload.
Prior to our rebrand work, the San Francisco Health Network's messaging placed emphasis on the providers and the system. The Network described itself as the City’s “only complete system of care.” The Network logo was an icon of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Through our work, we wanted to shift focus from describing the system to communicating the value added for the patient. We sought to:
- Publicly reaffirm San Francisco’s commitment to accessible health care for all of its residents, regardless of immigration status or insurance;
- Create a unifying brand that resonated deeply with patients and staff; and
- Give staff desperately needed tools to clearly and consistently describe the Network, its values, and its services.
Designing with and for housing staff
Housing case workers manage huge caseloads. Their complex backend workflows involve detailed paper documentation and challenging enterprise software. By implementing a co-design process with frontline housing staff, we were able to develop a digital tool that integrates smoothly with existing workflows. The tool creates much-needed efficiencies for busy administrators.
The digital tool shares the tenant’s status via a prominent headline as soon as they enter the app. When additional information and documentation are needed, the app makes clear, actionable requests of the tenant. Strategic choices around content structure and visibility have reduced anxiety for tenants, and meant fewer status-check calls and visits for housing case workers.
Prior to our rebrand work, the San Francisco Health Network's messaging placed emphasis on the providers and the system. The Network described itself as the City’s “only complete system of care.” The Network logo was an icon of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Through our work, we wanted to shift focus from describing the system to communicating the value added for the patient. We sought to:
- Publicly reaffirm San Francisco’s commitment to accessible health care for all of its residents, regardless of immigration status or insurance;
- Create a unifying brand that resonated deeply with patients and staff; and
- Give staff desperately needed tools to clearly and consistently describe the Network, its values, and its services.
Scaling Strategies
Building on the success of the tenant app, SCCHA, Daylight and collaborators are now working to provide similar digital simplicity for public housing waitlist applicants. The team is also exploring how other housing authorities may be able to leverage the technology.
Prior to our rebrand work, the San Francisco Health Network's messaging placed emphasis on the providers and the system. The Network described itself as the City’s “only complete system of care.” The Network logo was an icon of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Through our work, we wanted to shift focus from describing the system to communicating the value added for the patient. We sought to:
- Publicly reaffirm San Francisco’s commitment to accessible health care for all of its residents, regardless of immigration status or insurance;
- Create a unifying brand that resonated deeply with patients and staff; and
- Give staff desperately needed tools to clearly and consistently describe the Network, its values, and its services.
- Give staff desperately needed tools to clearly and consistently describe the Network, its values, and its services.
- Give staff desperately needed tools to clearly and consistently describe the Network, its values, and its services.
- Give staff desperately needed tools to clearly and consistently describe the Network, its values, and its services.
- Give staff desperately needed tools to clearly and consistently describe the Network, its values, and its services.
- Give staff desperately needed tools to clearly and consistently describe the Network, its values, and its services.
- Give staff desperately needed tools to clearly and consistently describe the Network, its values, and its services.
- Give staff desperately needed tools to clearly and consistently describe the Network, its values, and its services.
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Prior to our rebrand work, the San Francisco Health Network's messaging placed emphasis on the providers and the system. The Network described itself as the City’s “only complete system of care.” The Network logo was an icon of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Through our work, we wanted to shift focus from describing the system to communicating the value added for the patient. We sought to:
- Publicly reaffirm San Francisco’s commitment to accessible health care for all of its residents, regardless of immigration status or insurance;
- Create a unifying brand that resonated deeply with patients and staff; and
- Give staff desperately needed tools to clearly and consistently describe the Network, its values, and its services.
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