Design the District's project for Design Kit: The Course for Human-Centered Design, Oct 2014

1. ACCESSING
MISS
INDEPENDENCE
Elaine Mau, Kristin McNally, Jasmine Jones,
Blair Sun Chee Fore, Jack Sinden, Corey McKeon
Acumen + IDEO Design Kit Course | December 10, 2014

2. What barriers do parents in low-income communities
face in ensuring that their children thrive?
● General resources provided via school/church/community, but not explained in-depth
● Lack of education to improve their career/help their children with school work
● Limited finances to provide for their family
● Limited time from working multiple jobs
● Trauma/stress the parent/child(ren) might be dealing with, due to external factors

3. Themes
After our initial rounds of brainstorming in the ideation phase, we focused
on the key themes that echoed throughout our various interviews. We
were able to extract the following takeaways as potential solutions to the
problems faced by low-income parents, especially single mothers:
● Providing outlets/spaces for children to play
● Allowing single mothers to have their own, personal time
● Access to resources tailored specifically to the family’s needs
● Educational/career opportunities made available to single-mothers,
and possible incentives for them to take advantage of these
opportunities
● One-on-One support provided from a trusted member in the
community

4. Insight Statements
One-on-one interactions are challenges faced by the community because:
● Mothers do not have time to dedicate to their child(ren) because of working multiple jobs, negative
external influences, inability to find support, or cannot meet their own needs (emotional, financial,
etc.)
● Volunteers/mentors do not have time to provide mentorship because of own priorities, limited time,
and commitment
● Teachers do not have time because providing attention to all children, including those with special
needs/disabilities
Self-sufficiency/confidence of moms are challenges faced by the community because:
● Moms are not educated due to background, accessibility to education, priority of education
● Moms do not have a sustainable income
● Moms do not have emotional stability or space for self
Emotional interaction for the child are challenges faced
by the community because:
● There is no physical place dedicated for play because
of home living situation, education system
● Time because of parent’s time/priorities
● Resources for children

5. How might we...
Help mothers be self sufficient and
confident and enable them to navigate
existing community resources so they
are aware of the support services
available to them?
“ “

6. Prototyping
Goals and Outcomes Statement
Your goals are our goals. The focus is on you: what do you intend to accomplish? A trusted community expert will help
you figure out what goals you want to set, and work out a plan to achieve them, on your terms, and in your own time.
The takeaway of our program is left entirely up to you. Do you need more information on what resources are available
for you financially? Do you need support for taking care of your children? Once we know what you need, we’ll help you
make a plan to get to where you want to be. From there, our hope is that we have provided you with the tools needed to
be independent.
Storyboard

7. Prototype - Brochure
Front Back
To be discussed with potential
participants. Demonstrates the
benefits of the program.

8. Prototype - Resource Map
A roadmap of resources
for our target audience--
demonstrates the breadth
of resources available.

9. Prototype
Role Play
AMI is hosting a table at a city health fair. One member acted as a mom approaching the table, the other acted as an
AMI volunteer. The table is covered in the AMI theme colors, with our pamphlets and information accessible. We
offer small beauty care packages (to reinforce the “confidence” aspect of the organization) and provide a large “AM I”
excercise board for mothers to play with and share on their social media.
The discussion centered on the “pitch” and the volunteer worked to engage the mother by providing flexible options
and rewards for joining the program. We came up with an option to overcome the "I am too busy" issue: Using our
parent idea to offer the morning joe and nightcap meeting options at the client's home.
Insights
1. The role play was used to identify areas where the roadmap could include a "flagship" program, with a
number of "arms" for different services we might offer.
2. By asking the right questions, we realized the level of detail needed in the full service offerings of the program.
Things discussed as a result of the role play:
1. We decided there needs to be a flagship program because otherwise the organization as a whole has the "it's
already been done" feel. What makes this idea unique?
2. Does it need greater structure (e.g. more focus on the group/class settings), or less structure (e.g. highest
focus on individualized attention and flexibility for time)
3. How can we reframe it so that the class seems more like a flexible benefit?

10. Prototype
Investor Pitch:
Am I? is a comprehensive development program in which low income mothers build self-confidence and knowledge
about resources available to them within their community for building a sustainable family life. Parenting on it’s own is
highly demanding and time consuming, in order to help mothers balance their family commitments we provide them
with information and resources in regards to career planning, finances, life skills, home management, parenting, and
self-care.
Currently, we are in need of funding that will help us to staff our team, and to provide for our basic administrative and
community reaching resources. Once we receive this initial funding we hope to create sustainability through grant
writing and bidding on government contracts. Together, with your help, we can help ensure low-income families are
utilizing existing resources both in the community and from within

11. Testing
To test our prototype, we engaged with professionals with years of experience working in section 8 homeless shelters
that are currently doing much of of the skill building and financial planning offerings in AMI.
What the professional offered was refining options for the actual exercises that AMI Volunteers might want to be trained
in, and try out.
1. How to relate culturally.
2. How to relate through games at each class meeting.
3. How to thoroughly navigate existing bureaucratic and financial (for the 501c) obligations and issues.
4. How to structure the boundaries for a mother/parent to participate in an AMI class.
5. How to leverage knowledge from participants to make AMI a “self teaching” process for the parents.
6. General ideas for class or individual exercises (teaching interviewing techniques and resume writing, using
games to teach budget building).

12. Next Steps
In turning to the implementation stage, our team has considered the support staff, partners, and funding we would need
to get our idea off the ground. Required staff include:
● A project manager to coordinate staff and operational activity
● An outreach coordinator to connect with people in the larger community and build partnerships
● A grant writer and development officer to drive the program’s growth
● A volunteer coordinator to train volunteers in the program’s services and to develop their mentoring skills
● An event planner to plan appearances at health fairs
● Volunteers interested in serving as mentors
To effectively accomplish our goals, we would need to engage local partners, who can advocate for our services and
provide resources that many of these mothers need. We would look to secure partnerships with local establishments,
including:
● Small Businesses
● Government Organizations
● Churches
● Schools
● Community Clinics

13. THANK YOU!