IMMPOWERED

How might we support immigrants trying to capitalize on the skills and education they brought with them to the U.S. to achieve greater financial stability for themselves and their families?

According to the bureau of labor statistics, as of 2016 there were 350,000 immigrants with a bachelor’s degree or higher in New York City. Our initial target population is this group of skilled immigrants that constitutes almost one-third of the entire immigrant population. It’s evident that there is a large scale problem here with macro implications, and the current solutions are not being fully utilized.

The tools and resources for immigrants and underserved populations exists and continues to grow. But news of these resources often travel by word of mouth, or is hidden by poor search engine optimization and outreach. It is overwhelming and nearly impossible to wade through all the material.

PROPOSAL

Our solution does not add on to the already existing mess of unorganized resources, instead streamlines them. It aims at utilizing the available tools to the maximum, which would facilitate the holistic improvement of immigrant lives. IMMPOWERED is a web-based platform that matches nonprofit and NGO services to immigrants that need them in nyc.

PARTICIPANTS

LiftAR was created by a multidisciplinary team, in collaboration with Robin Hood Foundation, Cornell Tech and Parsons

Karla Polo: UX & UI Design / Filmmaking
James Leung: Product Manager / Developer
Eva Stern-Rodriguez: Developer / Storytelling
Po Yen Tseng: Developer / UI Design
Zahan Backer: Legal Matters / Storytelling

Mentor:Craig Elliott Brown
In collboration with NYC Media Lab and Verizon

PRESS