Submitted
2023 Solv[ED] Youth Innovation Challenge

The Helping Project

Team Leader
malayla harding
Solution Overview & Team Lead Details
Solution name.
The Helping Project
Provide a one-line summary of your solution.

A tiny home community for the homeless and people below the poverty line and will have a variety of resources. 

What specific problem are you trying to solve?

Make homeless people feel heard about their problems and help them solve them. There are an estimated 1,605 homeless in Washoe county. A total of 7,000 in Nevada. many people are affected: families, friends, and strangers around them. Gambling is a significant contributor to this problem. There are 459 licensed casinos in Nevada. Constantly being surrounded by this idea of gambling is pushed onto people leading to addiction and finical burden. 

Elevator pitch
What is your solution?

Our solution was to help our community of those who don't have the resources and basic necessities. The resources given in the community will be a mental health center, substance abuse counseling, job training, and a caseworker. These will help to improve mental health, get their substance abuse under control, prepare them for a job, and give them other basic necessities. Our tiny homes will be 3-D printed and the community will be run on solar. 

Who does your solution serve? In what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Our target population is individuals and families who are struggling to meet their basic needs in life. it will make aspects of their lives easier and shift their focus from surviving to getting a stable home these are people who are in our community but for unknown reasons they are not fully able to support their own basic needs. it will address their needs by allowing them to have their basic needs met so they can focus on getting off the streets.

How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?

We are acquainted with people close to us who have dealt with homelessness. Since we have first-hand experience being surrounded by heavy gambling and our community relies on the casinos, we grow up believing that gambling is a normal thing and people fall into the idea that this addiction is okay. Our economy is heavily reliant on these casinos to stay open for 24 hours. Our group volunteers at a local community garden and food bank. 

What steps have you taken to understand the needs of the population you want to serve?

We have worked and talked to non-profits and people in our area to help us understand the position of the people we want to help. For some people in our group, it has been a close topic, and has been through similar situations. We have volunteered at food banks that help the underprivileged as well as community gardens through another program some of us also take a part in, and it helped us understand this project more.

Which aspects of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
  • Improving financial and economic opportunities for all (Economic Prosperity)
What is your solution’s stage of development?
  • Concept: An idea being explored for its feasibility to build a product, service, or business model based on that idea.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team located?
Reno, NV, USA
Who is the Team Lead for your solution?
Taryn Kelley
More About Your Solution
Your Team
Business Model
Solution Team:
malayla harding
malayla harding