The new ShelterBridge App connects users to shelters and services in their area.  It was created by Claire Cao from Portland, Oregon area who volunteered at Blanchet House - a Portland-based nonprofit that serves people experiencing homelessness through food donations, clothing drives, and mental health assistance programs. Combining her love for technology, law, and public policy, Cao pulled available resources into a database and created the ShelterBridge app, which connects users to social services in their area.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          "ShelterBridge wasn't simply inspired by Dano,  an unhoused man who shared his struggles with accessing basic services, it was inspired by the realization that access to resources is a fundamental need that we as a community, can do a better job of providing," Cao emphasized. I wanted to use my skills to build something that could bridge that gap, ensuring that no one falls through the cracks simply because they don't know where to turn for help."  In mid-January, Cao won the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Oregon's First District for her work with ShelterBridge - outcompeting 12,682 student submissions.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Since the app first launched, Cao and her growing ShelterBridge team -- which includes enterprising high schoolers and college students from accross the nation -- have expanded services to California, Philadelphia, Seattle. Los Angeles, and North Carolina.  Although the app started as a class project, Cao said ShelterBridge's success has far surpassed her expectations. "I do hope to keep it up," she said as she looked to college and beyond. "I've made a lot of effort to expand it to other cities as well--and it's something I can mostly do from a computer or my laptop at home."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      In addition to linking users to services in their area, the app also has a rating system similar to Yelp.  This system allows people to leave star ratings and reviews on shelters, food services, and legal aid. The ratings not only help users differentiate between services in their area -- but they also provide invaluable feedback to the nonprofits, organizations, and government programs that service them. "We've been asking for an app like this for a number of years now," Scott Kerman, executive director of Blanchet House told Portland news station KGW.