Where’s the Water? Supporting Clean Water Access for the Homeless Community

Access to clean water is essential, yet it poses a significant challenge for the homeless population. Our project, 'Where's the Water,' is a web-based tool designed to improve water access for the homeless community. It maps nearby clean water sources like drinking fountains, public restrooms, and showers. The tool's design was informed through interviews with the homeless community in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The insights gained from these interviews were further supported by key findings from recent studies related to homelessness and water access. Besides locating, our tool's functionality also includes filtering sources for operational hours and water quality. It features crowd-sourcing, allowing users to add new sources on the map, effectively utilizing community knowledge. In this article, we describe our research and design approach, highlighting the community and organizational feedback that helped turn our concept into a useful tool.