News: Yale Students Develop Multilingual App for Marginalized Communities
A new multilingual app developed by Yale students to bridge the gap between marginalized communities and community resources is close to being launched. The app, Resource Access Mapping Project (RAMP), will help refugees, asylum seekers, homeless people and formerly-incarcerated people connect with New Haven community resources like legal aid, English as a second language classes, food pantries and resettlement agencies.
The app was first developed in 2016 by Elena Hodges as her capstone project in Yale’s Multidisciplinary Academic Program in Human Rights. The idea was developed when Hodges worked with the Yale Refugee Project and Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services. She spent time with an Iraqi family and began to understand the barriers refugees face adjusting to life in New Haven.
There are many community resources available in New Haven, but it isn’t always easy for disadvantaged communities to locate and understand them. RAMP’s mission is to remove the language barrier and empower people to take charge of their own lives.
The app will be available in Arabic, Spanish and English and will initially focus on community resources in the New Haven area.
The project is currently in the research phase and project leaders are using focus groups of intended users and New Haven organizations to tailor and receive feedback on the app.
To read more, please see: Yalies develop app for disadvantaged communities.
