{"id":902,"date":"2013-12-03T16:13:02","date_gmt":"2013-12-04T00:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taraval.org\/?p=902"},"modified":"2013-12-03T21:15:02","modified_gmt":"2013-12-04T05:15:02","slug":"mayor-lee-launches-app-to-help-residents-keep-food-on-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taraval.org\/?p=902","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Lee Launches App to Help Residents Keep Food on Table"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"city_app_promptly\"<\/a>Developed by Code of America Fellow, Promptly is Nation\u2019s First Human Services Text Message App<\/em><\/p>\n

San Francisco, CA\u2014<\/b>Mayor Edwin M. Lee today launched Promptly, the first application in the country created to send text message notifications for human services clients. Developed by a Code for America Fellow at City Hall this year, Promptly provides clear and concise text messages delivered directly to San Francisco Human Services Agency (HSA) clients that allows them to quickly take action to preserve their benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur City strives for strong, healthy communities that can participate in a prosperous economy, and Promptly helps us achieve this by enabling beneficiaries of programs like CalFresh to keep food on the table for their families,\u201d said Mayor Lee. \u201cI am impressed with the partnership with Code for America that uses innovation to help some of our most vulnerable residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

The application was built by Code for America Fellows in collaboration with the San Francisco Human Services Agency (HSA) and the Mayor\u2019s Office. Promptly is first rolling out with CalFresh clients and then will continue on to other programs. When benefits for a client change or need to be renewed, they are currently mailed a notice of this change. However, these paper notices may be missed for a number of reasons \u2013 meaning a client\u2019s benefits could expire without their knowledge until an inopportune time, like when checking out at the grocery store. Once this happens, reinstating benefits after a lapse can be frustrating and time consuming for the client. Text messages, delivered in addition to the mailed notices, reduce the likelihood of these lapses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Human Services Agency mission is to promote well-being and self-sufficiency among individuals, families and communities in San Francisco,\u201d said HSA Executive Director Trent Rhorer. \u201cWe must constantly improve ways for our residents to access our benefits and remain enrolled to receive the services they need. Promptly is a huge step forward towards doing just that.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, 700 users have already signed up to receive text messages. In early piloting of the program, HSA has texted around 100 clients with a 50 percent response rate\u2014a far greater response rate than traditional mailers or email. With more than 90 percent of the U.S. population having access to short message system (SMS) or text message capabilities on their cell phones, Promptly stands to make a big impact as more individuals enroll. Text messages from Promptly are translated into six languages.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited to let HSA clients know about Promptly. Both HSA and our team believe that text messaging is a quick and easy way to reach people who are in danger of not receiving necessary benefits. If clients receive a text message that enables them to stay on benefits \u2013 that\u2019s food that a client has for the next six months,\u201d said Andy Hull, a Code for America Fellow. \u201cThis project was a true collaboration between Code for America and the City of San Francisco, and we\u2019re looking forward to expanding Promptly to every HSA client in San Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n

Code for America<\/b><\/p>\n

Founded in 2009, Code for America (CfA) is a nonprofit collaborating with local governments to foster and facilitate innovation. CfA is known for its fellowship program, which embeds tech and design professionals in local governments explore new approaches to resolving local challenges. Through the Accelerator, Brigade, and Peer Network programs, CfA is connecting cities with startups and volunteers, as well as each other. For more information, go to: www.codeforamerica.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Francis Tsang
\nChief Deputy Communications Director
\nOffice of Mayor Edwin M. Lee
\n415.554.6467
\nfrancis.tsang@sfgov.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Get Connected with Mayor Ed Lee<\/i><\/b>
\nwww.sfmayor.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Developed by Code of America Fellow, Promptly is Nation\u2019s First Human Services Text Message App San Francisco, CA\u2014Mayor Edwin M. Lee today launched Promptly, the first application in the country created to send text message notifications for human services clients.… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taraval.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taraval.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taraval.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taraval.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taraval.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=902"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.taraval.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":909,"href":"https:\/\/www.taraval.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902\/revisions\/909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taraval.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taraval.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taraval.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}