About

Are you in foster care? Aged out of care? Experiencing homelessness or struggling to find housing, employment, health care, or other services in Philadelphia? Youth Matters: Philly is for you.

This app is designed to help Philly youth find and access local resources, like shelters, housing, foodbanks, healthcare providers, and more.  Life is hectic, stressful, and sometimes it can be hard to find the information you need. This app will help you connect to nearby resources and services. Use the search functions to see a map of local resources and advocates who can help you right now.

Key features:

  • Search for resources and services.

  • See a map of local resources or switch to a list view.

  • Get important info on each resource, like hours, contact information, and location.

  • Get directions to any resource from your current location.

  • Text a resource to yourself or someone else.

  • Rate resources and services you’ve used.

 

This app was inspired by the B4UGO app developed by Alliance for Children’s Rights and Children’s Law Center. This is a collaborative project between Hack4Impact, University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, and Juvenile Law Center.

Juvenile Law Center

With over four decades of successful advocacy experience, Juvenile Law Center is the oldest non-profit, public interest law firm for children in the country. Juvenile Law Center uses an array of legal strategies and legislative advocacy to promote fairness, prevent harm, ensure access to appropriate services, and create opportunities for success for youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems.  Juvenile Law Center seeks to ensure that the voices of youth are heard in all of its work and hosts two youth advocacy programs, Juveniles for Justice and Youth Fostering Changes.  Visit www.jlc.org to learn more.

University of Pennsylvania, School of Social Policy and Practice

Penn’s  School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) contributes to the advancement of more effective, efficient, and humane human services through education, research, and civic engagement. In pursuit of this mission, our theory-based masters and doctoral programs in social work, social welfare, nonprofit leadership, and social policy encourage students to think and work across disciplinary lines and cultures as well as across national and international boundaries. The pursuit of social justice is at the heart of the School’s knowledge-building activities. Our innovative educational and research programs reinforce our vision of active student engagement in their own learning as well as that of social agencies and larger social collectivities organized at the local, national, and international levels. SP2 Assistant Professor, Dr. Johanna Greeson, worked with JLC and Hack4Impact to make YouthMattersPhilly a reality. She can be contacted at [email protected].