Relationship.
The product of a years long research project including technical grants from the National Mentor Resource Center, Hero Bridge set out to determine how technology could bridge the divide of support and resources that cause certain populations to suffer poor outcomes. Having lived in one of the most densely populated and resource starved countries in the world, India, for six years, Frank and Deborah Connelly found it incredible that in the resource abundant United States (and in particular Los Angeles) so many could be so disconnected from the basic support and services key to a prosperous life.
The problem they concluded was ‘relationship poverty.’ The lack of a reliable social support system that could provide mentorship, direction and access to the services, benefits and learning tracks to keep the underserved and vulnerable populations on a sustainable track. Without these, underserved populations would inevitably end up suffering the outcomes of drug addiction, mental disorder, trafficking, unplanned pregnancy, gangs, incarceration and homeless.
These findings were the core of the Hero Bridge mission. Our solution uses the same technology that we all hold in our hand everyday - a smartphone- as the bridge to a trusted online-offline supportive community. Familiar and elegant, the Hero Bridge app solves three fundamental weaknesses of the current social system:
An investment in community technology that bridges the divide to relationship and resources. Through an online community users from underserved communities are welcomed and seamlessly gain immediate companionship, awareness and access to supportive organizations all over LA. Hero Bridge’s research found that unlike businesses, CBO’s set aside a very small portion of their budgets for marketing and media. CBO’s focus all their funding on their programs which assures quality of program but weak access to the populations they seek to serve and donation to support the program. Hero Bridge changes this by aggregating the target population into a safe private online environment where CBO’s can be found and the provides access to these services facilitated as easily as one uses Google Maps to make a reservation and reach their favorite restaurant. In app media is curated and aligned with the needs of the user and supported by cause brands whose expertise is available 24/7 to those who need it the most.
Mentor optimized by design. Nothing connects mentors and mentees like Hero Bridge and staying in touch has proven to be literally life altering. At Hero Bridge we believe that companionship and kinship of a caring society is a fundamental human right. No one should ever be alone. No one. Ever. Therefore, Hero Bridge is a community designed to support both the underserved population but also the mentors who serve them. It has been shown by NMRC that well equipped mentors stay in their roles longer, and mentor relationships lasting longer than six months enjoy better long term outcomes.
Data for Better Outcomes. Case workers and CBO’s operate in silos and lack the data integration and management necessary to determine what’s working and what is not. Instead of relying on anecdotal metrics of success, the Hero Bridge app when coupled with data management API becomes a powerful tool that collects the data of paths to success. Similar to the metrics used by social media to determine what content a user would likely enjoy, Hero Bridge uses data to develop special learning tracks and recommended goals that the user and his or her mentor Key data point collection can monitor and measure foster/mentor/activity performance and create predictive models for successful outcomes.
Our vision is to be limitless in expandability:
Made in LA. Built for the world. Hero Bridge leveraged LA’s two powerhouse digital industries - entertainment and media technology. Our mission was simple: use existing 21st century tools (the ubiquitous smartphone) to reform the way foster youth and mentors access resources that provide on-demand online and offline learning tracks, tools, enrichment activities and the healthy socialization that is a fundamental human right and key to success in adulthood.
Built with the end in mind. LA is abundant with foster youth service programs, each disconnected, well informed and operating in their own silo.
however, not a single organization was using available technology as a bridge to efficiently amplify all programs, mentors and services into one powerful network ecosystem built around the youth.
This simple and sustainable app is supported by an inspirational and educational digital media exchange, funded by CSR and putting the power of reaching goals where it belongs - in the hands of the youth.
The ability to curate one’s own course, within a secure, supportive and nurturing network has enabled youth and their mentors to experience teachable moments together and liberate them from the detached and depressed living situations that lead to bad outcomes.
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Frank and Deborah Connelly,
Co-founders and Co-executive Directors, Hero Bridge