BREAKING: Austin is one of 35 Champion Cities selected today as finalists in the 2018 U.S. Mayors Challenge, a nationwide competition that encourages city leaders to uncover new ideas for the toughest problems cities face.

Austin proposes to use blockchain technology to provide homeless residents with a unique identifier that allows them to access their personal records at any time, enabling access to critical services. For those experiencing homelessness in Austin, lack of ID can mean barriers to, or delays in, their access to housing, employment, and other services critical to dignity, support, and recovery. Imagine if, instead of experiencing broken hand-offs from hospitals to respite care or from substance abuse recovery programs to shelter that adversely impact recovery, a client is able to provide access to their digital passport which has an auditable account of what happens next in the system of care. Blockchain would make data easily available across different social service and healthcare organizations to help service delivery personnel frustrated by working with incomplete information and provide more consistent and reliable access to those experiencing homelessness. Austin is one of 35 US cities competing for the grand prize – others include Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC.