Project Rousseau, Goldman Sachs, and Globant Launch Web Application to Support Homeless Youth in New York City

Engineers from Goldman Sachs and Globant developed the application in partnership with Project Rousseau staff and students to help homeless youth find shelters based on their needs

NEW YORK, Aug. 24, 2022  -- Today, Project Rousseau, Goldman Sachs and Globant announced the launch of a web application to help homeless youth navigate the homeless shelter system in New York City. Through an easy-to-use, anonymous survey, the application curates a list of shelter recommendations based on individual eligibility and personal needs. 

There are over 100,000 homeless children and young adults living in New York City today, many of whom face repeated challenges finding shelters where they are eligible for admission. The uncertainty of this process can have a profound impact on students in particular, as it can be challenging for them to effectively continue to attend their schools and have a sense of stability. The lack of a streamlined, personalized placement system makes navigating the homeless shelter system difficult and stressful for many young people.

"This app is a phenomenal resource for homeless youth and their service-providers to streamline what is otherwise a very complex process during a young person's time of greatest need," said Andrew Heinrich, Founder and Executive Director of Project Rousseau. "We are so grateful to Goldman Sachs for their thought partnership and leadership on this initiative, and to Goldman Sachs and Globant for their incredible expertise and effort in realizing our vision for this app. We are certain that it will have a tangible impact on the lives of many young people in New York, and hopefully be a model for how technology can be used to streamline access to other services, and to services for youth outside of New York."

Project Rousseau's Founder recognized this gap and teamed up with Goldman Sachs Engineering and Globant to provide a solution to help homeless youth navigate the system and increase the adoption rate of the services that are available to them. Goldman Sachs most recently raised money for Project Rousseau during the height of the pandemic to provide students with laptops when school let out for the summer to allow them to continue their studies, apply for jobs, and more. When the opportunity with Project Rousseau arose, Goldman Sachs collaborated with Globant, one of its strategic partners, to help develop and bring the solution to life.

"Goldman Sachs is committed to giving back and investing in innovative solutions to help uplift our communities. I am thrilled to see our engineers harnessing their technical expertise to support the homeless youth in New York City and contribute to the greater good of the community" said Atte Lahtiranta, Chief Technology Officer at Goldman Sachs.

Designed by a group of volunteer engineers, pro bono engineers from Goldman Sachs and Globant, in partnership with Project Rousseau, the new application provides homeless youth with a personalized list of eligible shelters that best match their personal needs based on each individual survey responses. One of the volunteers is Tahiya Chowdhury, a Product Manager at Goldman Sachs and an alumna of Project Rousseau. Tahiya arrived in New York City as a child with her family from Bangladesh. She excelled in academics and extracurricular activities, serving as a leader and role-model for her Project Rousseau peers, graduating from Columbia University, and now giving back to the Project Rousseau community in her role at Goldman Sachs. A number of current Project Rousseau students, including those who reside in homeless shelters, also contributed to the development of the application.

"At Globant, we believe – and have seen firsthand with our clients – that technology can change the world and improve lives," said Fernando Matzkin, Chief Business Officer of North America at Globant. "Through this collaboration with Goldman Sachs and Project Rousseau, we have created a digital solution that will revolutionize the day-to-day experiences of homeless youth in New York City by easing their ability to access critical, life-saving services."

This web application is the first in a proposed series of collaborations between Goldman Sachs, Globant, and Project Rousseau to increase the uptake of social services among low-income communities. 

For more information on the application, please visit letmefind.org.

About Project Rousseau

Project Rousseau helps young people from communities in the highest need to reach their full potential and excel in higher education and the workforce. Our students come from families with an average income of less than $12,000, living well below the poverty line. Along with financial insecurity, our students often face hardships such as homelessness, hunger, and violence. We take a holistic approach to our students' education and development because we believe that academic problems rarely have solely academic causes. We do this through four pillars of programming: comprehensive, one-to-one Mentoring and Student Needs support; Academics; Community Service; and Broadening Horizons. Project Rousseau's programs have served over 2,500 students in the United States across four cities and two Native American Reservations.

About Goldman Sachs

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global financial institution that delivers a broad range of financial services across investment banking, securities, investment management and consumer banking to a large and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world.

About Globant

We are a digitally native company that helps organizations reinvent themselves and unleash their potential. We are the place where innovation, design and engineering meet scale.

• We have more than 25,900 employees and we are present in 20 countries working for companies like Google, Electronic Arts and Santander, among others.
• We were named a Worldwide Leader in CX Improvement Services by IDC MarketScape report.
• We were also featured as a business case study at Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. 
• We are a member of The Green Software Foundation (GSF) and the Cybersecurity Tech Accord.
• Media Contacts

Project Rousseau
Olivia Lei
olivia.lei@projectrousseau.org

Goldman Sachs
Nick Carcaterra
Nick.Carcaterra@gs.com

Globant
McKenna Bloomquist
pr@globant.com

Project Rousseau