Anthony 

Spencer 
Patrick 
Miguel 
 
 
Design Thinking Process: e3  
Discovery Phase-Checklist
Parts 1, 2, 3
Due: Oct. 30, 2017

Work with your design thinking team to take notes about each part of the Design Thinking
Process that you complete together. After you feel that you have fully explored each step of
the three parts listed, change the checkbox to a check mark. Return to and revise each part as
needed.

Define the mission for the design thinking process - Discovery Phase Part 1

❏ Identify/define the challenge - Restate your problem statement:

How do we help families in San Diego

How can we help low income families with necessities

❏ Share what you think you know about each end user (needs, challenges, background, etc.):

Food, school,​ Computers, Wifi, Basic Necessity, ​medical bills

❏ Identify what you don’t know:

● How many people are in low income situations

● What amount of money is considered poverty
● How can this problem be solved
● What is the average income of low income families
● How many family members are in most low income families
● Why are most of these people in this situation
● Where is our problem seen most in San Diego
● How many people are affected in San Diego
● What do they need the most for example: Food, Internet access, basic necessities like
 soaps,toothpaste etc.

Prepare for Research – Discovery Part 2

❏ Make a plan for your research: How will we complete our research over the course of the
next two weeks?:
Go to low income sites, check if there is anything they are not helping with that we can help with.
We can definitely look up statistics

❏ Revisit: Identify the end users, experts and other sources of information:

Residents of San Diego, mainly children from a low-income Families. Welfare places around the
San Diego county.

❏ Users (sometimes called the audience) - who can we contact and how?:

● Low income Families

● Students
● Minimum wage workers
● Low income help facilities

❏ Build questions to ask the end users (think of as MANY relevant questions to ask as
possible):

● How much money are you making?

● How many members are in your family?
● What do you spend most of your money on?
● How do you think we can help you?
 ❏ Build questions to ask the experts:

● How can we help

● Where can we start helping
● What area should we focus on if we were to help a specific area
● What should we help low income families with the most

❏ Make a plan for conducting the fieldwork:

● Go out in low income areas and ask around

● We plan to visit low income centers
● We plan to contact many low income help services

❏ Set the schedule for your work on the discovery phase:

Talk to adults ( in our school and out side )

Have a meeting with a person who is involved in helping their community

❏ Determine who will do what by when:

Anthony: Research, phone calls

Patric: summarize article. ​1 Link​, ​2 Link​, ​3 Link​, 4 link, 5 link.
Spencer: Research
Miguel: talk to people involved with the community
 ❏ What do you plan to report back?:

● We plan to report back information that we find/ learn.

● Talk about our schedule
● Share ideas
● Show Progress

❏ When do you plan to report back?:

We plan to report back after Mondays and wednesdays.

❏ Did you dig deep enough?:

No but we did find research which provided us with sufficient questions and answers. We have
found many sufficient sources, phone numbers, and centers which can help us greatly with out
project.

Conduct the Research (Gathering Inspiration) – Discovery Phase Part 3

❏ Immerse yourself in context

❏ Learn from groups

❏ Learn from experts

❏ Learn from peers observing peers

❏ Learn from people’s self documentation

❏ Seek inspiration in new places

 ❏ KEEP AN OPEN MIND!!

Research Findings:

The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) helps families with lower incomes in the City of San 
Diego obtain housing that they can afford.  
More than 15,000 households receive help to pay their rent through the Federal Section 8 Housing 
Choice Voucher rental assistance program administered by SDHC. 
As a housing developer, investor, and lender, SDHC also has produced more than 17,000 affordable 
rental housing units since 1981 through partnership developments and acquisitions. 
In addition, SDHC, including its nonprofit affiliate Housing Development Partners (HDP), owns 
and/or manages more than 3,500 affordable rental housing units. 
And more than 4,600 families have achieved the dream of homeownership with help from SDHC’s 
First-Time Homebuyer Program. 

Growing up in high-poverty areas can affect your employment 

The authors conclude that growing up in a low-income, single-parent household or in a 
neighborhood with high levels of economic and racial inequality has a disproportionately negative 
impact on men when they reach adulthood. The authors suggest that these findings could shed 
new light on the recent decline of male participation in the U.S. labor force, which is often attributed 
to an aging population, structural changes in the economy, and globalization. 
Link:​https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/beyond-bls/growing-up-in-high-poverty-areas-can-affect-y
our-employment.htm 

Low-Income Community Energy Solutions E​ nergy efficiency and renewable 

energy technologies can not only lower energy bills for low-income households but are also proven 
to improve indoor air quality, safety and comfort, thereby positively impacting human health. Energy 
retrofit projects also improve resiliency to rising energy costs, thereby increasing the ability to 
struggle families to stay in their home. When hiring locally, these projects also help to shore up 
neighborhood housing and create local jobs where they are often greatly needed. 
link:​https://www.energy.gov/eere/slsc/low-income-community-energy-solutions 

San Diego's Real Poverty Rate N​ early one in four San Diego County families 
are functionally poor, even though the federal government’s official source on the topic — the U.S. 
Census Bureau — says only 14.9 percent of households live below the poverty line. A ​recent study 
by the Public Policy Institute of California reconsidered the definition of poverty by accounting for 
two factors not included in the official measure: regional cost-of-living variations and the benefits 
of government-subsidy programs. The study demonstrating a higher real-world poverty rate than 
federal government data suggests comes amid an ​increasingly​ ​loud​ conversation about the 
regional economy’s mix of employment opportunities, and whether they present a real opportunity 
for families to support themselves. 
link:​https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/news/san-diegos-real-poverty-rate/ 
Too many militaries, veteran families struggling financially
The military family has been part of the fabric of our nation since the Revolutionary War. Since the
earliest days of the nation, the service and sacrifice of military members have, by necessity, involved
the service and sacrifice of the members of their families. Yet this week as we celebrated ​Veterans
Day​, and even as our country continues to make great strides in recognizing the service of our
military, a crisis has continued to grow for young active duty and veteran families, a crisis which
greatly impacts San Diego.
link:​http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/sdut-military-families-financial
-poverty-2014nov12-story.html 

Behavior Problems of Preschool Children From Low-Income Families​←​LINKED 

Research on the prevalence of behavior problems in preschool children from low-income families,
and the risk factors associated with these behaviors, was reviewed.
Children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds were found to have a higher incidence
of behavior problems as compared to the general population.

Insurance Matters For Low-Income Adults: Results From a Five-State Survey

^​LINKED
Using survey data from 2,000 low-income adult respondents in each of five states, this DataWatch
assesses how uninsured, low-income adults differ from low-income adults who have public or
private insurance and how Medicaid expansions have affected insurance coverage patterns across
states with different eligibility policies.

The relationship of family income to the incidence, external causes, and

outcomes of serious brain injury, San Diego County, California.​ ​←​LINKED 
Among residents of San Diego County, California the incidence and external causes of serious 
brain injury were related to the median family income of the census tract of residency.​Low
income tracts had high incidence rates--a finding not changed by adjustment for age and
race/ethnicity.

Is parenting style related to children's healthy eating and physical activity in

Latino families?​ ​← LINKED
Parenting styles influence a child's risk for obesity. The goals of this study are to evaluate the
influence of (i) parenting style on children's health behaviors (physical activity and dietary intake),
(ii) children's sociodemographic characteristics on parenting style and on children's health
behaviors and (iii) parents' sociodemographic characteristics on their use of controlling styles to
promote a healthy home environment.
Mexican immigrants and the utilization of U.S. health services: The case of
San Diego​ ​← LINKED
This article talks about how they used a survey data gathered from 2103 Mexican immigrants living
or working in San Diego County, California. To use a health service they needs to answer these
questions. “(a) What type of health services do Mexican immigrants use? (b) When hospitals are
used, do they tend to be emergency room services? (c) Do Mexican immigrants use preventive
services?”

Sources:

CaliWORKs -​ http://www.cdss.ca.gov/CalWORKS
CalWORKs is made to help people go from welfare to work. It provides temporary cash assistance
to anyone eligible. Created to help children succeed and help families find employment.
CalFresh - ​https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/hhsa/programs/ssp/food_stamps.html
CalFresh is known for federal supplement aid services. CalFresh is a program for low income
families who are struggling with nutrition problems and who meet certain income guidelines.
CalFresh benefits help supplement your food budget and allows families to buy nutritious food.

MediCal - ​https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/hhsa/programs/ssp/medi-cal_program.html
Medical is california's medical healthcare program. This program pays for a variety of health care
services for children and families of low income status.This helps relief the stress of medical care
for low income families.

CAPI -​ ​https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/hhsa/programs/ssp/capi.html
Cash assistance program for immigrants is a state funded cash aid program. This helps immigrants
who are not eligible for the federally funded Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary
Payment.

General relief -​ ​https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/hhsa/programs/ssp/general_relief.html

General relief provides assistance in cash for county residents who have no means of support. Any
aid from this program must be paid back. There are many centers which people can sign up.

Contacts:
Downtown Family Health Center at Connections:
Address​: 1250 Sixth Ave #100, San Diego, CA 92101 
Phone​: (​ 619) 515-2430 
Emailed them:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
St Vincent De Paul Village Family Health Center
Address: 1501 Imperial Ave.
San Diego, CA - 92101
Phone: ​ (619) 645-6405
Emailed them:

Housing & Community Development Services

-Chart of income rates for families of different sizes
-the table used family size and AMI percentage
https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/sdhcd/rental-assistance/income-limits-ami.html

PBS News
-Taks about children living in low income families
-44% of children live in low income families
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/nccp-finds-44-percent-u-s-children-live-low-income-families

Need Help Paying Bills

-Provides multiple examples of how low income families can be helped
-Examples of state and federal help
https://www.needhelppayingbills.com/html/low_income_assistance_programs.html

Benefits.gov
-Helps low income families find benefits that will apply to there situation
-Home and energy assistance
-Medicare
https://www.benefits.gov/

InCharge
-Examples of different low income families and what help they have access to. They base their
income figures on poverty levels determined each year.
-Helps organize your money
-gives step by step process to get out of that situation
https://www.incharge.org/debt-relief/debt-relief-low-income-americans/
 Contacts:

Emailed the NCCP

Emailed Benefits.gov

Checklist Evaluation Rubric

Exemplary Evidence Good evidence Some evidence Little or no evidence
✔ x
✖ ⁄

Starting off with the DT project we knew we wanted to 

help low income families. We know that there is a lot 
of low income aids out there but we know that not 
everyone is being helped. We needed to identify our 
problem, something that low income aids aren't 
necessarily helping with. We are focusing on basic 
necessities like internet. 
We know that there is a lot of low income aids out 
there and we know that not everyone is being helped. 
low income aids aren't necessarily helping with what 
they need help on. We are focusing on necessities 
like internet.