Handheld San Francisco

AI captures the impact.
People create it.

Technology's potential is extraordinary. So is the damage if it disrupts livelihoods faster than community organizations can respond. Handheld San Francisco helps the people families trust stay ahead of it.

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The challenge

Community organizations carry a double burden.

They need to help families through disruption while producing the data that keeps their services funded, often without the staff or systems to do either fast enough.

San Francisco funds more than 700 community organizations to deliver essential services. SF Controller's Office

Help families through disruption

Housing, food, health coverage, work. In their language, from someone who stays.

One worker,
two jobs

Produce the data that keeps services funded

Reports, outcomes and impact, for every funder, on every timeline.

What's at risk

When community organizations lose funding, families lose access to food, housing assistance and care.

  1. $FundingFewer dollars, more proof required
  2. Community organizationsCut staff and services
  3. FamiliesLose food, housing assistance and care
Volunteers hand out bags at a community resource distribution in San Francisco

25,400 to 50,500

San Franciscans could lose Medi-Cal by the end of 2027.

SF Human Services Agency and Department of Public Health estimate, reported by Mission Local

In a city like San Francisco, that puts the whole safety net at risk.

The good news: it's a problem we can stay in front of.

Together, Change Craft and ALAS have a plan.

Why Handheld

It sounds like tech. It's about people.

The hand in Handheld belongs to a local navigator, a helper, a promotora. The cheapest use of AI would be to automate people out. We'd rather put it in the hands of the people families already trust.

The model

A five-year accelerator for San Francisco's community organizations

We bring community organizations together, pairing their frontline knowledge with tech expertise to improve how they collect, report and use data. The tools are built with community health workers to help them do their jobs faster, so organizations can track outcomes, show funders their impact and free up time for the human work of supporting families.

Handheld San Francisco logic model. The double burden: CBOs must help families through disruption while producing the data needed to sustain their services. Accelerator investments in CBO-led strategy, workforce support, and expert plus AI support lead to shared direction, staff capacity, and useful evidence, which together create more capacity for human care. Intended outcomes to test: basic-needs stability, work and education, and community resilience. A learning loop feeds CBO, worker, and family feedback back into strategy. Measures: reporting burden, evidence quality, staff capacity, support received.
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The double burden. CBOs must help families through disruption while producing the data needed to sustain their services.

Accelerator investments. CBO-led strategy: organizations define problems and lead shared solutions. Workforce support: training, coaching and retention planning. Expert + AI support: useful tools for reporting, data and administrative work.

What they build. Shared direction: trust, complementary roles and joint priorities. Staff capacity: less administrative burden and more time for families. Useful evidence: clearer impact reporting and reliable information.

More capacity for human care. CBO-led solutions, supported handoffs and follow-up.

Intended outcomes to test. Basic-needs stability: support received for housing and basic needs. Work and education: greater continuity as circumstances change. Community resilience: stronger organizations and a supported workforce.

Learning loop. CBO, worker and family feedback shapes shared practices.

Measures. Reporting burden, evidence quality, staff capacity, support received.

A community health worker's hands holding a phone while sitting with a family at a kitchen table

Built for the people doing the work

Better data, without more data entry

  • 01

    Capture it once

    Data is collected as the work happens, not re-entered later.

  • 02

    Report it faster

    That same data becomes reports and funder updates.

  • 03

    Trust what it shows

    Quality checks are built in, and a person confirms what matters.

Why it works

People make the difference.

When CBOs are funded to follow through, far more referrals get resolved.

North Carolina statewide referral network. Drake et al., North Carolina Medical Journal, 2024. doi.org/10.18043/001c.94877

  • Families

    Help in their language, from someone who stays.

  • CBOs and community workers

    Less administrative burden, more time for families.

  • The Handheld Network

    CBOs share goals, referrals and practices.

  • Communities

    Stronger organizations, a supported workforce and jobs that stay local.

Watch

See the vision

Our team's vision, in about 90 seconds. Captions are built in.

Who we are

Team Change

Change Craft ALAS

Change Craft is a California-based, minority-owned agency for creative, strategy, coalitions and PhD-level research.

  • Creative
  • Strategy
  • Coalitions
  • Research

ALAS is an award-winning nonprofit rooted in culture and community across the Bay Area.

  • Culture
  • Community

Together, we bring statewide reach, local trust and evidence-based research.

California map marking Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles, with the Bay Area highlighted

With research, trust and bold action, we can support San Francisco's safety net, now and into the future.

We're looking for San Francisco CBOs, promotoras, funders and City partners who want AI that strengthens the people families trust.

Partner with us