Current state
Today
Doors 6
Retellings 8
Forms 7
days 34
Needs met 2/9
7 indignities experienced Detailed by stage in the journey below.
DCHS Insights CX Human-Centered Design @ DCHS PROTOTYPE no real data DCHS Insights CX Aboul & Hossina
Future state
With service integration
Doors 2
Retellings 1
Forms 2
days 9
Needs met 6/9
2 indignities remain Structural constraints are still visible.
Profile
Aboul & Hossina
One household problem split across language, work schedules, and eligibility rules.
Persona type Household
Engagement path Eviction notice, rental assistance
Persona narrative
Who they are
Aboul and Hossina are a household in their mid-thirties facing a second eviction notice and $3,400 in arrears. Rental assistance does not close the full gap, while eligibility decisions based on prior income and work history miss the crisis they are in now. Hossina can attend daytime appointments but needs Amharic interpretation; Aboul has more English but is at work. They divide the labor, understand the arrears math, and persist across partial answers, but separate programs and records keep seeing only one half of the household at a time.
Voice
In their words
The letter says no, but it is using last year.
Hossina can go at 2. Aboul has the English and is at work.
We need someone to see the household, not half of it.
What they are good at
- They act quickly when the notice arrives
- They divide labor to keep work and appointments moving
- They understand the arrears math even when the system does not
- They are persistent across multiple partial answers
What they are carrying
- Second eviction notice and $3,400 in arrears
- Prior-income rules that miss the present crisis
- Language access needs at every meaningful step
- A split between who has English and who has daytime availability
What they hope for
- A real path to close the rent gap
- A household plan, not separate adult fragments
- Interpretation without having to prove they need it
What they would never volunteer
- That sleeping in the car has already happened
- How much the appointment time forces Hossina to carry alone
- How little the denial explanation makes sense in English, let alone Amharic
What we do not actually know
- Which denials are local practice versus state or federal rule
- How often language access is offered before a client asks
- Whether household-level records can be used without erasing individual consent
Today
Today
The current experience across six stages, including its human cost and the indignities created along the way.
Stage
1. Crisis / Entry
the second notice
the second notice
2. Immediate Needs
the gap
the gap
3. Service Connection
prior income
prior income
4. Service Delivery
split household
split household
5. Progress & Monitoring
partial pictures
partial pictures
6. Stability & Transition
unresolved
unresolved
What happens
Second eviction notice. $3,400 in back rent. They come in for rental assistance.
Rental assistance covers less than the arrears. No path to the gap.
Denied for some services on prior income and work history. The rule looks past the present.
Food, WIC, and Medicaid approached separately, each with its own language barrier. Hossina attends; Aboul has the English and is at work.
Nobody tracks the household. Two adults, two partial pictures.
Housing unresolved. Some nights in the car.
Where
Rental assistance door
Housing program
Eligibility screens
Multiple program counters
Separate records
Car / temporary places
Feeling
Ashamed, urgent
Deflated
Punished for having worked
Split
Invisible
Precarious
Cost
One urgent visit with incomplete options
The math still does not close
Rules read the past, not the crisis
7 forms and partial language access
No one owns the household outcome
34 days and needs met 2 of 9
Indignities
Experience
Today vs Integrated
Today Integrated
How coordinated service delivery changes the same six-stage experience while keeping unresolved constraints visible.
Stage
1. Crisis / Entry
the second notice
the second notice
2. Immediate Needs
the gap
the gap
3. Service Connection
prior income
prior income
4. Service Delivery
split household
split household
5. Progress & Monitoring
partial pictures
partial pictures
6. Stability & Transition
unresolved
unresolved
Today
Ashamed, urgent
Second eviction notice. $3,400 in back rent. They come in for rental assistance.
Deflated
Rental assistance covers less than the arrears. No path to the gap.
Punished for having worked
Denied for some services on prior income and work history. The rule looks past the present.
Split
Food, WIC, and Medicaid approached separately, each with its own language barrier. Hossina attends; Aboul has the English and is at work.
Invisible
Nobody tracks the household. Two adults, two partial pictures.
Precarious
Housing unresolved. Some nights in the car.
Integrated
Met in their language
Same notice. Screened once, in Amharic, at the first door.
Seen
Arrears gap identified immediately and routed to the programs that can address it together.
Not resolved, but not bewildered
Some eligibility denials persist - they are state and federal rules. But the household is told why, in their language, with alternatives.
Workable
Household-level plan. Interpretation booked by default, not by request. One appointment Hossina can attend.
Recognized
One household record. Both adults visible.
Directional
Housing plan with a real gap-closing path. Hossina enrolled in ESL.
Indignities
Removed 2
Remaining 0
noneRemoved 2
Remaining 0
noneRemoved 1
Remaining 1
Removed 2
Remaining 1
Removed 2
Remaining 0
noneRemoved 1
Remaining 1
Change
Shift
One urgent visit with incomplete options -> One retelling
Shift
The math still does not close -> Gap is visible on day one
Shift
Rules read the past, not the crisis -> Rigidity remains
Shift
7 forms and partial language access -> 2 forms and booked interpretation
Shift
No one owns the household outcome -> Thread does not drop
Shift
34 days and needs met 2 of 9 -> Needs met 6 of 9
Experience
Current system
Fragmented touchpoints
Each service can do its own work while the person is left to carry the thread between them.
Touchpoint sequence
01 Rental assistance
02 Eligibility rules
03 Food
04 WIC
05 Medicaid
06 Language access
07 Separate adult records
Continuity breaks
Where the thread drops
01
Prior income denial persists without explanation
02
Hossina attends while Aboul has English at work
03
Household gap is not owned
04
Each program sees a slice
Integrated system
Coordinated service path
Shared context and explicit handoffs reduce the work required of the person without hiding constraints the system cannot remove.
Touchpoint sequence
01 Amharic first screen
02 Household record
03 Eligibility explanation
04 Gap-closing path
05 Booked interpretation
06 ESL referral
Continuity improves
What changes
01
One screen routes the household
02
Denials remain but are explained
03
Interpretation is defaulted
04
Both adults stay visible