Meet Alec, a 23-year-old from the United Kingdom who spent the holidays traveling Europe with his friends. Often, Alec and his friends encountered people without housing, forced to carry their possessions around with them. The images of these men and women out on the streets day and night having to bear many challenges and the thought of this additional inconvenience left him unsettled. It triggered Alec to bring about positive change for these individuals.

Developing an idea into a solution with Solve for Tomorrow

“What if these individuals didn’t have to carry their possessions with them all the time; would this give them more independence?” Alec decided to take action and commenced ‘Project Dignity’, an initiative to provide the homeless with street lockers. After taking his thoughts to Samsung, his seed of an idea blossomed and became a reality through Samsung Solve for Tomorrow.

Through Project Dignity, the homeless are able to not only securely store their belongings, leaving behind the hassle of always having to carry all their possessions, but it also provides them with the opportunity to live their life as part of society rather than watching from the sidelines.

Each locker also doubles up as a postal box, providing the user with a permanent address. This means they can open a bank account, access essential services as well as employment opportunities. The lockers are linked to an app where users can check local job and housing posts and food plan information.

“If Project Dignity was around earlier, it would’ve sped up the process of sorting myself out,” explains Bill, a former homeless man from London. “I find security the most meaningful to the homeless. The independence we could gain from it.”

Project Dignity wins the UK’s first Samsung Solve for Tomorrow

The positive impact that Project Dignity can bring about has been recognized by many professionals, not to mention the innovative technologies Alec had adopted into his creation. In July 2021, Samsung UK concluded its Solve for Tomorrow competition debut announcing Alec as the Grand Prize winner.

“Thanks to Julia, my Solve for Tomorrow mentor, I was able to develop the design and business proposition in more detail before pitching the final concept.”

Alec now works closely with Samsung in developing a functioning prototype of the digital lockers.

“I can’t wait to take Project Dignity on to the next level,” says Alec. “In the next few months, hopefully, we’ll see the first set of lockers being installed. I’d like them to be in London because that’s where the issue is most prevalent in the UK.”