The Safehaven Experience is a project done by my group (Gong Chen, Oleg Gorlenko, Mei Li, James Zhao) and I for Safehaven, an organization that provides respite care to children with developmental disabilities and complex care needs. Our group worked alongside a consultation firm (SHS) and Miami Advertising School Toronto with the goal of defining the potential needs and interactions between the existing community and the new Safehaven branch in order to benefit both parties, through design research and thinking.
The Safehaven Experience
Our group's goal was to first define the the potential needs and interactions between the existing community and the new Safehaven branch, and then to improve and expand upon the interactions within their system in order to benefit both parties, ultimately making their integration into the Bloor-Islington community a smooth one. My job on the project was first to investigate the new Safehaven site, and its surrounding neighborhood, in order to scout out potential businesses and services that could be useful to Safehaven, and also to find out the community's needs through a series of interviews.
We found quite a few amenities in the community that could benefit Safehaven, such as a wheelchair accessible pool in their neighborhood. But where we found the most potential, was within the Safe Haven building itself. They had a wonderful Snoezelen room for their clients, which we suggested they could use to host community functions. They also had their own rooftop garden, where they could potentially grow fresh food to benefit both them and the community. For our client presentation, I created a series of drawings for our clients to envision their future in the Bloor-Islington neighborhood, as well as a journey map to help illustrate their new neighborhood.
