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12 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017 Stay Current... From the latest information on local politics, to minor sports scores to what's going on down the street, visit www.waterloochronicle.ca CONNECTED TO YOUR COMMUNITY CITY LIFE WATERLOO CHRONICLEWATERLOO CHRONICLE AROUND TOWN By Bob vrbanac Chronicle Sta� Income inequality, a growing divide between rich and poor, is a symptom of a well known world class tech ecosy- tem's success. It's not the one in Waterloo, but the one in Silicon Valley where the economic divide grows between tech workers and the rest of the population. Th e same thing can happen here, and a Christian group called FaithTech is trying to bridge the gap. "For those who are successful, how can you use your gifts, your abilities and your money to help?" said James Kelly, founder of the local group. "How do you bridge that gap?" FaithTech will be holding an event this Th ursday at Google's headquarters in Kitch- ener to bring that spirit of innovation to what is billed as a Refugee Hacknight. It's about developing tech solutions to address the struggles that refugees face when arriv- ing in the region. "It's about bringing people together with the same goal," said Kelly. The goal of the hack night is to create an online hub for refugees to fi nd out what they need to do and who they need to talk to. "We want to do something that walks people through the steps they need to take very quickly," Kelly said. Kelly moved to the community four years ago to make a diff erence, choosing to live in an economically depressed neigh- bourhood to see what he could do to chal- lenge that reality on the ground. "I went around asking cab drivers were they don't like to go in the city," said Kelly. "The hypothesis was that wherever they don't want to be, we should probably have people living there who want to see trans- formation." But it was a conference a year-and-a-half ago where Kelly learned how to actually make a diff erence. "Something that I wrote down jumped off the page at me -- 'In the midst of devas- tation, there is an opportunity for innova- tion,'" Kelly said. "A couple of my worlds collided in this one statement." It gave him the idea to leverage the tal- ents of the local tech industry to address- some of the needs in the wider community. Social opportunities, Kelly believes, are as important as the economic opportunities created by entrepreneurs and tech talent. He put a call out to scope out the inter- est. People from Google and other tech startups showed up and started brainstorm- ing with those doing outreach in the com- munity. "We were putting real problems on the table that the city and local charities were experiencing," said Kelly. "We'd say we don't know what to do and these tech peo- ple would say we could help solve that. "You have this passionate, motivated group of people wanting to do something more signifi cant with their gifts than making money." What began as informal gatherings led to FaithTech's fi rst formal event last Novem- ber. Th e growing group hosted a hackathon with their own version of TED Talks featur- ing speakers that drew 163 members of the tech and faith community to the offi ces of Vidyard. It lead to one of their fi rst big suc- cesses -- an online project to help prevent suicide. "Over 4,000 people a month in Canada search the phrase, 'How to kill yourself,' on Google," said Kelly. "Th e top search result is seven, easy painless ways to kill yourself. The fourth one down is a YouTube video that shows you how to do it." Shocked at how easy it was to get that information, the hackathon developed a site for those looking for a lifeline. "They bought the domain, howtokilly- ourself.org," said Kelly about the team of four that worked for three months for a solution. "But when you go on their site you're not alone. Th ere's a video to watch and a phone number tailored to your IP address so you get a local crisis number and information." Kelly said one of the developers recently told a friend about the digital suicide pre- vention site. Her friend started crying. "Her friend said, 'Last night I went online and I was ready to kill myself. I ended up on your website and it got me through my night until I could meet with my psychiatrist the next morning,'" Kelly said. "In one weekend they built a site that literally saved someone's life." For more information about Refugee Hacknight, www.eventbrite.ca/e/refugee- hacknight-tickets-32101634854. Faith meets technology Local group FaithTech bridges the gap and � nds ways to help out James Kelly, founder of FaithTech, is hosting a hackathon this week to help local refugees. BOB VRBANAC PHOTO Council for the Day contest now open Th e 2017 Council for the Day contest is now open to all Grade 5 students in Waterloo. The question is simple: What's your one idea to make Waterloo an even better place to live? Past win- ning ideas have included bike day at Laurel Creek, activities with Syrian families, and better clearing of snow banks in school zones, among others. Mayor Dave Jaworsky, along with his fellow council members, will select eight students -- one mayor and seven councillors. Th e students will spend the day with the mayor on April 12. Th ey will fi rst attend his State of the City address and afterwards tour city facilities, conduct media interviews and discuss their winning ideas for Waterloo. Th e group will travel in VIP style with limo transportation courtesy of Brentwood Livery. The fame might last longer than just the one day. Last year's contest winner Zoe St. Germain's idea for Waterloo Exercise Day quickly evolved into an entire summer project -- #activeWaterloo became one of the city's most successful social media campaigns. The Grade 5 curriculum is the first time students learn about local government, which makes this a suit- able contest for that age group. Students can write a letter, create a video, paint a poster or do anything that explains their one idea for improving our city. Th e contest deadline is March 10. For more information, visit waterloo.ca/oneidea. Matching grant program info night Applications are now being accepted for the City of Waterloo's neighbourhood matching program. Th e City of Waterloo and its partner the Kitchener- Waterloo United Way encourage residents and commu- nity groups to apply for up to $3,000 for new, one-time initiatives that focus on arts, education, history, public safety, recreation or community building. Th e project must demonstrate strong support from the neighbourhood and the funds must be matched with cash, donated professional services or materials, or volunteer labour. An information session will be held on March 6, 6:30 p.m., in Room 200 at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex. Th e application deadline is March 31 2017. For more information, visit www.waterloo.ca/nmf.