Nearly two years ago, Liz Kashinski (’19) had just wrapped up her first year at the University of Colorado Law School when she got an opportunity to step out of studying doctrinal law and step into the world of entrepreneurship and collaborative problem solving, ultimately helping to create a new way to decrease isolation for older adults.
Kashinski took part in the two-month Governmental Entrepreneurial Leadership Accelerator (GELA) in the summer of 2017. GELA is run by Colorado Law’s Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship in partnership with state and local governments, including the city and county of Denver.
During the program, interdisciplinary groups from across governments come together to create solutions to real-world challenges.
GELA asked Kashinski’s group, which also included an engineer, an architect, and a legislative analyst, to find a way to connect older adults to city and county services.
“One thing I really took away from the project is that ‘innovation’ does not equal technology,” Kashinksi said.
Her team initially gravitated to tech solutions, but quickly realized technology wouldn’t be as helpful to the people they were trying to support.
Their solution: DenverConnect. It’s a customizable van with a pullout table, chairs, technology services, and a staff person who will help keep older Denverites connected to their communities by coordinating services from partner agencies like the Denver Public Library or AARP. It’s due to hit the streets this year.
As Attorney General Phil Weiser noted in a news release for DenverConnect’s unveiling, isolation can leave older Coloradans at greater risk of financial exploitation and poorer health.
The van is a simple, cost-effective, and people-centric way to support adults who might otherwise lose out on community services that will decrease those risks.
“Seeing the van exist in real life after two years of waiting is incredibly rewarding and I can’t wait to see the impact the project can make,” said Kashinski.
Read more about GELA in Route Fifty.
Read more about DenverConnect in Denverite.
Pictured: Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Liz Kashinski ('19), and others celebrate the launch of DenverConnect at the Montbello Recreation Center in Denver. Photo courtesy of the Colorado Attorney General's Office.