Meet the Innovator: Jenny Owens of Hosts for Humanity
Jenny Owens with Hosts for Humanity is part of Social Innovation Lab’s 2017–18 Cohort. To learn more about SIL and the cohort, click here. To see Jenny at our Impact+Innovation Forum on April 24, register here!
SIL: Tell us about your project. What are you trying to do?
H4H: Hosts for Humanity connects families and friends of patients traveling to receive medical care with volunteer hosts offering accommodations in their homes. We believe no family should be stressed about housing when they have a baby in the NICU, a grandparent having surgery, or a best friend undergoing chemo.
SIL: Why did you decide to start this? Where did the idea come from?
H4H: I created Hosts for Humanity due to health challenges my son faced when he was born. In April of 2016, my husband and I were thrilled to welcome our son Maximus to the world. Within hours of his birth, Max was diagnosed with a rare condition called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH). His diaphragm was not fully formed at birth, allowing his bowels to move into his chest cavity, displacing his heart and crushing his left lung. The doctors gave Max a 50% chance of survival, and he spent several weeks in the NICU and more time in the children’s hospital as he underwent several surgeries and procedures. Max is now an animated and chunky baby who is growing and thriving. We feel such gratitude for the excellent care he received at Johns Hopkins.
When we were staying at the hospital for one of Max’s surgeries, I ran into a grandmother of an infant patient in the family lounge. During our conversation, she shared that she was visiting for two weeks and staying at a hotel. Her son and daughter were living in a tiny hospital room at the Children’s Hospital until either the Children’s House or the Ronald McDonald House had an open room. They were from Tennessee and had traveled all the way to Baltimore for specialists that could care for their baby’s rare condition. They would be there for months while their tiny baby had multiple surgeries. Right then I realized how incredibly lucky we were to be in Baltimore and so close to such amazing hospitals. Many families traveled hours to be here each day and stayed months longer than we did. I thought about it and wondered: what if people living near hospitals could volunteer rooms in their homes to those traveling with loved ones for care? You can hear more about our story here.
SIL: What have you accomplished so far?
H4H: Since our official first match on January 6th, we’ve hosted four people for a total of 40 days, saving families over $5,600 on housing. We’re an official 501(c)3 and have raised a little over $7,200. When we asked our guests about why they would recommend Hosts for Humanity to others, one mentioned “the relief of not having to stay at a hotel, the human element and chance to interact with someone who cares, the connection to the community, [and] relief of financial burden.”
SIL: What are you most looking forward to getting out of your time with the Social Innovation Lab?
H4H: I am looking forward to both accountability and support while we pilot the service in Baltimore.
SIL: Tell us about yourself. Any work experience or past professional/life experience that informs your work now?
H4H: In addition to an amazing passion project, I also have meaningful full-time job. I am the Faculty Executive Director of the Graduate Research Innovation District, or “the Grid,” at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. The Grid is a BioPark innovation hub providing entrepreneurial services and education for the University community and Baltimore City-based companies. I help students explore alternative career pathways like creating a start-up, preparing to work at entrepreneurial organizations, or applying principles of innovation to local or national policies to make change. I’m really excited about our upcoming Masters degree in Health and Social Innovation kicking off fall of 2019. Through this degree program, we intend to create an opportunity for students to explore principles of innovation, entrepreneurship, and design-thinking to solve complex health and social challenges. The program is really about equipping citizens to both identify challenges and develop the skill-set to make an impact. We hope to empower change-makers who are committed to making Baltimore (and the world) a more equitable place to live, work, and play for all.
My work with Hosts for Humanity is also informed by my education. I have my doctorate in Information and Interaction Design from the University of Baltimore, which has a heavy emphasis on human centered design, user experience, and design thinking. I’ve been able to apply what I learned at UB directly to my work with Hosts for Humanity on everything from conceptualization to prototyping the website. It’s also a fabulous network to be a part of: I’m working with Amanda Wozniak, an amazing UB Masters’ student who is prototyping and conducting user research to help develop the plans for the next iteration of our website as her thesis project.
At home, I am mom to Maximus, a sweet and mischievous toddler, and two cuddly pups. My husband Nick is truly my soulmate — we’ve been married for over 10 years, and call Baltimore our home. Nick is a man of many talents. Not only is he the kindest and most supportive person you’ll ever meet, but he’s also an award-winning home brewer. We have a 4-tap system in our home, and we love using that as an excuse to gather regularly with loved ones to test his latest brew creations.
SIL: What’s your favorite place or thing to do in Baltimore?
H4H: I’m a bit obsessed with the Rawlings Conservatory. We go as a family regularly, especially when they have themed book exhibits. In the final days of my pregnancy we visited during the “Where the Wild Things Are” exhibit and I shed tears when I saw the tiny boat with “Max” written on it — my future son’s name. I also love all the amazing city murals and green spaces. When I turned 30 my husband plotted out a path around the city to see as many murals as possible, and it’s a memory I cherish.
SIL: What advice do you have for would-be social entrepreneurs or others thinking about starting a venture?
H4H: Don’t be afraid of taking that first step. When I feel discouraged I reflect on these words by Teddy Roosevelt and strive to get off the sidelines and be the person in the arena.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
“Citizenship in a Republic,” Theodore Roosevelt, April 23, 1910
Check out Jenny and Hosts for Humanity on her website, on Twitter, or on Facebook and mark your calendars to meet her and our other Social Innovation Lab innovators at our upcoming Impact+Innovation Forum on April 24th!
