In 2023, students volunteering under Interstate 35 noticed how hesitant unhoused individuals were to approach their blood pressure screening table. Tired of hearing alarming health numbers without guidance or support, many simply walked away. The experience revealed a deeper gap in the system, prompting the students to explore new ways to turn brief interactions into more impactful health engagement.
In response, Rhea Lazar and Deekshita Sundararaman founded HealthMaze, a local nonprofit focused on improving health care literacy in underserved communities. Their team manages a comprehensive website listing insured and uninsured clinics, downloadable health guides and volunteer opportunities. This semester, the organization focused on distributing COVID-19 tests to the unhoused. Neha Arvinth, a neuroscience junior and the organization’s vice president, said simplifying medical terminology goes a long way.
“One of the things I remember (from) shadowing a primary care doctor (was) the amount of not even medical jargon, but the vocabulary they were using,” Arvinth said. “If you didn’t have previous education … (it’s) a different language. … So that’s where we’re trying to simplify the vocabulary to bridge that knowledge gap.”
Lazar, a molecular biology junior, said the organization prioritizes making resources, like the HealthMaze website, accessible to the unhoused.
“When it comes to the unhoused or low-income population, … some might (not) have internet access,” Lazar said. “So what we have on the back of our cards are a bunch of addresses to places where they can access the internet for free.”
Lazar said their data suggests the website reaches their target audience.
“Looking at the data, the top device breakdown that accesses our website is from a desktop, and that actually suggests, or implies, most of the individuals are accessing this from a homeless shelter because most homeless shelters have a free computer lab,” Lazar said.
In addition to providing their information, HealthMaze volunteers have the opportunity to attend educational workshops specifically tailored to women’s and children’s health, and write personalized cards at their service events.
“We started doing cards with the HealthMaze QR code, and then we were like, ‘Let’s also add a slot for their blood pressure,’” Lazar said. “This way, we transformed the resource card into a personalized health journal, because legally, we can’t keep their name and their blood pressure data with us.”
Kate Seno, a neuroscience junior and the organization’s public relations director, said she’s hoping to expand their platform to Instagram.
“(An) initiative that we are currently in the works in and that I’m really excited about is an educational series that is meant to be very informative … but this time in the form of Instagram reels,” Seno said. “We’re going to have some episodes that we’ll be launching during the summer.”
Seno said she’s seen the impact of their work so far.
“Rhea has one specific testimony where somebody had come up to her after receiving the card, telling her that when he initially had some chest pain and headaches (he started) going to one of these clinics to receive the care he needed and started feeling a lot better,” Seno said. “Seeing Rhea’s excitement from that experience was really meaningful for me, but I think that even seeing people’s initial reactions to realizing that there is stuff out there for them has been very meaningful.”
