Using Tech to Tackle Homelessness. The Artisan of the Day Is Kevin McKee.
When Kevin McKee co-founded Padmission in 2019, his mission was to help communities address homelessness with better tools. As Chief Technology Officer, McKee chose Laravel as the backbone for the company’s first product, a decision that has since shaped everything the SaaS platform has achieved.
“We believe that individuals, families, and communities are safer, healthier, and stronger when everyone has a home,” McKee said. “That’s the foundation of why we do this.”
Tackling an Overlooked Challenge
Padmission builds software for government agencies, nonprofits, and case managers working directly with people experiencing homelessness. “The problem is, for a long time, all these people were operating out of spreadsheets and pen and paper,” McKee explained. “There just were not software solutions available to these people.”
The lack of technology was not about disinterest, but about cost and feasibility. “There were specific things the homelessness sector needed that no software company decided it would make sense to build,” he said. “It would be too expensive, it would take too long, and there’s just not that much money in homelessness.”
Why Laravel Was the Right Choice
With Laravel, Padmission has been able to overcome that barrier. The framework’s speed, productivity, and security allowed the small team to develop solutions that would have been out of reach with a more complex tech stack.
“We’re building software that is really deep and really complex,” McKee said. “And yet it’s accessible and affordable because Laravel makes us so productive.”
McKee points out that developers are the company’s largest expense. Using Laravel enables them to build and maintain enterprise-level tools with a lean team. Without it, Padmission would need far more engineers to deliver the same impact.
Building Tools That Make a Difference
That efficiency has created something rare in the sector: a modern, secure, and scalable platform built specifically for homelessness services. The results speak for themselves.
Using Padmission Connect, case managers and community organizations in over 30 communities across the United States now have reliable tools to help families and individuals find housing faster, track progress, and share critical data safely.
Their latest product, Padmission Journey, has already helped community organizations send out over $100 million of rental assistance on behalf of formerly homeless households.
McKee credits not only the Laravel framework but also the ecosystem around it. Tools like Livewire and Filament, created by Caleb Porzio and Dan Harrin, have become essential to Padmission’s stack. “Laravel is truly our superpower,” McKee said.
“Padmission does not exist without all of you providing these tools and frameworks that we use. And we’re making a really big difference in ending homelessness in America. Our company owes a lot to Laravel and the Laravel Community.”
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