The wired homeless: Finding shelter through Twitter

“Housing isn’t the solution to homelessness. You also need community,” said Mark Horvath.

Founder of InvisiblePeople.tv — a site of raw, uncut videos of homeless people telling their own stories—Horvath was once homeless himself in 1995. So he’s no small advocate for solving the homelessness problem in the United States, and he believes social media will play no small part in doing so.

Naysayers might argue that if one is homeless, technology should not be something that is affordable or accessible. That technology is in large part a luxury.

But those who are on the street or who are about to be might feel differently.

Visit the LA Times blog to follow this story.

Reflection:

• What is my reaction when I see a poor person with a cell phone?
• Did this article provide a different way of thinking about access to social media?
• Any places that will recycle your old phones for people who are poor?

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Tags: Anti-poverty strategies, Digital, Homelessness, Mobile, Phones, technology