h a l f b a k e r yWhat's a nice idea like yours doing in a place like this?
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On every homeless shelter, there is a rugged computer where a homeless person can access a specially made Homeless webforum as a homeless person.
They also get an optional card, which allow them to have a 'social profile', that allows doners to 'donate' funding and stay in contact/follow/stalk the
homeless person.
This card is accessible on various participating shops which will provide discounted services to make the homeless person's life easier. Also for certain food shops, it authorize the shop owner to give away leftover food of the day (instead of throwing it away), via making homeless people sign a onetime waiver.
Of course if the homeless person doesn't like the fact that money donated, cannot just be spent anywhere... they can just revert to their normal begging routine. However if there is a service supported by the card, they can ask doners to send them money via the card(can be as easy, as a premium SMS).
This service will also ask every homeless person a poll, to gauge how effective certain approach is going for them. You can even create a 'ask reddit' kind of service, where you ask homeless people to make ideas how to get out of their problem, and get it voted up or down. (best post will hopefully be implemented by the website's team.)
Cleaning the homeless
Cleaning_20the_20homeless
my anno reads like 21Qs [bungston, Oct 06 2010]
WSJ: "The Homeless Stay Wired"
http://online.wsj.c...63359881267523.html
Wall Street Journal article surveying different ways in which homeless stay wired, including computers in shelters and personally owned laptops. [jutta, Oct 08 2010]
[link]
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Why must the computer be rugged? |
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The homeless can use the internet just like the people with homes. They don't need a special "bumternet" to degrade their social status yet further. @ [21Q] I disagree. Compassion /= coddling. |
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//Why can't they get in line at a soup kitchen like
everyone else?// |
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I don't eat at the soup kitchen...do you? Really? |
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There are good intentions in this idea, I can tell.
But, it seems to be addressing the symptoms of
homelessness (not saying they shouldn't be
addressed) than the causes, which are pretty
varied, I think. |
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No, I guess that is pretty obvious, isn't it? I'm of
mixed feelings about making homelessness 'easier' as
[21Q] puts it. |
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I do think the ideas proffered here make it hard to
distinguish the compassion from the coddling. |
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What about the fact that having a central place where people can follow homeless people around and provide ongoing support in terms of encouragements, and advice. |
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What about having a central homeless forum, allows fr information to homeless to be located in the same spot as well. |
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I'm sure its more than just coddling. And its cheaper than than just giving every bum a laptop (like one laptop per child program). |
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//follow homeless people around//??
I don't think I would enjoy someone following me around whether I was homeless or not. Having *ideas* about other people's conditions are not always suitable from the outsider's point of view. |
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[21] There are very few people who are homeless by
choice. It's a dirty, dangerous, extremely
uncomfortable, and often painful lifestyle. |
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I saw a homeless guy about a month ago, come
into
our local McDonald's and buy a coffee. I then
watched as he sat down, fished a laptop out of his
shoulder bag, log onto the 'net and start doing his
internet banking. |
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Presuming all homeless people are alike is a
mistake. |
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I'm also aware of another homeless man who
approached a friend who owned a hardware store,
for advice. The guy had met a woman he wanted
to marry and they were after info on buying a
house. between them they had $580,000 in their
savings accounts. |
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Presuming all homeless people are destitute is a
mistake. |
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[infidel] //I saw a homeless guy about a month
ago// |
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How did you know he was homeless? All people
who appear homeless are not homeless. I do not
mean this to antagonize you. I see more destitute
looking people walking around town than I see
sleeping under bridges. |
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[Akimbo]//I'm sure its more than just coddling.// |
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I think that's the problem. It needs to be LESS than
coddling. |
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what do you mean boomshine? Can you rephrase what you said? |
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Wouldn't having a central place where homeless can find 'useful information' and communicate between themselves, help promote independence and eventually emancipation? |
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Because I've seen the guy wandering around town for the past 8 months or so and observed him sleeping on the covered benches out behind the shopping centre, early in the morning. |
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I may be completely wrong but he seems to live in the city centre and often picks up a free lunch from the rubbish bins in the shopping centre food court. That and the fact he smells like a polecat and has a few years worth of dirt on him lend him a certain "air". |
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[Akimno] //what do you mean boomshine? Can you
rephrase what you said?// |
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I can try. Your intentions probably do stem from
compassion. I have no reason to doubt that.
Compassion might be the first thing we feel
towards the less fortunate. But, any action or
response to them is something more, up to, in my
opinion, pure coddling, i.e., doing for them what
they could/should be doing for themselves. |
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I didn't really say that your idea here was coddling
(although [21] might be right that it is). It was your
comment about it being 'more than coddling' that
got my attention and anno. |
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It can be a fine line, I know. I'm guessing you are
young (that is not an aspersion). After you've seen
hundreds, maybe thousands of apparently homeless
people accepting all the charity programs provided
them, you begin to wonder what good those
programs do. Which is not to say I advocate doing
nothing. |
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[infidel] Thanks for the clarification. If you've seen
him sleeping under a bridge, that would pretty
much
make him homeless. |
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We have a somewhat famous (everyone knows his
name) homeless guy in our town. He's become the
subject of social studies classes in our high schools.
He is apparently schizophrenic or something. He
refuses to take the meds prescribed to him. The
community (police, among others) watch out for
him. He actually has money, I'm told. I've seen
him eating in fast food restaurants. I've seen him
sleeping on benches and in parks. But, in
particularly bad weather, he stays in motels. Weird
life, but he does have other choices. |
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Since the collapse of Iceland's economy they do a lot of window shopping. |
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The 'stalking' aspect of this sounds creepy given that such people are sometimes a target of xenophobic violence. If a person wants to give someone a cash equivalent that can only be exchanged for food, is the card tied to an internet database really needed to accomplish that? The direct benefit to the recipient achieved by sacrificing some anonymity has to be be weighed against the potential downside. |
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