On July 5, 2011, a mentally ill homeless man named Kelly Thomas was beaten into a coma at a bus depot in Fullerton, CA. Police officer Manuel Ramos first approached Thomas, known to be nonviolent, after receiving reports of car vandalism in the area. While Ramos ordered Thomas around, another police officer searched through his [...]

BBH Labs is an organization that is piloting a Homeless Hotspot program in the Austin area wherein homeless people are given Verizon Wifi hotspot devices and serve as moving digital Wifi connection spots around the city. Users can access the internet through these Homeless Hotspots by paying a small fee. BBH is publicizing this project [...]

This is an interesting article about how a former New Jersey governor voluntarily decided to don a disguise and experience what it was like to be homeless for a night: http://news.yahoo.com/former-jersey-governor-goes-undercover-homeless-man-023749042.html. It seems nice that someone of privilege is opting to learn firsthand what many of our clients experience on a nightly basis, but I do [...]

I happened to come across this article online today and was frankly so shocked by it that I had to share it with everyone. In the name of “sanitation,” the university has ordered part of People’s Park to be bulldozed. Trees planted back during the free speech movement of the 1970′s were uprooted. Besides sanitation, [...]

During these tumultuous economic times, many Americans are struggling to stay afloat. And while there are no magic solutions in sight, students across the country are stepping up to do what they can to mitigate the effects of poverty and homelessness. Specifically, I would like to mention students from three separate parts of the country [...]

Recently the New York Times posted this article on their website that some states including Arizona and Missouri have passed laws requiring people who want social welfare benefits to pass a drug test (in the form of a urine sample). The benefits they need screening for include assistance with public housing and food stamps. Those supporting [...]

Lee Jeffries lives in Manchester in the United Kingdom. Close to the professional football circle, this artist starts to photograph sporting events. A chance meeting with a young homeless girl in the streets of London changes his artistic approach forever. Lee Jeffries recalls that, initially, he had stolen a photo from this young homeless girl [...]

Being thorough, I remove a holey sock to view a diabetic man’s filthy feet. I use the time to complete our talk of what drove him to live on the street as I wonder how any of this can help. While he tells me more of his medical past, I run warm water into a [...]

I happened to stumble upon an article on the SF Chronicle’s website about a design student who has been developing a coat that can transform into a sleeping bag. Veronika Scott, 22, initially designed the coat as part of a project at the Detroit-based College for Creative Studies. After various prototypes–and $2,000 of her own [...]

This past weekend Sandeepa and I made a visit (behind enemy lines!) to Stanford University. The reason: a small group of very dedicated students hosted an informational session about a shelter they are starting up in Palo Alto. We have had some very preliminary talks about starting a shelter here in Berkeley as an extension [...]