This app lets you donate wish list items to homeless people you pass every day
Marcellus has lived on the streets of Philadelphia for more than four years, and he wants you to know that being homeless isn't easy.
"It's, like, waking up hungry. Going to sleep hungry," he says in a new video, as he fiddles with a small piece of blue plastic in his hands. "But this right here — this got me some food. This got me clothes. This got me a shower and all that."
It's not just any piece of plastic. Marcellus is holding a Bluetooth-connected beacon — a small component of an app called StreetChange that could transform how passersby help curb homelessness in their cities.
StreetChange lets users make small donations toward the wish lists of homeless people living in Philadelphia. While smartphone users can download and use the app anywhere in the U.S., StreetChange makes a local impact through the Bluetooth beacons, which homeless people registered with the app keep with them at all times.
The app alerts users in Philadelphia when a homeless person with a wish list is in their immediate area. This allows users to have a tangible impact, donating things like socks, raincoats and blankets to people they may pass on the street.
StreetChange gives homeless people the ability and agency to create their own wish lists, letting them define what would be helpful for the future.
The app, which is available on iOS and Android, was created by Andrew Siegel and Dan Treglia, both researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. The duo teamed up with the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania to connect Philadelphians experiencing homelessness with caseworkers, and sign them up to receive donations through the app.
"These things right here, they're working."
To enroll in the program, a homeless person needs to have a caseworker and complete a survey, identifying long-term housing goals and possible steps to reach them. Then, they identify 10 to 15 short-term material needs — clothing items, transit vouchers or even a toothbrush — which are then curated into a "registry."
App users can view a picture and bio of StreetChange clients before donating to fund their needs. They can donate an amount as low as $1 toward an item in a person's wish list. When an item is fully funded, the homeless recipient picks it up from their caseworker — and hopefully gets some needed support services at the same time.
"We put the services and the funded item in the same location to increase engagement," Siegel told The Philadelphia Citizen. "[The person] can refuse services if they want, but the idea is that we're making it more likely the engagement will happen."
The app not only satisfies the short-term needs of individual homeless people, but also allows them to create a more secure footing to achieve long-term goals.
"I can't look for work hungry and dirty," Marcellus says in the video.
"These things right here," he says, holding up the beacon, "they're working. And, hopefully, y'all can put them in more hands."
Topics Apps & Software Social Good
Katie Dupere was a Social Good reporter at Mashable from May 2015 to July 2017, covering activism, identities and social impact. Prior to her work with Mashable, Katie penned pieces about queerness, body positivity, sex and relationships for Gurl. She also previously contributed LGBTQ news coverage to PinkNews.
