First, see our post Round 2: “One Night, One Person” and related links. As those links show, we’re still testing the waters here for what we white collars of four generations might do for people we literally trip over every day in the world’s larger business districts. Query: If a motivated homeless person can’t get online, how does she find a job? That’s, after all, the first place to start these days. Yes, we realize that public libraries have free access to the Net. For years we’ve all been seeing homeless people in both big city downtowns and “nice” suburbs from New York City to Poway, Rancho Bernardo and Carmel Mountain California, right? But is there enough access and hardware to help everyone who needs it? And for many applications don’t doesn’t she need a U.S. mail drop, too? For regular mail, there is no Bass Pro family camping version of it, as far as I know.
Hey, I don’t like these questions either. But living in the Dupont Circle-Logan area of DC I see about 50 homeless people every day and night. Most aren’t crazy, drunks or addicts.* How do I know? I talk to them–which should surprise no one. I talk to everyone. And I know crazies, drunks and addicts when I engage them, folks. Anyway, most I meet are clean, well-clothed and well-groomed given their circumstances. Many are amazingly well-organized, too. So what if a “deserving and motivated” rough sleeper wants a job? Thanks to lawyer’s lawyer and my favorite limousine liberal Peter Friedman for the idea, this NYT article and making me more behind in my work for other limousine liberals.
