Online wishlists circulate for weddings or the holidays. The technology makes it easy for everyone — tell your friends what you want and they know what to buy. Now there’s an app that helps homeless people ask for exactly what they need.
You probably have had the feeling — you want to help, but you aren’t sure of the best way.
“There is always this awkward moment when someone walks past an unfortunate individual who is homeless and you don’t know what to do,” says Jonathan Sposato, an entrepreneur in the tech industry. “Money is not the right answer, and yet it is so frustrating that the situation can’t be better.”
Sposato, who is also the chairman of the tech website GeekWire, used his internet technology background to create the free app WeCount.
It works like this — a homeless person can ask for specific items and a person who wants to help, gets to choose exactly what they want to give.
According to Sposato research indicates that most homeless people have internet access either on a device or at a library. Some asks have special meaning, like a doll for a child; and still others are necessary for survival.
“Something that you wouldn’t think is very important but is absolutely critical is what is on the street called ‘white gold’ — and that is socks,” said Sposato.
Even though it’s all anonymous — you drop off gifts in 30 designated boxes in around King County — Sposato says the app allows for messages between donors and receivers, and that connection can restore someone’s hope.
