Computers and the Internet have pervaded the society that people in the United States today who do not even have street addresses feel it necessary to have Internet addresses.
For that reason, New York City has installed 42 computers in five of the nine shelters that it operates and plans to wire the other four this year. Roughly half of another 190 shelters in the city offer computer access.
A non-profit group which is based in San Francisco, Central City Hospitality House, estimates that half the visitors to its new eight-computer drop-in center are homeless, demand for computer time is so great that users are limited to 30 minutes.
Shelter attendants say that the number of laptop-toting overnight visitors is increasing today though the hike is small. SF Homeless, a two-year-old Internet forum, has 140 members. It posts schedules for public-housing meetings and news from similar groups in New Mexico, Arizona and Connecticut, and has a blog with online polls about shelter life.
Low-price computers and free Internet access have triggered the trend, and so has the increasingly computer-savvy population. Many job and housing applications must be submitted online. Some homeless advocates say the economic downturn is pushing more of the wired middle class on to the streets.
A young computer programmer said his Macintosh PowerBook has been a survival kit since he was laid off from his job as a hotel clerk in December and moved to a shelter. Sitting in a Whole Foods store with free wireless access, he searches for work and writes a computer program he hopes to sell eventually. He has emailed city officials to press for better shelter conditions.
But staying wired on the streets takes determination because electricity and Internet access can be hard to come by, while threats including rain and theft have remained a problem.
Yet, a 49 year-old meticulous man who lost his apartment in December has carried his Asus netbook everywhere since then. He quit a security-guard job late last year and spends some of his US$59 monthly welfare check on haircuts,but he could not find another amid the economic crisis today.
Aware that he would be homeless,the man bought a strong backpack to store his gear, a security device for his footlocker at the shelter and a US$25 annual premium Flickr account to display the digital photos he takes.
One day in the morning, he sat in a cafe that sometimes lets customers tap its wireless connection, and shows off his personal home page that features links for Chinese-language lessons.
He said his computer helps him feel more connected and human. “It’s frightening to be homeless, but when I’m on here, I’m equal to everybody else,” he put it.
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