Home Free Organization

I am a graduate student of urban anthropology and close to 1 year ago I began putting this project idea out into the social media realm to see what kind of response I got. The project is called Home Free Organization and the idea is to use 100% recycled and unwanted materials in order to build wireless mobile hubs for homeless individuals to utilize for finding ways to get off the streets. Home Free Organization is a non-profit initiative to eradicate homelessness in urban environments through the provision of free wireless internet, social networking and resource allotment. We take donated bread trucks which have come off route and add donated computers and hardware to create mobile wireless access hubs for homeless individuals to utilize for finding family, jobs, resources and ways off the street. We give a person in need clothes to wear to an interview, work one on one in resume re-creation workshops and help our visitors gain certificates of skill needed for getting back into the workforce.The goal is simple: Provide a resource for the homeless which will allow them to find ways off the street using social media outlets, streamlining processes of acquiring identification documents and helping find lost loved ones. Of course there are many who prefer the streets to a 9-5 and home life, but for those who are stuck and cannot find there way, Home Free will provide the tools to try.We give every visitor an email address to be used for networking and contact. We provide a focused set of search engines geared toward genealogy, people searching, available jobs and other resources available to homeless individuals. Finding the Home Free Truck will be easy, as we will be providing the streets with an 800 number that can be called from any public phone to give the exact location of the truck. It could be at Union Square in Manhattan or Downtown Brooklyn.We are currently in prototype stage, with 2 donated bread trucks and about 30 computers. We are hoping to hit the streets of NYC by mid-June 2010 with our prototype 'mobile search rover' and will begin helping the homeless who visit our truck find employment, give them an email address and a mailing address, clothes to wear to interviews, a resume and maybe even a haircut. We provide our visitors who come for a second visit with a USB thumbdrive to hold all of their personal information and to protect their privacy (which is very important to us). We help them re-claim their identity and empower them to search for the solutions that are holding them back.Our plan is to have 2 Home Free Organization vehicles in each of the following cities before January 2012NYCChicagoSanFran

Atlanta

It is important to us because we feel that if a person is stuck living on the streets, they must first be able to change their perspective on their situation before they can change the situation. Our motto is "You're not homeless, you're Home-free!" By helping the urban homeless rethink their situation, help them find the resources and answers that they need to better their lives, we enable them to create their own change.