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When someone on the street asks you for money, what's your answer? This app can help.

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Marcellus watches people walk right by him every day.

He has been homeless, living on the streets of Philadelphia, for about four-five years.

Screenshot via Verizon.

"Being homeless is not easy," he says. "It’s, like, waking up hungry. Going to sleep hungry." And people are often hesitant to give money or to help.

Like many of us, Andrew Siegel walks past homeless individuals like Marcellus every day. When people would ask Seigel for money, he admits he felt uncomfortable. He wanted to help but felt apprehensive about just handing over cash, which didn’t feel like it was enough to really bring about any lasting change. But when he didn’t give anything, that decision bothered him. A lot.

So, he starting thinking of how else to help — and came up with StreetChange.

StreetChange is an app that allows people to make targeted donations to homeless individuals — whether it be food, clothing, toothbrushes, or even haircut vouchers.

A view of the StreetChange app. Screenshot via Verizon.

Siegel partnered with Dan Treglia, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice, and Michael Brody, president and CEO of the Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania (MHASP) to make it happen.

MHASP outreach teams signed up homeless individuals who wanted to take part and gathered a list of 10-15 items they needed. Each homeless participant was then given a key fob that emits a signal when they are within a 150-foot radius of someone with the app. When StreetChange users are within that range, they receive a notification and can see what items the homeless person has requested. Then they can donate any amount of money (even just $1) toward their wish list.

Food, clothing and a place to shower. This app helps get those who are homeless the basics they lack and the support they need to get off the streets.
Posted by Upworthy on Monday, February 20, 2017

Besides supplying necessities, StreetChange empowers people who are homeless because it lets them drive the conversation about what they need and their future.

"Being brought into the community makes a big difference," says Jason Moriber, reputation and influence design chief at Verizon — which has done a lot of work around a number of social issues, including education equality, but is not directly involved with StreetChange. "If some small technology gives someone access to a world that they didn’t have access to before … immediately they are empowered."

Targeted donations made via StreetChange go toward buying items such as food, clothing, or haircut vouchers. Screenshot via Verizon.

When someone feels empowered, it can bring about real change.

In the United Kingdom, a charity called Broadway did a small-scale pilot program where they reached out to homeless people and asked them what they needed to change their lives. Their answers ranged from sneakers to cash for paying off a loan to a camper van. Then, the charity simply gave them the money to buy these things — under the condition that they worked with a personal "broker" to help them come up with a working budget.

13 homeless people agreed to the deal, and by the end, 11 had gotten off the streets, suggesting that a combination of money and direction can help homeless individuals get back on their feet.

Programs such as StreetChange offer the first step toward change by not only addressing immediate needs, but also by giving access to support and services.

Marcellus meets with a MHASP caseworker. He has been meeting with them since May 2016, when he first connected with StreetChange. Screenshot via Verizon.

StreetChange starts a conversation. "The goal is to have this individual not only pick up their socks today, but to also come back tomorrow. And maybe when they come back tomorrow, maybe we can develop a recovery goal plan with this individual," said Evan Figueroa-Vargas, another MHASP employee.

This builds confidence because a lot of homeless individuals don’t always trust the organizations created to help them, Brody told NewsWorks.

"Sometimes by entering the system, they’ve been forced to do things against their will that they didn’t want to do," he continued. "This is another way to build a relationship with them, to bridge a reason to be talking with each other and spending some time with each other."

Technology, like apps, can be a very powerful vehicle for good.

Moriber says that he thinks many of the technologies needed to give back already exist. For example, he says, if more companies, such as food subscription services or ride-share apps, used their business models and technologies for good, there would be lots of ways to give back and address problems such as food deserts, child hunger, or homelessness.

Screenshot via Verizon.

"Technology has the scale — [or it] enables the scale — to solve many problems if we are willing to implement it that way," says Moriber. "If all these technologies could do just a little bit of that, I think we could make a major change in the world. It would enrich everyone's lives."

Community

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

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Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

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Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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friendship

Democracy

This Map Reveals The True Value Of $100 In Each State

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

Image by Tax Foundation.

Map represents the value of 100 dollars.

As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to "browse" the data based on geographic location.

The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is "worth" in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of "smoothing" into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.

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money

Identity

One man turned nursing home design on its head when he created this stunning facility

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?

92-year-old Norma had a strange and heartbreaking routine.

Every night around 5:30 p.m., she stood up and told the staff at her Ohio nursing home that she needed to leave. When they asked why, she said she needed to go home to take care of her mother. Her mom, of course, had long since passed away.

Behavior like Norma's is quite common for older folks suffering from Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. Walter, another man in the same assisted living facility, demanded breakfast from the staff every night around 7:30.

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Health

If you're grieving a loved one this holiday season, here's a gift you can give yourself

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.

Images courtesy of Kelly Cervantes

Kelly Cervantes wrote her way through grieving the loss of her daughter, Adelaide.

Kelly Cervantes begins the Introduction to her book with five words: "Grief sucks. It's also weird." It's a concise truth that anyone who has lost a loved one knows all too well.

Grief is a universal experience—none of us get through life without loss—but it's also unique to each person. Most of us are familiar with the popular "stages of grief" theory, but denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (along with guilt and a host of things) are less like sequential rungs on a ladder and more like pools you fall into at various times as you stumble your way through the grief process. Grief is not linear and it's not neat and tidy and it's not predictable.

Take it from someone who's been there. Kelly Cervantes lost her daughter, Adelaide, to epilepsy just shy of her 4th birthday. Using writing as a therapeutic tool to help her process Adelaide's medically complex life, death and everything that came after, Kelly created the book she wished she'd had as she was trying to navigate her own grieving process.

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grief

When someone on the street asks you for money, what's your answer? This app can help.

Marcellus watches people walk right by him every day.

StreetChange is an app that allows people to make targeted donations to homeless individuals — whether it be food, clothing, toothbrushes, or even haircut vouchers.

Besides supplying necessities, StreetChange empowers people who are homeless because it lets them drive the conversation about what they need and their future.

Programs such as StreetChange offer the first step toward change by not only addressing immediate needs, but also by giving access to support and services.

Technology, like apps, can be a very powerful vehicle for good.

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?

92-year-old Norma had a strange and heartbreaking routine.

Confusion is common in Alzheimer's patients, but Makesh knew there had to be some way to minimize these conflicts.

Instead of rooms or units, each resident gets a "home" on a quiet little indoor street reminiscent of the neighborhoods many of them grew up in.

Instead of a boring panel ceiling, residents look up and see a digital sky, which grows dimmer late in the day to help keep their biological clocks in tune.

Throughout the day, nature sounds and fresh aromas like peppermint or citrus are piped in.

For Makesh, this isn't just about making patients comfortable, though. He wants to change how we think about the endgame of severe dementia.

Of course, we're a long way from a cure for Alzheimer's.

The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion — but isn't that part of the problem?

Trameka Brown-Berry was looking over her 4th-grade son Jerome's homework when her jaw hit the floor.

The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion — but isn't that part of the problem?

The assignment was real. In the year 2018. Unbelievable.

The shockingly offensive assignment deserved to be thrown in the trash. But young Jerome dutifully filled it out anyway.

"You, white friend, need to speak up and say something when I can't."

1. You're going to have to get uncomfortable.

2. "Your black friend would like to say something to the racist lady, but doesn't want to appear to be that 'angry black man.'"

3. We are constantly monitoring our surroundings and adjusting our clothes, hair, speed, and speech to maintain white comfort.

4. "Your black friend wishes you'd play more than Beyoncé. There are more black performers than Beyoncé."

5. Speaking of which, performative blackness is really uncomfortable.

6. "Your black friend feels like a man without a country."

7. We would love it if we could stop talking about our anxiety and frustrations regarding racism. But right now, that's impossible.

The billionaire passed away on November 28 at the age of 99.

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.