"Homeless In San Francisco: There's an App for That?"

http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2014/03/26/homeless-app-sf

Recently, a start-up called Zendesk partnered up with St. Anthony Foundation (my practice experience site) to create an app that helps homeless people find services such as food, shelter, or medical needs.  St. Anthony Foundation has the only free technology center that is used by many of the homeless in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco.  By providing these services, they hope to bridge the digital divide through free computer classes, one-on-one tutoring, and life skills courses to help the underserved with employment searches.  It is found that 40% of those who use the Tenderloin Technology Lab have mobile phones.  This new app, Link-SF, hopes to link homeless to available shelter, a place to bath, and/or use the computer.  With modern technology becoming more of a necessity rather than a luxury, the employment and income gap becomes more difficult to close.  

Although Link-SF a helpful tool for low-income communities, there are many critics who are skeptical of tech companies due to displacing low-income people in their communities (i.e., Google and Twitter). Link-SF was only created because Zendesk signed a community benefits agreement when it located to the Tenderloin district.  Does Zendesk have an obligation to serve these communities? Will a partnership with a tech company be helpful for the homeless in the Tenderloin? I don’t believe Zendesk makes up for the other tech companies coming in a displacing people. However, I can see the potential of the community benefits agreement and partnerships that could rise from this new app. It is possible to create even more tech services, and maybe even bring homelessness into a new perspective. But, it is important to keep in mind that different companies/organizations will have very different—and sometimes, conflicting—bottom lines.