Some homeless turn to apps to find asylum or sell second-hand objects
Among the typical urban noise of a metropolis, many homeless in New York found a new ally in technology to address the precarious situation of their lives through applications like Facebook, Tinder, Wallapop and Linkedin.
In a city where more than 60,000 people have access to a residence and whose average rental price exceeds US $ 3000 per month, some homeless the "Big
Apple "resort to such applications, with the help of contacts the network provides, finding asylum for a few nights or sell second-hand objects.
An example of this scenario is Thomas, 35 and who is in town for seven. There are now six months as homeless, but after losing trader job in 2015, he saw in applications such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Tinder "a successful formula to go shooting" while seeking some kind of social assistance or a new job.
"In Linkedin found former colleagues, to whom I explained my situation and got some recommendations to send along with my job applications," said Thomas near the bank where now lodges in Battery Park and begs most mornings.
Thomas, whose real name he declined to reveal, keeps LinkedIn profile updated with pictures of the time he worked and always leaves a set of folded clothes in the house known for should a new job interview.
Facebook is also constantly used, with over 300 friends in the profile, which has asked for accommodation for a few nights, "especially in winter," he said.
On the other hand, places to spend a night are achieved "quite easily," said Thomas, who says that the Tinder dating application already saved many times to spend the night on the street.
"When I talk to a girl, never say I have nowhere to live," she admits.
The case of Thomas is like that of a friend, Sean, 41, who spends his evenings in the center of Manhattan: "What helped me most since I lost my rent was Wallapop and Facebook," he confesses.
Sean says that thanks to the purchase application and sale of second-hand (Wallapop) managed to dispose of various furniture he had in his apartment on the Upper West Side, with which he could buy food and rent a room by the Airbnb platform off nights.
Thomas and Sean met at a meeting organized by the Coalition for Homeless People in New York, which in April estimated at 60,060 the number of people living on the streets, twice 10 years ago.
In addition to their stories, both claim that many others use the internet in search of the best formula to survive the streets of New York.
Another alternative to find a place to sleep, according to Sean, is the platform of travel experiences Couchsurfing, which offers users the possibility of being invited to sleep on a couch or a bed, most of times, for nothing.
Fortunately for them, most of the New York streets is a free internet tool access. Between 2014 and 2015, the Bill of city hall Blasio replaced many of the old telephone booths in town for points of free access via Wi-Fi.
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