About Homeless Hotspots

HELP BRING STREET NEWSPAPERS INTO THE DIGITAL AGE

Homeless Hotspots was a charitable innovation initiative by BBH New York in partnership with Front Steps Shelter during the SXSW Interactive festival in March of 2012. It attempted to help modernize the Street Newspaper model employed to support homeless populations for our more digital age. Selling street newspapers can be a critically important tool for homeless individuals due to the ability to facilitate social interaction and provide entrepreneurial revenue.

Although the program is now over, BBH is now working with potential, established street newspaper partners to ensure the learnings and insights from the program are applied and built upon. We hope to help protect and strengthen the future of street newspapers as the shift toward digital media continues. (You can keep up with program updates at bbh-labs.com).

Donations via the Homeless Hotspots program have concluded, but we strongly encourage you to donate to Front Steps, whose work for Austin's homeless is exceptionally important. You can find them (and all 13 participants listed below) at frontsteps.org.

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Participants

Clarence is from New Orleans, LA. He prefers the term “houseless” to “homeless.” He originally lost his house in Katrina and has had financial trouble since. He considers himself a good guy and tries to be a good friend to people.
Jason is from Houston, TX. He’s been homeless for four months after being released from prison (for a non-violent crime). He’s actively looking for a job and wants people to know he’s just a normal guy trying to get out of a bad situation.
Dusty is from Corpus Christi, TX. Dusty is extremely outgoing and considers himself a people person. He’s urgently looking for employment as he no longer collects unemployment benefits.
Jeff is from Pittsburgh, PA. He’s passionate about snow skiing and swimming. He’s been homeless since his treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury ceased. He wants people to understand that homelessness is sometimes out of a person’s control and that he just needs a chance.
Rudolph is a local from Austin. He’s been homeless for about a year. He’s always trying to surround himself with the right people with a positive attitude. He hopes others understand that homelessness is due to circumstances, not necessarily the individuals.
William is a local from Austin. He’s been homeless for about four months, a choice he made because he considered his previous living situation a worse alternative. He’s inspired by art, his faith and his children, all of which he looks to for support.
William is from New York City. He’s been homeless on and off since 2008 due to drug and alcohol addiction. He’s now four months sober and quickly trying to get out of his current environment because he knows it’s not good for someone with his history.
Melvin is from Dayton, OH. He has a passion for music and remains very upbeat about his situation. He’s actively looking for housing and is trying to help people understand that homelessness is not a choice.
Stacia is a local from Austin. She’s been homeless for almost a decade, dating back to an abusive marriage. She’s trying to get her life in order and just wants people to know that her homelessness doesn’t make her a bad person.
Jonathan is from Toledo, OH. He’s been homeless two years, although he’s currently found part-time employment. Jonathan just completed 18 months of sobriety and is now trying to help others get clean.
Gilbert is from Carrizo Springs, TX. He’s been homeless since his home burned down six months ago. He’s an aspiring film maker that wants people to understand that being homeless doesn’t necessarily mean that he suffers from addiction.
Tom is a local from Austin. He has been homeless about three years and finds employment opportunities difficult to come by due to a previous (non-violent) conviction. Tom is passionate about art.
Mark is from Houston, TX. After losing his job, he became homeless. Mark is an avid chess player. He considers homelessness a temporary situation related to bad choices he made in his life, but doesn’t let it define him.