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The New Social Worker is the quarterly magazine for social work students and recent graduates, focusing on social work careers for those new to the profession. This blog is a companion to the free online magazine at http://www.socialworker.com.

Friday, May 29, 2009

How the Homeless Stay Connected Online

Interesting article over at the Wall Street Journal today:

On the Street and On Facebook: The Homeless Stay Wired

From the article:

Like most San Franciscans, Charles Pitts is wired. Mr. Pitts, who is 37 years old, has accounts on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. He runs an Internet forum on Yahoo, reads news online and keeps in touch with friends via email. The tough part is managing this digital lifestyle from his residence under a highway bridge.

"You don't need a TV. You don't need a radio. You don't even need a newspaper," says Mr. Pitts, an aspiring poet in a purple cap and yellow fleece jacket, who says he has been homeless for two years. "But you need the Internet."

4 comments:

  1. That's a great article, Karen! Thanks for sharing it.

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  2. Excellent stuff. The ability to connect with others is so paramount that this could go a long way to alleviating some of the suffering of being homeless.

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  3. It's sort of wild to think about how even the homeless need a virtual place to go to. It's one place that can't be taken away although sometimes challenging to access.

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  4. Couldn't agree with you more! I am also a social worker, however, have been feeling so uninspired lately. The article truly gave me a reason to believe again! Good job Karen.

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