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Comment by Axsuul | Hacker News Reader

I'm really glad to see this issue on the front page. I live in downtown LA and I'm on the front lines of this epidemic. It does seem like the situation is getting worse. I wonder if technology can somehow play a role here. I would gladly fund some of the "regulars" around here via some type of Watsi-esque solution.

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Palantir's philanthropy engineering team works with an organization called Community Solutions to help shelter the homeless.[0][1] (Full disclosure, I interned on this team last year.)

[0] http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2015/01/da...

[1] https://www.palantir.com/2015/01/housing-homeless-veterans-w...

I wonder if technology can somehow play a role here. I would gladly fund some of the "regulars" around here via some type of Watsi-esque solution.

That's what HandUp (https://handup.org/) is doing.

I think it can. I think if we are absolutely fine with sponsoring animals and finding them new homes etc .. why not apply a similar model for homeless people? An organisation can tailor a plan best fit to each individual and crowd funding can help get them on their feet .. states sponsorships/grants etc can surely be utilised here also for training schemes etc. So now it's not just about giving someone a roof over their head but a life back. Well, this is off the top of my head, could use some input obvs but allow the talking. Let's get started :)

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