Maybe, but one of the first things I look for in a prospective candidate is open source contributions. That is what I consider an ideal reverse job application. You're benefitting the community and I get to see your code.
Perhaps, not being in the situation, I'm being naive, but if you can't find a programming job, you should be putting your code out there for people to see. Contributing to OSS will give you valuable experience (to yourself and potential employers).