New App Helps People Aid the Homeless

The New York City Rescue Mission, which has aided the city’s poor since 1872, is adopting a high-tech tool in the fight against homelessness.

The charity has created a mobile application that New Yorkers can use to offer practical help to homeless people they encounter. The app uses a smartphone’s GPS function to provide information about nearby shelters, food programs, and other services to which a homeless person can be directed.

Because people aren’t sure how to help the homeless, they often look away or wear their headphones, and people on the street start to become invisible to them, says Craig Mayes, chief executive of the New York City Rescue Mission.

“We want to make them visible again,” he says. “One of the ways we do this is by empowering people to become advocates for the homeless, by connecting them with the resources that are available to them.”

So far, fewer than 500 people have downloaded the app. The rescue mission hopes to work with other homeless groups whose services are listed on the app to raise awareness about the tool.