
Helping Handset - zen35
http://www.withgivesafe.org/
======
hackuser
Here is the idea; while I see some benefit, it also seems problematic:

* Old way: I give cash to homeless person

* New way: I see homeless person, use an app to make an electronic payment to GiveSafe, and GiveSafe distributes something (what exactly?) to a local institution which gives something (what?) to (the? a? this? all? any?) homeless person.

...

My concerns:

It adds friction; cash is much more efficient and easier, with less overhead.
It's a brilliant technological feat: Full faith financial trust in a piece of
paper.

More importantly, it takes away yet more autonomy and liberty from the
homeless person, who already is very vulnerable to the state and other
institutions. Under this program, even to get the little bit of cash I want to
give them, they are in the power of an institution: They have to register,
carry this electronic device, collect the money from the institution, only
spend it in certain places, etc. Should they displease the institution, they
are screwed. Should there be any corruption in the institution (don't imagine
those institutions are different than others), they are screwed. And they have
very little power to protect themselves: They have no access to courts, they
have no political pressure to bring to bear, no pocketbook/consumer power, and
because they are homeless, nobody will take them seriously anyway.[0]

They already are powerless; I don't know if I want to make it worse.

[0] [https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/i-wasnt-crazy-a-
homeles...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/i-wasnt-crazy-a-homeless-
womans-long-war-to-prove-the-feds-owe-
her-100000/2016/08/22/3913e4c2-6541-11e6-8b27-bb8ba39497a2_story.html)

