“Is Fletcher Free Library becoming Burlington’s most popular homeless hangout? At least one librarian has observed that more and more itinerant people are using it as a de facto day station — a warm, safe place to pass the time.”
Category: library-and-info-science
Homeless at the library get their own program
“An early goal is to see at least 10 percent of the homeless participants find jobs in the first six months.”
A Philadelphia Homeless Man's Path to Entrepreneurship
”[Mr.] Mercado’s circuitous path to Philadelphia and business ownership isn’t a tale of entrepreneurship’s power to overcome homelessness, as tempting as that might be. Rather, it’s a testament to Mercado’s fortitude and Philadelphia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, which he took advantage of at every opportunity to lift himself up the ladder of redemption.”
The Free Library of Philadelphia’s Business Science and Industry Department is part of this crucial entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Salt Lake Library aims to help homeless patrons
“Our mission is about connecting people to all sorts of information resources, many times in non-traditional ways.”
Libraries + Technology =Helping the Poor
“Most (people) think that homeless people are all criminals, on drugs, alcoholics. They think we don’t try to get out of homelessness and that we aren’t successful at anything. Some (homeless people) have college degrees and because of the economy got laid off.”—AnnMarie Walsh
“When Walsh found herself homeless, she used the computers in Chicago’s public libraries to not only look for ways of getting out of her situation but also to share thoughts and worries about her day-to-day struggle, such as finding [a] hostel bed for the night. As her following grew, she began to receive tips on shelters or even gifts of warm clothes and blankets.”
Walsh will speak at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library on Jan. 29,2012.
Community Building at Burlington Public Library
Burlington Public Library builds community by hosting Help Me, Help Someone, a support and networking group for people facing difficulties.
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Libraries add laptops to serve poor areas
“Six Milwaukee public libraries have brought in 240 laptop computers to improve Internet access in poor neighborhoods.”
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Empty summer in the city for kids hit by cutbacks
This is not the year of child.
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Homeless connecting with family, friends through social networking
“Case workers at The Road Home say many homeless people do have cell phones, but rules require they have to go to public libraries and other places to connect online for social networking.”
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Libraries dealing with homeless try new approaches; San Francisco hires a social worker
San Francisco Public Library is the first. Read more here.