Across the globe, cultures address the problem of homelessness in different ways.
In Exeter, N.H., the homeless are able to sleep in churches. In Denver, there is talk of opening Coors Field to the homeless during the off-season. And in Paris, addresses are handed to them as if they didn't cost a dime.
The French homeless - les sans-abri, if you're over there - are getting e-mail addresses. A charity called Emmaus has set up an Internet center in a Paris shelter. Volunteers are coming in to teach the homeless how to create their own Web sites and e-mail accounts on nine new computers donated by Microsoft. The idea is to help them get their personal documents online for storage purposes, as many of the homeless have had their items stolen from them while living on the streets.
Homeless people can't improve their situation without work. They can't get most legal jobs without identifying documents or, increasingly, computer skills. This solution offers both at a minimal cost. The United States took issue with France over some silly conflict in some Middle Eastern country, but perhaps we can take a cue from them on this.
The information sources available to these people are the biggest benefit. The Internet is the cheapest source of information since the library card (which you can't get, by the way, without a permanent address). They'll be able to read, if they'd like, any newspaper in the world. They'll be able to follow sports teams. They'll be able to follow the politics that affect them.
Some critics have said this does nothing to address the issue of homelessness; that the real problem is a lack of affordable housing for these people. True, giving homeless people an e-mail address does nothing to change the fact that they are without a place to live. And the bulk of Internet services - driving directions, Moviefone or the latest online sale on digital cameras - probably won't do much for them.
But it can't possibly hurt. For a company like Microsoft, shipping nine computers seems equivalent to tossing a homeless person a ketchup packet when he asks for change - it cost the mega software corporation virtually nothing. It may not solve the problem, but it does offer these people quite a bit of opportunity. People without a car or television will be able to see what's going on in the world beyond their ability to walk there. A person without a phone or money will be able to communicate with people for free.
Just opening that door to the online community - what Marshall McLuhan so idealistically called our "global village" - is a huge step toward encouraging the homeless to strive to become part of the general community. With a little training on the basics, that giant gap between wireless laptop techies and that guy who sings to himself on downtown median strips will shrink, if only a little.
Emily Lyons is a journalism senior. Reach her at emily.lyons@asu.edu.
