Ideas for using bitcoin to help homeless people \ stacker news ~bitcoin

Ideas for using bitcoin to help homeless people

4257 sats \ 16 comments \ @satoshiplanet 13 Dec 2023 bitcoin

Hi stackers, many people in my city (I suspect it's the same in yours) are unfortunately homeless. All this, largely due to banksters, fiat garbage and real estate speculators over the last few years.

For a moment I thought that maybe printing QR codes with a certain balance programmed to be spent when scanned, they could use them as banknotes, but the problem is obvious, when spending the whole amount, the product should have exactly the same price (sats) which is ridiculously unlikely, plus, local businesses are not timechain friendly yet.

So I kept thinking about it... in my attempts to help, the only method I see that works and that I am implementing is to redeem gift cards so they can use it in some places, to at least cover their most basic needs.

With gift cards from supermarkets, clothing stores, computer stores... they have no problem and can redeem.

On the other hand, accessing other services becomes more complicated, regarding accommodation in hotels and houses for rent, the problem is that it is essential to show your passport and many people do not have legal documents.

Thanks for reading, ideas and suggestions are welcome!

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791 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 13 Dec 2023

I love this line of thinking and I certainly hope you get some neat ideas. My feeling is that lack of merchant adoption is a severely limiting factor, except in very particular circumstances.

731 sats \ 0 replies \ @02dc6a50c1 13 Dec 2023

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411 sats \ 0 replies \ @DesertDave 13 Dec 2023

I appreciate your thoughts on this. I believe it's very important to help others that may need a hand. I am not sure how to tie it in with bitcoin. But just making any attempt to connect with, or give to someone in need always seems helpful. Keep up the good work

347 sats \ 0 replies \ @Jackriddles 13 Dec 2023

I've used https://lightsats.com/ as a way to give out free bitcoin giftcards. I made them into gospel tracts that I handed out. They also need a means to easily redeem those coins for something so something like https://www.bitrefill.com or https://thebitcoincompany.com/ can get them real gift cards while introducing them to bitcoin at the same time. There needs to be a lot more investment into this area, as homelessness has escalated with the move to digital fiat rather than cash on hand. With bitcoin, you can simply scan and go almost as quickly as you could hand out cash. Having a homeless fund kiosk of sorts in a central area where people can anonymously send sats to a qr address scanable from the side of the road, that ultimately delegates sats to individuals who come to the kioski to redeem sats is what I've thought of in my city.

328 sats \ 0 replies \ @BlokchainB 13 Dec 2023

Yeah every time I see people asking for money on the side of the road I think this person can’t use bitcoin right now but a few dollars in cash easy to give.

I do think bitcoin might need a physical form factor maybe the bitcoin banks that Hal suggested can print physical notes that are redeemable for bitcoin!

214 sats \ 4 replies \ @Zepasta 13 Dec 2023

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30 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 13 Dec 2023

From my conversations with people that work with the homeless as well as formerly homeless people it is not only cost of living, housing, but also addiction, mental health, and loss of community/family.

It complicated basically but it is a major sign of not only economic decline but also moral decline. There is no question that some of the cities with the most restrictive zoning have incredibly high cost of living and homelessness rates. Not only this but the incentives for the city governments is NOT to solve this problem but to virtue signal and spend money.

One person that works with the homeless says the single biggest factor is loss of community. It is a total breakdown.

152 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker 13 Dec 2023

It's a bit of both. Homeless research identifies two types of homeless: those who are temporarily homeless due to economic or relationship problems, and those who are chronically homeless, usually due to drug abuse or mental illness.

The temporary homeless are the majority of individuals who ever experience homelessness. But the chronic homeless make up the majority of people-days spent in homelessness.

The solutions to help each group need to be different. We can't treat homelessness with a broad brush

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DiracDelta 13 Dec 2023

...all of those things are also downstream from fiat 🤡

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @satoshiplanet OP 13 Dec 2023

In my opinion it depends where you live, in my country it is more likely to be homeless because you are out of work than because you are a drug addict.

Moreover, as a drug addict you can sleep in a shelter to sleep in, which is great, but the unemployed can't, because capitalism is supposed to be wonderful and if you want to work you will, but unfortunately it's not like that

30 sats \ 1 reply \ @hynek 13 Dec 2023

I believe that Lotes could serve your use case... #307757

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @satoshiplanet OP 13 Dec 2023

Wow! Thanks for sharing 👌

30 sats \ 0 replies \ @9ener1c 13 Dec 2023

eCash seems like a natural fit here. Imagine a federation of homeless charity services that all accepted the same tokens, and were the only place the tokens could be accepted.

30 sats \ 1 reply \ @elysia 13 Dec 2023

Try to partner with local businesses for this project. It's crucial to establish a mutually beneficial relationship. Begin by identifying businesses that align with the project's goals and values. Approach them with a clear proposal outlining the project's objectives and how it can benefit their business. Emphasize how accepting gift cards can attract new customers, enhance their social responsibility image, and contribute to the well-being of the community. Offer incentives such as exclusive promotional opportunities or recognition on your organization's website and social media platforms. Foster open communication and be flexible in negotiating terms to ensure a successful partnership that supports the homeless population while providing value to local businesses.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @satoshiplanet OP 22 Dec 2023

Working on this, thanks for the suggestion ⚡

30 sats \ 0 replies \ @OT 13 Dec 2023

I see a lot of homeless people have old smart phones. I think custodial lightning is probably the best we have at the moment. My suggestion is coinos.io as its a web wallet & no KYC.