Creating Income for the Homeless

I don’t know if this is true but I read somewhere that if you were to add up the “wages” that the homeless make per hour panhandling and doing whatever else they do to get money, the total would add up to about $0.58 per hour. Being a former member of the homeless community who never panhandled I wondered what could be done to up that amount a bit.

I’ve been thinking long and hard about this, ever since I got it into my head that there must be a way to help the homeless that goes beyond dropping a quarter in their palm every so often. Finally, after much soul searching, I realized that by looking at my own life and how I make additional income. Why not show the homeless how they can earn money online?

It’s not such a crazy idea. Since the advent of the internet in Public Libraries in major cities across the country, the homeless have access to the web more than ever. And if they can access the internet, they can make money on the internet. I’m proof of that, and chances are if you freelance on the web like I do, you are proof as well.

I mean look at it this way. Making money online these days is as simple as writing a

story about your life and believe me, there are millions upon billions of stories being lived by the homeless every single day. What about an online newsletter aimed at the homeless? With a few well placed affiliate links a body could make a semi decent income.

Or even a more than decent one. I don’t have the numbers to back this up, but I’m willing to believe that the number of self made internet millionaires that have been homeless would be over 25%. Possibly well over that amount. I already know of a couple of marketers who have spent time on the streets. They may not be millionaires but they do okay.

The next question is: How can the homeless start earning money? What is the first thing they need to do? In my opinion, the very first thing is probably the hardest and that is: lose the homeless mentality, at least a little bit of it. That would mean learning a certain dissatisfaction with what they consider their lot in life. They must accept the fact that they are just as deserving of the good life as anybody else, even when it seems that everybody else doesn’t feel that way.

Next, they must have a mailing address. Most of the writing sites offer payment in check form and via paypal. Either way, a mailing address is necessary to get the money they earn. I believe that every major city has agencies that can hold mail for the homeless person so that shouldn’t be much of a problem.

After that, writing shouldn’t be much of a problem. All they’d have to do is sign up for sites like AC and Triond and others and with practice and persistence, they should be earning a second or maybe even a primary income in no time.

That’s what I’d offer the homeless instead of a quarter… a way to earn more while getting a sense of accomplishment.