Picture yourself walking through your neighborhood. You pass a woman on the street, sitting beside a cardboard sign asking for spare change.
She is a stranger experiencing homelessness, and you don’t have any cash on you. It would be easier to walk by without making any conversation.
Now, imagine a dialogue box popping up above her head, giving you insight into their life, background, and biggest needs.
With the Samaritan app, that scenario is a real-world possibility.
Suddenly, that woman isn’t a stranger anymore. That’s your homeless neighbor named Victoria — a resilient woman who was born and raised in Seattle, survived assault, and has lived on the street for 20 years.
Today, her immediate needs are: groceries, a cellphone, housing, and a simple haircut.
And with the click of a button, you could help her get her hair done for the first time in 20 years by sending her a small cashless transaction towards her goal.
“When we learn people’s stories, it’s alot harder to walk by them,” app creator Jonathan Kumar told Stand Together. “It’s a lot harder to ignore the small things you can do to help.”
“Just providing direct resources to folks is more effective sometimes, than investing in big government programs.”
Although Victoria’s story illustrates the effectiveness of the app, she is just one of many people who have been helped by Samaritan since Kumar first developed it in 2016.
In the near decade since its launch, Samaritan has expanded to ten major cities across the country, including Seattle, Oakland, and Louisville.
Where the app is active, people can donate directly to neighbors experiencing homelessness in their community, who are listed as “Samaritan Members.”
Each member is given a beacon — a small, low-energy Bluetooth device distributed by nonprofit shelters — that emits their location.
“By having the app on your phone and simply walking by, biking by, or driving by a beacon holder, you’ll receive a simple notification that shows you a bit of their story,” Kumar explained in a FAQ post.
Then, Kumar said, members can view their balance and charge it for a good or service through a partnered merchant or local nonprofit.
If the Samaritan app is not yet active in your city, you can still donate to the Action Fund.
100% of donations go to meeting the emergency funds and “strategic needs” of members as they take steps to get off the streets, including bus fare, cellphone plans, tools, new attire for prospective job interviews, and more.
Kumar hopes that the personalized approach of Samaritan will challenge the way people view homelessness — no matter where they are.
“The words of encouragement, the needs that get met by…people in your community can mean the world for someone and empower them to persevere,” Kumar said.
Header image via Samaritan App
