This holiday season, 3,000 homeless New York men and women will receive a smartphone that comes equipped with the app 'Fummi,' in an attempt to help them control and maintain a digital identity.
The app uses blockchain technology to help users access financial services, group homes, shelters or food -- vital information as the temperatures continue to plummet. This streamlined app helps homeless people pay for food at specific kitchens, and records the money they spend and where they spend their time. In order to make this initiate possible, the startup, Blockchain for Change, partnered with Life Wireless, a group that makes affordable phones for low income communities.
Through this app, homeless men and women would have streamlined access to the services they are entitled to, and at discounted rates.
Streamlined Homeless Population Apps
Fummi Offers NYC's Homeless Population a Digital Identity
Trend Themes
1. Homeless Assistance Technology - Technology-based solutions that provide streamlined help to homeless populations through apps such as Fummi.
2. Blockchain for Social Good - The application of blockchain technology to social issues such as homelessness, facilitating access to essential services.
3. Digital Identity Solutions - The use of technology to enable vulnerable communities to create and maintain a digital identity, empowering them with access to services and financial inclusion.
Industry Implications
1. Mobile Technology - Mobile technology is a key industry enabling applications such as Fummi to reach homeless populations, improving their access to services.
2. Blockchain - Blockchain technology is a significant disruptor in the financial services industry, and its application to the homeless population's needs represents a new frontier for innovation and social change.
3. Social Services - Social services industries are becoming increasingly reliant on technology-based solutions for providing marginalized communities with tailored support, such as Fummi's digital identity solution for homeless populations.