For most of us, losing a photo ID is little more than a wasted afternoon at the local Department of Motor Vehicles. But for the 2.5 to 3.5 million Americans who experience homelessness every year, valid identification can be the difference between life and death. Applicants must prove their identities in order to access federal programs like Social Security and Medicaid, and to legally work, open a bank account, or sign a lease. Lack of identification can even prevent people from entering temporary shelters. This issue disproportionately affects homeless people, who are among the most likely to be without vital documents.
In Atlanta, where 10,000 people experience homelessness on any given night, tech designer India Hayes, communications pro Amber McCain, and filmmaker Anita Jones are trying to solve some of these problems by helping them replace lost or stolen documents so they can obtain government identification.
The trio’s social enterprise, Mini City, launched in 2017 with a year-long pilot at the Salvation Army of Metro Atlanta—where they helped hundreds of people through the process of obtaining vital records. “Vital records are not typically top of mind for people when serving the homeless population,” Jones says. “We’re looking to fill that gap and allow people to take the next step out of transitional housing or off the street.”
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
