Hey Local Guides,
It’s hard to pinpoint an exact number, but local leaders estimate there are 5,000 homeless teenagers who live on the streets here in Los Angeles. It’s a disturbing reality and sadly, this is true for an estimated 100 million youth who live on the street around the world.
What can we do to help as Local Guides? I recently attended a city meeting called Community Dialogues on Homelessness that discussed ways to help homeless youth. I had the opportunity to meet people who had experienced homelessness themselves as teens, as well as hear from directors at non-profit organizations that help them. One of these agencies is called Safe Place for Youth in Venice, which works tirelessly to get these teens the resources they need. During her remarks, the Director of Innovation Nicole Wainwright said, “We’re rubbing two pennies together to make magic happen.”
How can we use Google Maps to amplify the efforts of everyday heroes like Nicole? How can we help these pennies go further? During the meeting I took notes of different homeless shelters that they recommend to their clients and I added them to a Google Maps list called Youth Resources in Los Angeles.
This “Youth Resources in Los Angeles” list on Google Maps now highlights 24 locations across Los Angeles that help youth experiencing homelessness. Everything is streamlined on a single list with contact information. In the “List Description”, I decided to list two free, confidential 24-hour hotline numbers, which I found from a simple Google search. In the open field for each location, I also added a brief description of the organization’s mission, as well as their phone number or email address. Everything is about making the information easier to find and reduce the number of steps it takes to get help.
It was very easy to create. If there are people experiencing homelessness in your community, I highly recommend partnering with a local non-profit organization to better understand what you can do to help. Making a Google Maps list is an easy, free and impactful way to better organize resources.
You can view all of my Google Maps lists here that highlight resources for the hungry and homeless in Los Angeles, California. My only challenge was that you can’t add more than 280 places to a map, which I discovered when I was making “LA Restaurants with EBT Eligibility.” I could only add 15% of all the restaurants that accept food stamps.
- LA Restaurants with EBT Eligibility
- Youth Resources in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Winter Shelter Program
- Food Banks in Los Angeles
Have you created anything like this in your community? If so, what kind of feedback are you getting on your Google Maps lists? I’d love to learn more from you, so I can make my lists better!
I dropped off some muffins this morning for a few homeless gents in the parking lot at our local library and they were just happy to chat for a while.