My name is Elizabeth Kurtz, aka "Lit." I lost my housing in 2013 during a mass teacher layoff the year before.

I lived in my car, slept at friends houses, and even found a place where I wasn't supposed to be in order to survive and stay out of the elements.

One thing that I have learned during this journey is that in order to end homelessness in the 21st Century, we need to apply 21st Century tools to solve it.

Without a doubt a cell phone is one of the most critical needs for a person who is experiencing homelessness. It is even more imperative now as people need to connect with the resources necessary to receive their Stimulus Check and other resources.

These are the people who need the funding the most as this funding may make the difference in whether to not they find permanent housing or gain some traction in their lives.

In addition, as homelessness represents a large swath of the working poor, many will qualify for unemployment.

Personally, I worked as an independent contractor selling a street paper. Many vendors in my organization did as well, but they do not have the resources to apply for unemployment due to lack of computer access.

With libraries being closed, It is critical that each of these housing -insecure vendors have cell phones to not miss out on all the services to which they are entitled.

This is as dire as it gets and it would be a travesty to let these people miss out on any of the funding they are due because of not having a fully equipped smart phone.

The goal is to get all the street vendors in my organization a smart phone with unlimited talk, text and data.

My honest desire is that every individual experiencing homelessness has a cell phone, but since I am a representative for my vendor association, my outreach is only so far.

The expense for one phone and a year's service is $850.00

If you are able to to purchase fully equipped phones with one year of service, please contact me.

Thanks for all you love and support,

Lit

P.S. It's the 21st Century Calling ... please answer!

21st CENTURY CALLING!

By Lit Kurtz

21st CENTURY CALLING!