Hotless Homespots

American advertising giant Bartle Bogle Hegarty have launched a 'charitable experiment' equipping 13 homeless people with 4G wi-fi, for which people will pay around £1.30 for 15 minutes access. Initially this doesn't sound that terrible, it's enabling homeless people to tap into modern methods of making money, right? Well, no, they are being made comparable to wireless routers, a lump of plastic used only for our convenience. I seriously doubt any self defined 'charitable experiment' by any advertising giant, particularly this one which is dehumanising homeless people as a piece of furniture. As if it isn't bad enough having no home and seeing twelve year olds enter Hollister shops with their casual i-Pads and Nike high tops, now you are no doubt destined to shuffle behind some pretentious 'intellect' whilst they laze in a park with their Mac drinking martinis.

Oh, Clarence.

John Bird, co-founder of the Big Issue has compared it to what the Victorians used to do, make homeless hold billboards, advertising- no less. The main priority regarding homeless people should be getting them a home and helping them get a stable life- surely the money used by BBH in this 'charitable experiment' would be better placed donated to a charity such as Shelter. 

Strangely, in his Guardian article, John Bird wrote:

'Coincidently we are working on a project that utilises the skills learned on the street. That is the skills the homeless have to develop in order to survive. They keep their eyes and ears open, and at times have local information that we could all use. Whether that is shops, cafes, libraries or hospitals that the stranger might need in an unknown high street.

We should not see the homeless as simply immovable pieces of the background, open to exploitation. Rather we should see them as guardians, guides and informers who understand the local area in a completely different way.'

  

We shouldn't 'use' homeless people until they are settled with a home and a legitimate job, and then they can be exploited like the rest of us- but we shouldn't take advantage of the knowledge they know of the streets, knowledge built by trailing dodgy corners looking for somewhere dry to sleep, or a busy ATM from which to ask for money. Our main priority should be rehabilitation, not 'making use' of homeless people by titling them 'hotspots' or viewing their knowledge of the streets as some sort of tourism attribute. 

I'm Clarence. A Person!

Also, what about their safety? If a homeless person is easily located through their wi-fi location, they could be a target of crime. Although I have criticised John Bird, he's not really bad and his final passage in his Guardian article is quite suited to finishing this blog:

'The homeless have more to contribute than simply being a part of the gadgetry. Many have been to the edge of the abyss, and looked over. They may need our encouragement and support, but more than anything they need our respect.'