By Kyle Kelly-Yahner 2014-08-11 Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Fighting Urban Poverty One Text at a Time: HandUp Empowers Homeless Zac Witte and Rose Broome Rose Broome was walking home on a cold night in San Francisco when she saw a homeless woman sleeping on the sidewalk. She felt compelled to help her, but also wanted to find a way to directly help the homeless in a lasting way. Donating directly to a person in need isn’t always easy and donating through third party services can leave you asking “where did my money actually go?” HandUp aims to create a connection between users and donors, ensuring donations are put to good use. Users hand out cards with their name, picture, and number, allowing donors to text the Twilio-powered HandUp number to contribute towards helping homeless individuals get shelter, food, or medical procedures. HandUp is part of the Twilio.org program, committed to supporting nonprofit and social good organizations using communications technologies.