Company
Date Published
Author
Twilio
Word count
820
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

The Homeless Resource Hotline is a non-profit initiative that uses Twilio's communication platform to provide a toll-free number for homeless individuals to access information about available resources, including food and shelter. The hotline was built by Mahmood and his fiancée over the course of two days using Twilio, Google App Engine, and Google Calendar APIs. With $500 in Twilio credit, the organization plans to expand the service to other cities, including New York City and San Francisco, and encourage homeless organizations to maintain their own online calendars. The hotline aims to address a common challenge faced by organizers, volunteers, and the new homeless alike: finding up-to-date information about available resources.