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"According to National Alliance to End Homelessness report The State of Homelessness in America 2012, the estimated number of homeless people in the United States was 636,017 at the end last year. That's a 1% decrease between 2009 and 2011, but there's still cause for concern \u2014 economic and demographic indicators show that homelessness might escalate over the next few years.\nThe 100,000 Homes Campaign is trying to change that with its new mobile-friendly app, Homeless Connector. The campaign, which is a national movement to find permanent homes for 100,000 chronically homeless individuals and families by July 2014, created the app to empower people around the country to help end homelessness.\n\nSEE ALSO: How Smartphones Throw the Homeless a Lifeline\nAs the lead non-profit activation partner for the housing pillar of Got Your 6, a national veteran non-profit, the 100,000 Homes Campaign also worked with Brand Knew, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based digital media firm and tech incubator, to develop the app.\nHomeless Connector is a web-based smartphone version of 100,000 Homes\u2019 \"Vulnerability Index,\" a survey that records data regarding the age, health, institutional history (i.e., military, hospital, jail, prison), and length of homelessness of homeless Americans. \nThe survey, based on medical research by Dr. Jim O\u2019Connell of Harvard University and Dr. Stephen Hwang of the University of Toronto, identifies individuals with any of eight health conditions associated with increased risk of death on the streets. These include HIV/AIDS, kidney disease, liver disease and even just being over the age of 60.\n\n\n\u201CEveryone has their own story about a homeless neighbor in their community, and this app finally gives people a concrete way to do something about it,\u201D said 100,000 Homes Campaign Director Becky Kanis in a statement. \u201CToo often, we walk by folks on the street and assume there\u2019s no solution, but the truth is that local professionals know what to do. Homeless Connector is about making sure those professionals know everyone on their streets by name, and it enlists community members in helping them achieve that goal.\u201D\nSince the 100,000 Homes Campaign launched in July 2010, more than 5,000 volunteers have administered the Vulnerability Index on paper, and more than 22,000 people have been housed by participating communities.\nThe campaign hopes that the Homeless Connector app, which is compatible with iOS and Android devices, will expand its reach and allow any American with a smartphone to survey homeless people in his or her neighborhood and send the information to local housing organizations.\nThumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, shapeshift.\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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