127Tech

8-1-2026 Connecting ain't as easy as it looks

Phones, voicemail, email, tech support & more

A common and presistent story that I hear from people who spend a lot of time in the streets is that they are unable to maintain access to a consistent phone number and email address. Stemming from this, staying in contact with family, friends, social service agencies and most all parts of the modern, remote world is less easy. I've offered tech support in the wild which, although possible, is slow, unreliable and depends on navigating annoying support systems from a variety of cell phone and email hosting vendors. Ever try to get access to your gmail or facebook when you no longer have your old phone number or email? How about calling a cell phone company with only a person's name and phone number? Given limited info and other constraints of reality, restoring digital access ain't likely to happen.

In response to encountering this situation over and over, FairWestWork LLC started experimenting with how to improve access to consistent phone/email/voice mail/tech support and observed how improved telephony access impacts the recipient's ability to move off of the streets. To spoil the ending, it helped a good bit.

What does FairWestWork do differently than others to improve access?

• Small scope. Efforts are highly focused on the Fair West neighborhood; however, there has been overlap with adjacent neighborhoods.
• Physical presence. Walk the streets and actively try to meet people. I usually go with my dog, which helps a lot.
• Consistency. When I'm in town, I've made it my job to regularly walk the neighborhood. When I'm out of town, I can still stay in contact with my local Fair West network.
• Reputation I've spent the last few years meeting people and finding a place in the streets of Fair West. I also give out my phone number and contact info a lot.
• Real social networking My access to a network of local business owners, employees, property owners and neighbors has grown significantly over the years and generally assists in spreading and supporting FairWestWork efforts. I aim to keep relationships alive even if we don't work together and no services are exchanged.
• Reciprocity FairWestWork seeks share relevant local info, perform neighborhood work and needs others to participate. Access to a phone, email, etc may be offered in the spirit of supporting that effort.
• Realistic Mental health, self esteem, trauma, drugs, etc. I do my best to recognize and respect these influences and set expectations with limits that encourage personal accountability and growth.

Description of the telephony experiment started in May 2026 (1 participant)

Kevin and I have been working together doing work around the Fair West neighborhood since early 2026. Over the months, Kevin has changed phone numbers about once every month-and-a-half. Why? It's complicated, but the result is periods of being unable to communicate except in person which, again for multiple reasons, makes working together harder. To increase our ability to stay in contact, I decided to purchase an extra phone number with mint mobile, had a phone donated by a neighbor (thanks Dave K!) and offered Kevin a work phone from FairWestWork. FairWestWork owns the number, pays the monthly bill and keeps admin access so if the phone is lost/stolen then I have permission and access to contact mint, cancel the old sim, order a new one and assist Kevin with getting back online with the same number. In addition to having access to a stable phone number, I also created an email address for him @fairwestwork.com that hosts his email on a server that, again, I have admin access to so if his password needs to be reset, I can do that and he can regain access to his account.

This arrangement demands a lot of trust. As a lack of trust is deeply related to people staying in the streets, Kevin and I confront this regularly. I would say that FairWestWork offering to support his phone/email needs and Kevin's acceptance demonstrates our evolving trust. Built atop the telephony support that began in May, in July Kevin moved into an apartment in the Fair West neighborhood and continues (Aug 2026) to actively communicate and contribute time & energy to FairWestWork.

What does FWW actually offer from a telephone/tech standpoint?

• A paid for phone number
• Help finding a compatible phone
• Help restoring access to a new phone if a phone is stolen/lost
• Help understanding and accessing financial services like paypal, venmo, cash app, etc to enable remote payments and avoid services with excessive fees.
• General tech help (setup email app, check voicemail from personal or outside phone, etc)
• Email hosted at fairwestwork.com
• Ongoing conversation, support and increased community connections

What does FWW expect?

• Respectful communication with me and others
• Continuing to have interest and join work on neighborhood projects with FairWestWork. Like a work phone and I recognize that it'll also be used for personal use.
• If I don't see or hear from someone, I'm unlikely to continue paying for their phone service. We discuss this possibility at the start. This service is intended to support FairWestWork's effort to do neighborhood projects so if the recipient is no longer involved, then FairWestWork is unable to continue to pay the phone bill nor offer the email & tech support.

Is there an overall goal?

• Working with neighborhood vibes. Interpret as you will.
• Relative to people not in the streets, expand awareness that anger, frustration and despair are not the only options.
• Relative to people living in the streets, FairWestWork creates work opportunities (some paid, some not) to those who are willing to participate in neighborhood projects (trash/weed pickup, walk and talk, building community, etc).
• Getting off of the street is not my journey; many, including me, feel the suffering and despair. FairWestWork has developed improvizationally over the last 3 years by walking the streets of Fair West, talking with lots of people, collaborating on work and exploring our shared capabilities and interests. The goal is to empower those of us confused and frustrated with the situation as seen from both in and out of the streets.

Reflections from the experiment so far

• If someone has been without a phone for some time and is living in the streets/bouncing around shelters, a phone is unlikely to stay in their possession or working for long. In my experience, phone access lasts for roughly 1 month before it breaks or is stolen.
• With a bit of tech savvyness or help and proper account admin access, phone numbers can be transferred and replacement sims can be ordered to restore phone access with the same number. This ability was successfully tested in June of 2026. Total cost: ~$10 and 1 week of wait time for the new sim to arrive. A new phone also had to be procured, but I was only indirectly involved in that part.
• If you don't have a phone, it's still possible to access your voicemail if you anticipate not having access to your phone and know the remote check procedure and your voicemail pin. E.g. Call the number, wait for the message, interrupt with * and then type in your voicemail pin.
• Many sites and services (including email!) now use two factor authentication (email and/or phone or text/authentication app required). This makes life harder without a phone. Therefore, I offer @fairwestwork.com email addresses that don't use 2 factor auth and I can reset a user's password if it's forgotten. There is also a website available to check fairwestwork.com email.
• Text messages are harder to access/recover if a phone is lost. I aim to help regain phone access ASAP rather than to find a tech work-around that would allow texting access without the original phone. From my perspective, if phone access is volatile then texting is less of a priority than voicemail and email access. Right or wrong, I treat texting as less fundamental on the hierarchy of needs. If someone says that they really need texting to work but keep losing phone access, then we talk in person about it. It's often a tough conversation.
• Encouraging people to use FairWestWork email and phone numbers carries real responsibility and effort that I do not take lightly. Therefore, I only offer this service to people who I regularly see, who have engaged with FairWestWork and whose interactions have supported trust and respect. This experiment is labor/relationship intense and small by design.
• Housing first would be helpful, but carries higher administrative and financial requirements. For someone without housing, increased contact and work collaborations create trust, the opportunity and to discuss personal needs and how to pursue those needs. Often these needs are housing, though not always. If someone stays out of housing, responsibilities and expectations are adjusted.

Summary

• Current FWW Goal: find another person who regularly shows up to participate with FairWestWork, who is expressing a desire for increased stability and needs phone/email support. Conversations are underway now.
• I need to make some personal income from this and I currently don't. Not tragic but my goal is not to go broke.
• Expand the network of sponsors who respect and value this outreach approach. Churches, non-profits, local businesses & neighbors. Contact me (nick) if you'd like to offer financial, in-the-field or administrative support.
• Want to hear about this stuff? If you offer me a bit of money and/or food, I'm happy to talk (at length!) about FairWestWork.