Anyone who has spent time in the Castro District may have come across a quiet guy named Adam Reichart. He's normally seen around the neighborhood and in front of Mollie Stone's selling a Street Sheet, which is a newspaper that helps homeless people raise a little money. Reichart has a new title these days. He's called creative producer for a project called HomelessGoPro.com.
A YouTube video shows how Reichart starts his day. He's been homeless for about 30 years and volunteered for this project because he says people have become less sympathetic towards the homeless and he blames texting and technology.
"I feel like it's a lot easier to be, the best way to put it is, be cold, or have less feelings when you're typing something, than when you're looking someone in the eye," Reichart said.
Reichart has volunteered to wear a donated GoPro camera for two hours at a time to document how difficult life is from his perspective.
He says San Francisco has great homeless services, but they're often difficult to access.
"Average right now is like 40 hours of waiting in a line to get a bed for one night. You know, people don't realize stuff like that. You know, going to get lunch, an hour and a half to two hours," Reichart said.
Erika Baraza is a co-founder of the Homeless GoPro project.
"The goal is to build empathy through the first person perspective," Baraza said.
Right now, Reichart is their first homeless volunteer and they're hoping to work with others.
They've produced three videos that can be found at HomelessGoPro.com.
Baraza says the ultimate goal is to affect some sort of change.
"At the core of what we're trying to do is get a better understanding of the stories of what's happening, so that we can innovate new ideas on how to use these services better," Baraza said.
As for Reichart, he hopes his participation in this project can give him a boost to get off the streets.
His plans are to get regular housing within about a year.
