Perhaps in our over-cellular phone'd society, we overlooked the importance of having a way for people to reach us. Google recognized the need for the homeless to have some connection to loved ones and plan to do something about it. According to the Chron:

Internet giant Google announced on Wednesday a plan to partner with all the homeless shelters in San Francisco and offer free phone numbers and voice mail accounts to homeless individuals, giving people the ability to distribute their own phone numbers and retrieve voice mail messages left for them whenever and from wherever they choose.

The plan is to help those who are homeless get back on their feet by giving potential employers and family a way to reach them and get their life on track. Hopefully, this'll be a way to get them started.

Photo by Ohad*.