Underheard in New York

Although Underheard in New York is currently on hiatus as we figure out the project’s future, we wanted to thank all of you who engaged with Danny, Derrick, Albert and Carlos throughout their time as Underheard in New York tweeters. Not only did you listen to their voices and interact with them on Twitter, but you also unexpectedly provided them with material things to help them better their lives.

And to a greater extend you guys provided them with something invaluable: a restored sense of confidence in themselves and a newfound faith in the kindness of strangers. But why take our word for it? Watch the video below to find out how Danny, Derrick, Albert and Carlos feel about their experiences with Underheard in New York.

As you all know their SMS cards expire every thirty days.  I went down to the Rescue Mission  to refill their card for the third straight month thanks to your donations.

If you are interested in donating SMS cards or old cellphones to help keep Underheard going as we sort out the program’s future – the project currently lacks funding – then please feel free to contact us at underheardinny@gmail.com.

Underheard in New York was created as a thirty day initiative to give the homeless population of NYC a voice. You listened- so many people listened.

We received a lot of messages asking about the future of the project and if Danny, Derrick, Carlos and Albert will keep tweeting. We think they will- regardless of whether it’s with
Underheard in New York or not. A community formed around them and that
has impacted their lives.

We’ve read the inspirational messages and encouragement you’ve sent their way, and so have they- Albert mentioned on Thursday that he now has “a little smile sometimes.” He didn’t used to smile that often, but now that he has found out how caring people are around the world he is “able to crack a little smile sometimes.” They’re all so grateful to have you out there listening.

They’re also grateful for those who wanted to do more.

Derrick received a phone call from NY Giants player Steve Smith, as well as a ticket to an upcoming game and a fundraiser for the NYC Rescue Mission in his name. He received an offer of a job interview, which he went on Friday morning.

Albert had his $200 worth of transit tickets paid, something that goes beyond just the money he didn’t have. Instead of ignoring the problem, its been taken care of and there will be no legal stumbling blocks in his future as he pulls himself back to his feet.

Carlos has created ‘angels’ out of followers, and received an offer of office space, a $30 metro card so he doesn’t have to walk 2.5 hours to the library each day.

Danny found someone to write down his life story, one which now has a much happier ending- @craftsygirl found his daughter through social media and the two of them reunited after 11 years apart.

So what happens now? With the money left in our budget, we put another 30-days of unlimited texting on each man’s phone. We don’t believe their stories are done being told.

We also don’t believe there aren’t other stories to tell. Underheard in New York is working with BBH, the agency that gave us the opportunity and guidance to create this project, to develop an expansion model that would bring Underheard to your own city. We will keep everyone updated as things develop here- we’re very excited to continue the project and get you involved.

Our blog updates will eventually stop, and we won’t be posting twitter updates so much ourselves, but this project was never about us. We’ll have one last video to recap the month and as always, you can reach us at underheardinny@gmail.com or @underheardinny if you have questions, suggestions or anything in between.

It’s been quite awhile since we initially mentioned Albert’s two transit tickets – or maybe it’s that so much has happened recently that two weeks feels like an eternity.

Twitter / Albert: Jost when i tot i was out …

In any case we’re happy to announce that Chris from Australia offered to pay for Albert’s two tickets. Today, Willy and I went with Albert to the Metropolitan Transit Authority Adjudication Bureau in Brooklyn to pay for those tickets.

Needless to say Albert is relieved to have that weight off his shoulders. We’re not sure what problems Albert might have faced if the tickets went unpaid. See his response below.

Twitter / Albert: .helo every 1 i niw somthi …

Last week was eventful for Derrick – so eventful that we weren’t able to fit everything into our blog!

In addition to being featured in the New York Times City Room blog and receiving a call from Steve Smith, who encouraged his Twitter followers and Facebook fans to donate to the NYC Rescue Mission, Derrick also received a ticket to a 2011 season New York Giants game. Not only will Derrick get to attend the game, but he’ll also have a chance to hang out on the field during practice. Thanks to Elliot Shriftman for making it all possible!

As if that weren’t enough good news Derrick was able to line up three job interviews for this week, one of which contacted us to relay their offer to Derrick. Send some encouragement and good luck to @awitness2011 this week as he works these job interviews to his daily routine. We all hope that Derrick has good news to tweet by the end of the week!

The power of a community is that it increases the odds that needs will be fulfilled. After reading our blog post about Carlos earlier this week, Dan offered to help Carlos gain access to the resources he needs via Twitter:

Twitter / @Dan Leatherman: @jessie550 Our office is c …

Twitter / @Dan Leatherman: @jessie550 would that save …

Twitter / @Dan Leatherman: Thanks to @underheardinNY …

Although Carlos still needs to be introduced to Dan’s boss, Dan and Carlos met earlier this week to talk it over.

Although Danny’s search for and reunion with Sarah received a lot of the spotlight this week, Underheard in New York helped achieve some other great things as well.

After reading the story about Derrick in the City Room blog of the New York Times , New York Giants Wide Receiver Steve Smith was moved to reach out to @awitness2011.

Twitter / @Steve Smith: Hey @awitness2011.. i noti …

Steve Smith hinted at his plan on his Facebook page throughout the day, and spoke to Derrick personally on the phone before encouraging his Twitter followers and Facebook fans – over 200,000 combined – to donate to the shelter that assists Derrick, Danny, Albert and Carlos on a daily basis, the NYC Rescue Mission.

Twitter / @Steve Smith: Please RT!! 2 find out how …

We don’t know how much money Steve Smith’s suggestion might raise for the NYC Rescue Mission, but it’s an inspiring gesture nonetheless. It’s great to be reminded yet again how the stories of the Underheard inspire the good will and support of other members within this great community.

It’s been another exciting day for Danny as he was able to reunite with his daughter in Bryant Park this morning and meet his two adorable grandchildren for the first time. We’re still editing Underheard footage of the reunion, but until then you can see Danny’s reunion with Sarah and his grandkids here (via CBS 2).

We’re also linking to CNN En Espanol’s short piece on Underheard in New York and interview with Danny and Sarah here.

It goes without saying that this has been a whirlwind week for Danny and his family. We were excited beyond words when Olivia offered to help him write his life story on Tuesday. We were ecstatic when Sarah called Derrick on Thursday. And we were in tears when they were reunited today. Thanks to all for making these achievements possible.

p.s. It looks like Danny might also have a new job after this week. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more about the exciting opportunity.

The greatest thing about building a community is that it seems to go above and beyond what you ask, expect or even imagine.

We wrote yesterday about how Danny hadn’t seen his daughter in 11 years – since they were in Puerto Rico together in 2000.

We told you her name. We told you her age. We told you that she was from Passaic, New Jersey.

Then you did the rest. You, members of the community supporting the Underheard in New York tweeters, found her.

Sarah called Danny today at approximately 3:30PM EST. They were able to talk for a little while, but since Danny had to get ready for an on-air interview at CNN En Espanol, they had to cut things short.

Fortunately it wasn’t long until they spoke again. Danny and Sarah were reconnected again on air.

Note: We’ll post a link to the CNN En Espanol video as soon as we can.

Though Danny and Sarah weren’t able to meet face-to-face today, they are meeting tomorrow. We hope to be there to document their long-overdue reunion.

In a weird turn of events, Sarah and Danny’s reconnection wasn’t the only revelation of the day. After the interview Danny received a call from other long-lost family members. His son informed him that Danny is now a great-grandfather.

When we first started Underheard in New York Danny told us that he hadn’t seen his daughter in years and that he would like to find her. We weren’t certain that Underheard would ever develop a big enough following to make this goal a possibility, but now that Danny has over 3,000 followers we hope we can achieve this goal.

Danny’s daughter is named Sarah Monique Rivera. She is 27 years old. The last time he spoke to her she was living in Passaic, NJ. Please contact us or Danny if you have any suggestions on how we can reconnect the two or if you know know anything about Sarah Monique.

Danny has also received an offer from a writer in Milwaukee, WI who is interested in helping him write his life story. Though Olivia and Danny will we be working long-distance, we’re all working together to find an efficient way for Danny and Olivia to work and communicate. We’re so excited that they found each other, and are glad that Danny can finally tell his story.

Twitter / @Olivia Johnson: @underheardinNY I’ve been …

Willy and I met with Carlos on Saturday to learn more about the business he’s starting and how we might be able to help him speed up the process.

Carlos has 26 years of experience within the paralegal field, and while he would like to find a job that would allow him to get back on his feet, his real goal is to pull himself up by his own bootstraps by starting his own business. And he’s working hard to do it. The biggest problem is that his current circumstances make it difficult for Carlos to work efficiently.

He walks about 70 blocks a day from Lower Manhattan to the New York Public Library on 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. Carlos says this journey, during which he travels past New York landmarks like Union Square, usually takes him about 2.5 hours one way. And when he finally gets to the library he can only get Internet access for 45 minutes. Carlos has to plan his research around this short window of Internet access in order to have a valuable work day.

Carlos imagines how much easier it would be to start his own company with more resources- with a netbook, a Metrocard or even a sure way to get Internet access.

We can’t imagine starting a business without these basic resources either. If you can think of a way to help Carlos, then please tweet at him with advice or email us at underheardinny@gmail.com.

(4) Carlos (jessie550) on Twitter