Homeless people need electricity for things like cell phones, laptops and wheel chairs. Much to my frustration, this has been one of the single hardest things for me to find. Free food and clothes has been far easier to come by. Here are a few sources I know of:
- Neil Good Day Center: They have a couple of extension cords (one inside by the TV, one outside) with multiple sockets where you can plug in cell phones and other gadgets.
- St. Vincent's: The lobby of their main office has an outlet which is labeled as being for wheelchairs only.
- God's Extended Hand: If you eat breakfast or dinner with them, you can definitely plug in a wheelchair. I think you can also plug in a cell phone or similar.
- Burger King: There are maybe three or four outlets available at the Burger King on 11th Street. I went there a couple of times and got something to eat and recharged my computer some. Then I went there one day and all were taken. I left to run some other errand and went back an hour later to eat and try to get some power for my computer. All the same people were there. I ate. They were all still there when I left. I was pretty irked.
Update: There is another Burger King on Market. It is quite a hike from my usual stomping grounds but if I sm in the area anyway, I sometimes go there. They have onky one plug but there is little competition for it, at least that was the case when I was there. - Specialty's: Upscale eatery and coffee house at Front Street and E. The food is good but expensive. Their day old pastries go on the bottom shelf for half price and you can get water for free. So it would be possible to chill there for $1.19 if need be. The place was pretty empty while I was there the first time. It appears to be super busy at lunch. It is quieter in the afternoon. I was asked to leave one,day for "being ther too long without buying anything." I had been there 40 minutes and had not yet finished my drink. Other people had been there longer and probably spent no more and were not askrd to leave. I suspect I looked too homeless. I hope someone sues the pants off them.
- Starbucks: The one on 6th has no seating and no plugs. The one on 4th has very limited seating and I was told one plug but it was taken when I was there. There is a two story one at 5th and F which has more resources upstairs. Hopefully plugging in upstsirs will be a case of "out of sight, out of mind" and will mean management is less likely to throw me out.
- Central Library: You can plug in wifi devices at the library and even get free wifi.