Hi everyone,

My name is Jay–known to some as ‘ruby’, and for over nine years, I traveled homeless across the U.S. I know the frustration of walking for hours, chasing a rumor of a hot meal, only to arrive and find the information was wrong. A closed door. A service that no longer exists. A wasted day.

This isn't a rare occurrence. I discovered this to be the case no matter where I landed.

For people on the streets, information is survival. Yet, the systems designed to provide it are fundamentally broken. Most resource directories are 75-85% inaccurate, filled with outdated hours, wrong addresses, or links to resources that fail to deliver basic needs when they are needed. This failure doesn't just waste precious time and energy; it erodes hope and creates a barrier to escaping homelessness.

The Critical Gap

In July 2024, I created rubyslist.org while living on the street in Los Angeles–with a used Chromebook, a $10 domain, and a free 90-day transit pass. I focused on areas of the city with significant unhoused populations that were accessible by public transit. I personally verified the listings in my schedules by attending them myself.

After covering a substantial portion of LA, I was more-than-ready to escape to the calmer, kinder places I loved in Arizona. I expanded the site to cover several new regions like Tucson, Flagstaff, and Sedona. It was also here that I finally found a way to stabilize with steady work and housing.

Our Solution: A Lifeline of Accurate Information

rubyslist.org is not just another directory. It's a ground-up, human-verified infrastructure for essential resource access.

100% Verified: Every single listing on rubyslist is personally visited and confirmed by me. No more guesswork. While I can't be everywhere at once and currently rely on user updates (which is fantastic!), our future AI system will help automate monitoring to maintain this accuracy at scale.

Proven Impact: In our pilot locations (Los Angeles & Arizona), we are already serving 500+ individuals every month.

Real Results: We are saving each person 5-7 hours of navigation time per week—time they can now use to find work, attend appointments, or to at least wake up one morning knowing they will get through another day.

This is the missing first step: By providing a reliable foundation of information, we empower people to access the food, shelter, and services they need to move forward.

The Next Step: Scaling Impact with Your Help

While I am now thriving in a safe living situation, a positive work environment, and newfound health through sobriety, I am saddened to see my site’s schedules linger without being able to consistently update them. rubyslist is now becoming a part of the problem I sought to solve.

My hands-on verification process has proven the model works. Now, it's time to take it nationwide. To do that, we need to build the technology that can scale our ruby standard of accuracy.

We're asking for your help to raise $25,000 to fund the development of our AI-augmented Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

This isn't tech for tech's sake. This AI-powered system is the key to expanding our reach from 2 cities to 100+ cities, helping hundreds of thousands of people. Partnering with the humanitarian AI platform Omdena, we will build a system that automatically monitors and flags potential changes in resource information. These flags will then be reviewed and confirmed, ensuring continued accuracy through a combination of technology and user verification.

Your donation will directly fund:

AI Engineering & Platform Support ($15,000): This is the minimum goal to trigger Omdena’s collaboration. They’ve supported 500+ humanitarian projects in the 6 years they have been together. Their custom tools and teams of collaborative engineers make it possible to complete AI projects at scale for 30-40% of the cost.

Technical Cost – servers, APIs, database: ($5-10,000): The technical infrastructure to run the platform and make it accessible to everyone.

Contingency (approx. 5-10% of total raised): To ensure we can handle unforeseen challenges and deliver a robust final product.

We are confident this funding will produce a robust, sustainable, user-driven app with a focus on accessibility for users with limited literacy, basic smartphones often provided through assistance programs, and lack of consistent access to the internet.

Using the nuanced web search techniques I perfected across the nation–along with diligent verification–we can train AI agents to collect and build ruby-style schedules in new territories!

Beyond the initial MVP, we also envision an 'angelside' interface! This will serve as a portal for the service providers to update their own listings, collaborate with other ‘angels’, and serve more individuals through the additional exposure rubyslist can offer them.

I am confident this initial MVP will secure the long-term funding we will need to continue growing and serving more users.

The Team to Make It Happen

We have the right blend of experience to solve this problem:

Jay AKA ‘ruby’(Founder): 9+ years of lived experience, providing the firsthand knowledge of what’s truly needed, combined with the technical expertise as a former developer to build it.

Eric: A professional substance abuse therapist with a background in corrections facilities, ensuring our solution is human-centered, trauma-informed, and truly empowering. Eric also brings a host of knowledge facilitating grant-based funding for social service projects.

Jay and Eric met while teaching computer classes in OR 15 years ago. They became colleagues on many freelance projects and trusted friends. We recently reunited to form HoboHoncho LLC, which aims to serve as a tech platform for projects like ruby’s.

Join Us in Building the Missing Infrastructure

We have a proven solution, a clear roadmap, and the lived experience to guide us. We just need the initial resources to build the technical foundation that will unlock our national impact.

Your support, no matter the amount, is a direct investment in a system that restores dignity, saves time, and provides a real pathway out of homelessness.

How You Can Help:

Donate: Every dollar brings us closer to launching the MVP and expanding to a new city.

Share: If you can't donate, please share this campaign on your social media. Spreading the word is incredibly powerful.

Together, we can ensure that no one ever misses a critical resource simply because they couldn't find it.

Thank you for your belief in our mission.

With gratitude,

Jay (‘ruby’) & Eric

rubyslist Team & HoboHoncho Co-Founders