Wikipedia founder creates online resource for Tampa Bay's homeless

TAMPA — Between stops in his globe-trotting life as an Internet mogul, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales came to Ybor City on Friday to launch a new Web site that offers a wide range of resources for the homeless in the Tampa Bay area.

The new site, tampabayhome less.wikia.com, was introduced after the Hillsborough Homeless Coalition's annual meeting at Teatro on Seventh, a restaurant on Eighth Avenue.

Coalition chief executive officer Rayme Nuckles said the site would be only the third of its kind in the world. The first two were created in San Francisco, where Wikipedia operations are based, and Los Angeles, Wales said.

Wales established himself as an Internet entrepreneur by inventing Wikipedia.org, an online encyclopedia that can be updated or edited by anyone who uses the site. He said Wikipedia's huge success —170 languages and 3 million English entries — led to the founding of a new company called Wikia.com, which allows anyone to create his or her own fully editable encyclopedic site for information on any given topic.

The new Wiki list of homeless services and providers is one example. It gives people in need and volunteers a place to find up-to-the-hour information.

"We know how quickly things can change," Nuckles said. "We produce the Street Survival Guide every year, and three months later it's out of date."

Nuckles said often addresses, times and phone numbers change. The Web site will make it easier for people who want to help to make sure they aren't duplicating efforts or overlapping events.

The Tampa Bay Homeless Resource is broken down into categories that include food, shelter, medical, employment, legal, veterans, dependency and mental health. Each category has a list of providers. For instance, the Trinity Cafe is listed under food.

When you click on the cafe's link, the page gives the address, hours and process for meal service along with contact information for the organizers if you'd like to volunteer.

Wales joked as he showed the crowd how the site works.

"I rarely give live demonstrations because — I don't know if you've seen it — on YouTube there is a video of Bill Gates doing a live demonstration of Windows and he got the blue screen of death," the St. Petersburg resident said, chuckling.

Wales got personally involved with the creation of the site six months ago after meeting Julia Gorzka on Facebook and hearing her idea to put it together.

"He said, 'Sure. I'd like to help,' " Gorzka said.

When Wales signed on, she told Nuckles, who took up the idea enthusiastically.

All the information on current services was being sent to an intern in India whom Wales hired to construct a template, he said.

Now anyone in the Tampa area can go to the Tampa Bay Homeless Resource online and add an event or learn how to help out.

"Don't be fearful of the Internet," Nuckles said.