Homeless Tech Developer In Mountain View Gets Help From Viral Tweet
MOUNTAIN VIEW (KPIX 5) -- A homeless and unemployed web developer in Mountain View has been overwhelmed with job offers less than two days after a picture of him handing out resumes went viral on social media.
48 hours ago, David Casarez could barely get a phone call returned, let alone a job interview.
But this weekend, he was sorting through hundreds of missed calls, text messages and emails from recruiters, hiring managers, and strangers offering words of encouragement from all over the world.
Looking for a job has turned into a full time job itself.
"You can see my inbox. I still have a bunch of emails to go through," said Casarez. "Please bear with me as I try to get back to you."
Last fall, Casarez became disillusioned with his job at General Motors in Texas. He cashed out his 401K and moved to Silicon Valley to try and launch his platform called Mesa.
Mesa is meant to help mom and pop food businesses scale up and get their products out to the masses.
"I want to try and do something that will put my name out there, make a mark on society," said Casarez. "Know that I did something to help other people."
With no network or support system, Casarez learned the hard way living and getting a foothold in Silicon Valley wasn't easy.
He burned through his savings within months. His van that he'd been sleeping in got repossessed.
Desperate with $80,000 dollars in college loan debt, on Friday Casarez hit took to the streets.
He stood at a busy intersection in Mountain View holding a sign that read: "Homeless Hungry 4 Success Take a Resume."
"I gotta do something, I gotta put myself out there," said Casarez. "And I told myself, 'Why not do that? Why not take that risk?'
Jasmine Scofield happened to be driving by and snapped his picture. With his permission, she shared the image and a photo of his resume on Twitter.
"I can only imagine that's humiliating," said Scofield. "Having to throw your ego and pride aside, and just say, 'Hey listen, I need help at any cost.'"
The tweet went viral, with more than 135,000 retweets and over 215,000 likes as of Monday morning.
Scofield, who has nearly been homeless herself, says seeing Casarez's clean pressed shirt, shined shoes, and college degree shattered stereotypes of what it means to be homeless in Silicon Valley.
"They have their own notion of what a homeless person is supposed to do, or supposed to be or look like," said Scofield. "And I don't think that's fair. Like this just goes to show that having a college education and college degree doesn't guarantee anything."
Casarez keeps his nice interview clothes with him, but showers at local fitness club.
Until the job offers firm up, he will continue sleep on a bench at Rengstorff Park in Mountain View at night.
He still has the sign he used on Friday.
When asked if he had any regrets, Casarez replied, "No. I told myself would I rather be on my death knowing that I took a risk? Or knowing that I did not take that risk."