Week 47: Invisible People
Hello! This week's GIVE52 organization is Invisible People.
Invisible People and Mark Horvath are on a mission to end homelessness. They use powerful videos, educational partnerships, and social media to share the “compelling, gritty, and unfiltered stories” of homeless people in the United States.
“It should not be unusual for any of us to be seen, acknowledged, heard, or helped. But for people used to being invisible, it can be a big, big deal.”
The video blog allows viewers to get to know an individual experiencing homelessness. People featured are mothers, children, people who have been laid off, veterans, and many others whose circumstances have forced them onto the streets.
“Once on the street, people started to walk past him, ignoring him as if he didn’t exist… much like they do a piece of trash on the sidewalk. It’s not that people are bad, but if we make eye contact, or engage in conversation, then we have to admit they exist and that we might have a basic human need to care. But it’s so much easier to simply close our eyes and shield our hearts to their existence.”
This organization is dedicated to shed light on the realities of homelessness and on the people who feel invisible. They are dedicated to changing the way we think about people experiencing homelessness.
Besides the incredible and gut-wrenching stories that I have learned from on the video blog, I also picked up another useful tidbit. Carry socks. I always feel that I want to do something when encountering people on the streets, and giving pairs of new warm socks was an idea I picked up from Mark.
“Invisible People goes beyond the rhetoric, statistics, political debates, and limitations of social services to examine poverty in America via a medium that audiences of all ages can understand, and can’t ignore.”
No one should feel invisible.
It is up to us to have our eyes wide open.
Everyone has a story to tell, if only we asked.
Have a lovely week!
Jodi
