Updated 4/24/09: Mark’s personal story is very powerful in and of itself. He is trying to get a grant through the Jenzabar Foundation. If you found this video powerful, please click through here to post a comment by April 30, 2009 (it is based on number of comments). Thanks!
Through Twitter I’ve come into contact with Mark Horvath of InvisiblePeople.tv. With a consumer camera and a standard laptop, Mark is documenting the fastest growing population in California – the homeless. He has a unique perspective on this issue (he was homeless 15 years ago) and we encourage you to learn more about his story on his website.
Mark was recently in San Luis Obispo at the invitation of the Prado Day Center. There he met Cecilia and Juliana and interviewed them for Invisible People. I find Cecilia’s resilience inspiring:
This is where the abstract meets real life. Cecilia is someone who I might have gone to school with. She is a mom who is trying to raise her 3 year old daughter and 9 year old son while shuttling her time back and forth between a daytime center, the park, and a night shelter. She is someone who up until recently had a place for her family to call home. I keep wondering: How does she look for work while taking care of her three year old daughter Juliana? How does she entertain her kids while they wait 2 hours every night for a shelter bed?
This is what is really going on out there, and from the looks of it, Cecilia’s story isn’t unique.
What to do? The National Center on Family Homelessness suggests people to contact their legislators and voice your concerns about child homelessness. Learn more about the characteristics and needs of homeless families.
MomsRising also has a handy online form to fill out and send to your Senator in support of the “Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act.”
We want to hear your ideas on what average citizens can do to help families-in-need. Please post a comment below and tell us your thoughts.
Special thanks to Mark Horvath for allowing us to use this footage to continue this conversation. Get this guy a grant so he can take InvisiblePeople.tv to the next level (or fund his project directly via PayPal).