IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN HOMELESS, READ THIS

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Today I went to YouTube to search for a video, and found that today was InvisiblePeople.TV day on YouTube.

InvisiblePeople.TV gives voices, faces, and names to the homeless. A social media effort to help America meet and hopefully these people.

Then it hit me. I’ve been homeless. Not for long, but for long enough.

I lived out of a tent for a summer with my mom, my sister, our step dad, and his four kids (story here). They were slim times. Far easier forgotten than remembered.

Stumbling through the videos on the site, with an ache in my heart, I learned some things.

I learned that in America, there are 3.5 million homeless people.

I learned that the average age of the homeless in America is 9.

There’s 1.35 million homeless children.

1.35 million.

As part of my effort to help, I want to perpetuate this cause, and urge you to as well. Share this page, or the website, with as many people as you can, so they too can become aware, and hopefully inspired to help.

The measure of any society is how it treats its weakest element.

Here is the video done for YouTube, explaining the effort.

Some of the touching stories you’ll find there are people like Jean (below), who used to have a house and cars, but lost it all over the course of the financial downturn. She now lives in a cheap, weekly rate hotel with her five kids and her fiance, riding her bike five miles a day to her job at McDonald’s.

Or this video of Candice and her four kids, who had the courage to leave an abusive relationship, but is now without a home and staying also in an inexpensive, weekly-rate hotel. All the shelters are full.

Cotton has been homeless for 16 years. “What’s my future? My future is throwing myself in front of one of these freight trains when I can’t handle it anymore, that’s my future.”

Drew lost his family to a drunk driver, lost track of his life. It happened all of a sudden. He’s been homeless for four months. Lost his job because of the economy. He’s educated, certified, and still homeless. Living out of dumpsters.

“It can happen to anybody, so you probably shouldn’t judge the next time you see somebody asking for just a little bit of help.”

-Rusty

Note:  Thank you for being here. Remember, you matter and you can make a difference. Please share this post with someone else and come back for more.

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