Posted on August 8, 2009 - by Patrick

The IvisiblePeople.tv Tour

On any given night, over one million people sleep without a home to call their own. In the past year, homelessness in America has snowballed into a full-fledged crisis. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, 80 percent of individuals and 90 percent of families are homeless due to economic reasons. Community-based homeless service organizations from California to Massachusetts are reporting sharp increases in demand. In many communities, there are not enough shelter beds to meet the need, contributing to the growth of tent cities and the transformation of motels into temporary homeless shelters.

The experience of being displaced and without a home is devastating. The experience of living in a shelter, on the streets, or in a tent city is humbling. And the experience of sharing one’s story is powerful. For those less impacted by the economic downturn, the experience of coming face-to-face with people who are often shunned by society is both eye-opening and deeply moving.

InvisiblePeople.tv Road Trip U.S.A.
This summer, InvisiblePeople.tv is traveling across America to capture the stories of people without a home. By visiting tent cities, motels, and other modern-day accommodations for people without a home, this tour will unearth the modern-day realities of homelessness while providing a venue for “invisible” people to tell their story, raw and unedited.

Ways You Can Help

• Host Mark at a stop on the tour. Bring him to your community’s shelters/tent cities/homeless encampments and see that these stories are heard.
• Put the issue of homelessness on the front page of your local paper. Host a Road Trip event. Invite Mark and other local experts to speak. Invite the press. Write a letter to the editor about the tour. Make people listen.
• Make a donation! Buy a tank of gas for $50, a night at a hotel room for $100, or two weeks of meals for $300.
• Spread the word! Post stories on Facebook and Twitter. Scream as loud as you can.
• Take action locally and get involved. Three sites to help get you started: Idealist.org I VolunteerMatch I 2-1-1 (dial #211 from any phone)
• Don’t let your involvement end with the tour. CLICK HERE for 10 additional actions you can take to fight homelessness every day.

To donate or to read more about what Mark is doing, check out invisiblepeople.tv