Jays story might sound familiar to you. His unfortunate situation is not uncommon these days. He lost his job, then his home to foreclosure, and ended up homeless on the streets of Cleveland, Ohio.
Jay talks about his frustration trying to get help from homeless service providers. Since services have become specialized, he must travel to multiple agencies to get all of the help he needs. But without reliable transportation, he has trouble getting around. Although there are many good things to be said about the Continuum of Care model, it is not perfect. It does not, for example, fill in all of the communication gaps or take into consideration the lack of access to reliable and easily accessible transportation.
Imagine for a moment that you are homeless without income. You panhandle for bus fare, then travel to the agency you believe is most likely to help. You fill out the paperwork and sit in the lobby all day. After hours of waiting you are told you dont qualify, or the program is full and your name will go on a waiting list. If you're lucky, you'll get a bus pass to get home. Either way, at the end of the day, youre still homeless without housing or food. And you have to repeat this process - over and over - until you find the help you need.
Of course, this is a worse case scenario. It's important to remember the many instances when the safety net works, when it saves people from the streets.
Still, in some cases - like Jay's - people just give up. Perhaps his story will help you understand why.
________________________________________________
Subscribe here: www.youtube.co...
Invisible People’s website:
invisiblepeople.tv
Support Invisible People:
invisiblepeopl...
On Patreon: / invisiblepeople
Invisible People’s Social Media:
/ invisiblepeople
/ invisiblepeople
/ invisiblepeople
/ invisiblepeopletv
Mark Horvath’s Twitter:
/ hardlynormal
About Invisible People:
Since its launch in November 2008, Invisible People has leveraged the power of video and the massive reach of social media to share the compelling, gritty, and unfiltered stories of homeless people from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. The vlog (video blog) gets up close and personal with veterans, mothers, children, layoff victims and others who have been forced onto the streets by a variety of circumstances. Each week, they’re on InvisiblePeople.tv, and high traffic sites such as RU-vid, Twitter and Facebook, proving to a global audience that while they may often be ignored, they are far from invisible.
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. The vlog puts into context one of our nation’s most troubling and prevalent issues through personal stories captured by the lens of Mark Horvath - its founder - and brings into focus the pain, hardship and hopelessness that millions face each day. One story at a time, videos posted on InvisiblePeople.tv shatter the stereotypes of America’s homeless, force shifts in perception and deliver a call to action that is being answered by national brands, nonprofit organizations and everyday citizens now committed to opening their eyes and their hearts to those too often forgotten.
Invisible People is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the way we think about people experiencing homelessness.
5 сен 2024
