New Video Site Gives Homelessness a Face and Voice
A man who was once part of America's homeless population is now spreading the word about a new website that captures the stories of the homeless people across the nation – one at a time.
Through his website, invisiblepeople.tv, Mark Horvath sheds light on real stories told by real people in their own very real words. The innovative pieces, which began broadcasting last November, are raw, uncensored and unedited – just like life on the streets.
"I not only feel their pain, I truly know their pain," Horvath says. "I lived their pain."
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Though it's not apparent today, Horvath was once a homeless man who lived on the streets of Hollywood, Calif.
"Fourteen years ago, I lived on Hollywood Blvd," he recalls. "But today, I find myself looking away, ignoring the faces, avoiding their eyes — and I'm ashamed when I realize I'm doing it."
According to Horvath, those who find themselves out on the street slowly spiral into invisibility – to the point that they are ignored as one would disregard a piece of trash on the sidewalk.
"It's not that people are bad," Horvath explains. "But if we make eye contact, or engage in conversation, we have to admit they exist. It's so much easier to simply close our eyes and shield our hearts to their existence."
Although the United States is one of the most prosperous nations in the world, the unfortunate reality is that a majority of Americans (58.5 percent) will spend at least one year of their lives living below the poverty line, according to Change.org, a website that informs and empowers movements for social change around the most important issues today.
Furthermore, despite the overwhelming research proving otherwise, 85 percent of Americans wrongly perceive homelessness to be the only result of individual failings, such as addiction, laziness, or criminal behavior.
It is amid this staggering reality that Horvath says his goal is to make the homeless visible to everyone else through his new website, not wanting the world to look through or beyond the homeless anymore.
Horvath wants people to be aware of them and their circumstances, remember them, and to not forget that the homeless people ignored today were much like the rest of us not very long ago.
"The invisible guy didn't intend to become homeless. I didn't plan on living on the street. Everyone on the streets has their own story, some made bad decisions, others were victims, but none of them deserve what they have been left with, and it is a reflection of our own society that we just leave them there," he says.
According to statistics compiled by Change.org, an estimated 2.5 to 3.5 million people experienced homelessness in 2007, and 18 percent of the homeless population is considered "chronically homeless." Furthermore, 50 percent of the homeless population are families and children in a given year and 39 percent of homeless people are under 18.
Having walked the road of homeless himself, Horvath is encouraging people to get to know a homeless person by watching their story on invisiblepeople.tv and afterward pause for a few moments and write their thoughts in the comments section, or maybe email them to a friend and link back to the vlog.
"By keeping this dialog open we can help a forgotten people," Horvath maintains.
Aside from working on invisiblepeople.tv, Horvath is a contributing editor for Change.org.
