Road Trip U.S.A
Posted by invisiblepeople
InvisiblePeople.tv Road Trip 2010
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 2010 Calendar
Track My Tour Click Here
View Larger Map
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.
Ways To Donate
Your donations help keep InvisiblePeople.tv going.
Mail checks to:
InvisiblePeople.tv
7000 Hawthorn Ave #205
Los Angeles, CA 90028
*** When I am on the road it may be months before I can receive mail
2010 Road Trip Sponsors
PLEASE THANK ALL WHO HELPED MAKE THIS HAPPEN
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Invisiblepeople.Tv Visits The Deadly Terrain Of Alaska
The following video is from my most recent trip to Alaska. Read more here
On March 1-3, 2010, I will visit Anchorage, Alaska to capture the stories of the people who live their lives in the streets. InvisiblePeople.tv will spend time in the city’s homeless camps, where more than a dozen people died in 2009, videotaping the personal stories of those living without a home in “The Last Frontier”.
InvisiblePeople.tv’s trip to Alaska is being sponsored by a generous donation from Hertz Car Rental and other caring individuals.
Links:
InvisiblePeople.tv Headed to Alaska
The following is from 2009′s Road Trip. We are working on a 2010 Road Trip along with a new and improved website.
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.
Follow Along
Click Here For Updated Calendar
2009 Road Trip Sponsors
PLEASE THANK ALL WHO HELPED MAKE THIS HAPPEN
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July 12th, 2009 at 6:49 am
You link is covered in Black. If you are near Louisville KY on the 16th to 19th of July stop at Spalding University As about the poverty conference slated to finally take up where MLK Jr. left off.
Economic human rights are the new buzz words. They were mentioned and adopted by the UN back in 1948.
I have been homless and devoted 25 years to working to prevent homelessness, Both one family at a time, and addressing the root cause of Homelessness. I see it as POVERTY.
People who call the Maine/national hotline are facing homelessness because they can not pay the rent. Even those mentally people cannot pay their rent because their income is under Fair market value of rent. The US admits 16 states in the USA pay less than the cost of rent in SSI.
July 16th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
If you are interested in joining us in our street outreach the Saturday in August you are scheduled to be in Atlanta, please let me know. StandUp For Kids – Atlanta serves the homeless youth in Atlanta area. Our Center is open Monday and Wednesday nights. We do street outreach Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons. Please contact me if you are interested in connecting with us while you are here. Safe travels.
July 29th, 2009 at 9:42 am
[...] one of the major lessons I hope people learn from the InvisiblePeople.tv Road Trip. This weekend I visited Fayetteville, Arkansas, a small town of roughly 70,000 people. From the [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 9:45 am
Hi Mark if you need a place to stay in DC I would be happy to host you (as long as you don’t mind my 2 adorable friendly cats ?).
August 1st, 2009 at 8:19 am
Dear Mark,
Thank you for helping to bring this issue out of the closet. For too long the general public has not addressed the growing numbers. I ask that you keep in touch with us at “Feeding Pets of the Homeless” (www.petsofhomeless.org) to let us know of your experinces with the homeless who have companion pets.
Have a safe trip.
August 12th, 2009 at 10:29 am
[...] is great at helping to engage new connections! The InvisiblePeople.tv Road Trip is almost 100% the result of connections made via [...]
August 14th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Looking forward to your visit here to Detroit and interested in contacting you as a host / guide. I’m one of the local coordinators for Spacewalk.org, a creative community outreach program to create change for those in need.
I tried to direct message via Twitter, but it failed. Would like to offer a phone number to make conversation easier.
September 13th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Hi Mark,
I see you will be in Sioux Falls on the 26th of Sep. Where will you be?
September 14th, 2009 at 9:41 am
whats up i meet you at a hotel after me and my friend lost or apartment to a fire then where homeless i think what you are doind is so great you know we have all this money for war but we cant even feed or own people
oh ya i meet you in bethlem at the hotel my name is tom and lawrence
September 25th, 2009 at 7:11 am
[...] Invisible People – “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.” – taken from Invisible People’s Web site [...]
September 29th, 2009 at 6:34 am
Hi,
I’m a University student from the UK currently doing research for a devised verbatim-style performance about the foreclosure crisis. I was wondering if I could use some of your interviews as part of my research?
Many Thanks,
Rhiannon
October 8th, 2009 at 10:05 am
We like what you are doing with this site. We are happy that we found it and hope we can be a prefered partner one day.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:27 am
I am homeless in Boston MA. If you are ever in the area I will help you with some gas money and a tour of the pine street inn. Where homeless people are regularly treated like dogs by the staff at pine street inn. It is bad enough to be homeless, but to be kicked while you are down by the people that are supposed to be helping you just adds to the mental stress involved with life on the streets. 90% of the staff have no qualifications for dealing with people. Many people stay out on the streets just so they don't have to deal with the pine street staff. If you are ever in Boston send me an email a week before you arrive and we will make sure you have gas money and a safe place to park your car, Jeff
December 2nd, 2009 at 6:26 am
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December 2nd, 2009 at 6:27 am
A little speech we gave…
December 2nd, 2009 at 6:28 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIAuPpM-9YE
Third try is the charm…
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Thank you so much for the important work you are doing. When I was still living in the states I used to volunteer at the shelters in downtown L.A. and I always made a point to talk to homeless people out on the streets, give them a smile and a kind word. Homelessness is shameful for America. I live now in Israel, where thank god there is almost no homelessness. Your work has inspired me to put in some time at a shelter on my next visit to the states. I will remember the homeless in my prayers. God bless you for all you do. May it wake people up!
December 3rd, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Mark; Can you please tell me how I can make contact with Dale?
My family has chosen to have a scaled down Christmas this year and his story really touched our hearts. Please contact me at my email address as we would like to have something delivered for him in time for Christmas.
Thank you in advance
Anne Currie and Family
Ottawa, Canada
December 3rd, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Mark; Can you please tell me how I can make contact with Dale?
My family has chosen to have a scaled down Christmas this year and his story really touched our hearts. Please contact me at my email address as we would like to have something delivered for him in time for Christmas.
Thank you in advance
Anne Currie and Family
Ottawa, Canada
December 8th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
[...] not news to most of you that I love the movie Lord Save Us from Your Followers. This summer as I drove across the country I yelled at every stop that you all need to support this movie. What you may not know is Lord Save [...]
January 6th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Like Mark said, the Dream Center is a magical place. You can camp at Elysian Park, clean up at the bathrooms, and walk to the Dream Center for daily meals. If you have any sort of income, it can be saved by camping at Elysian and walking to the Dream Center for the free food, clothes, etc. You can scout for new areas to hide your tent and leave your clothes there. If you need an address, you can use Burbank Temp Aid. They also give bus tokens and canned food ONCE A Month. It is worth it to take the bus there if you want to stock up on canned food. Also, you can put a tent in Griffith Park, near the freeway, but police bother you there, not like Elysian, where they are friendly.
January 6th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
I highly recommend homeless to catch a bus to Elysian Park and pitch a tent there. Take the Metro to Sunset Blvd and Portia. There is only one way to go on Portia. When you get to Scott, turn right and Scott will lead you into the heart of Elysian Park. Scout out a place in the woods for your tent. You can use old trails or cut new ones into the wilderness. You can leave a tent up there for months, try to cover it with foilage, branches, trees. The police academy is there and they patrol. It keeps the crime down. They really don't bother you much, they know what you are doing and have compassion, mostly. No joke, this is your best chance, until you can make other arrangements. Please let others know. It's not for everyone, but atleast you have soap, bathrooms, water, wildnerness, your tent, walking distance from free food and clothes (Dream Center). It can be easier to do this, than to live a crazy life in drugs, prositution, or crime.
January 8th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
[...] changes perceptions one at a time by giving homeless people a face and a voice. He embarked on an 11,000 mile trek across the country into tent cities, skid rows and cheap motels in order to shine the spotlight on this crisis, and he [...]
January 8th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Hi Mark, I was hoping to find access to a video you put together last year with a man by the name of Walter Thomas in Chicago. Please let me know how I might get this. Thanks!
January 10th, 2010 at 1:54 am
Which states pay less? Where can people go in order to take their SSI money and live in a tent city in order to save for a car, and deposit?
January 10th, 2010 at 2:01 am
My husband is an acestoral Jew, so we are planning to go to Israel too. We are learning Hebew, how much of an issue is the language barrier? I want to wait until we can speak it better. Are there many English speakers?
January 20th, 2010 at 3:16 am
I just read this really neat story about a man named Dan de Vaul. He has taken in dozens of homeless people by building housing on his ranch in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Some politicians are bickering about it. He has a perfect system worked out. If they can't pay rent, they chop fire wood, work on car engines, or other chores and attend AA Meetings. But everyone always gets fed, has a roof over their heads, etc. I don't know if he can handle any more. I would contact him first.
February 20th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
There are people you might need to talk to. I don't know if it is still there, but there used to be a tent city near Midland, TX. Odessa – a nearby city – has the resources to deal with a minimal load of homelessness, but Midland, historically, is a town full of people who look the other way. They barely have a Salvation Army outlet, much less real shelters or other resources. Of course I hope the tent city is gone and that those people managed to pull themselves up, but if not, you need to talk to them. Used to be located south of I-20 between Odessa and Midland. I heard about it a little more than a year ago and haven't been back to see if it's real. Maybe someone else knows?
March 9th, 2010 at 3:42 am
Thank u for coming to Anchorage Alaska and visiting our homeless…God bless you and the homeless in this world……
March 15th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
Mark and Liz – We read of Invisible People in Chris Brogans blog. We want to help. We believe that we have a way to do that. We have written a song about the Homeless that we would like to make the National Anthem to help. Many of us have been unemployed and close to homeless, or it will be coming soon…..we love you, and your work. Please let us know how we can submit this work to you so you can use it. Mike
March 23rd, 2010 at 6:18 am
Dear Mark, Check out the founder of School on Wheels, Agnes Stevens blog onepointsixmillion.org as she makes her way around the US (she is Texas at the moment) advocating for homeless children.
April 10th, 2010 at 11:05 am
[...] Invisible People TV is taking a cross-country road trip– in a number of 2010 Ford vehicles– with the goal of building video profiles of homeless people [...]
May 3rd, 2010 at 12:35 am
THE GOVERNMENT HAS FORGOTTON THE PEOPLE THAT THEY PUT IN THIS SITUATION THAT WE DO NOT WANT TO BE IN,YET THEY TALK ABOUT FINANCIAL AID FOR HAITI AND OTHER COUNTRIES WHEN THAY HAVE A HAITAI RIGHT IN THE USA.BEEN UNEMPLOYED FOR 2 YEARS I WANT A JOB NOT A HAND OUT,BUT THERE IS NO JOBS FOR 59 YEAR OLD PERSON WHO HAS OFFICE SKILLS AND CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE THEY RATHER HIRE YOUNGER PEOPLE WHO THEY THINK WILL DO A GOOD JOB,SOMETIMES THEY ARE WRONG WITH THAT PHILOSOPHY.
July 20th, 2010 at 6:46 am
Thanks. I congratulate you for this blog.
I've really enjoyed. I sincerely thank you again.
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Car Leasing deals
August 4th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
YES. Homeless has a name, and the great words of Eliot Libow, tell them my name Tell them I have a name but, please, don't forget to tell theem I beg of you.. tell them who I ~AM~
August 9th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
[...] READ IT!!! ? http://invisiblepeople.tv/blog/invisible-people-homeless-road-trip/ [...]
August 22nd, 2010 at 4:48 pm
[...] the YouTube video collection comes at the midway point of Mark’s 2010 Road Trip U.S.A. He’s traveling to 28 American cities, interviewing homeless individuals every step of the [...]
August 23rd, 2010 at 6:51 pm
Hi!
I came and love the project and only got confused when saw organizations like “Change.org”…
Not grassroots like I thought!
Anyway…
congrats
August 24th, 2010 at 4:50 am
Dear mark do you know how Dawn and Ryle are doing since the past 8 months please reply
August 26th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Great meeting you at Joe’s last night! It’s such a powerful thing you’re doing to even sit down and ask the people you meet questions. I’m sure many people haven’t been honestly asked how they are doing or about their lives in a long time. Can’t wait to hang out and hear lots more stories in Heaven some day!!