WE ARE THE HOMELESS PEOPLE

It has been a simple truth for me, the realization that even I, the secure, take all I own for granted, wanting more people can end up with nothing. The push of debt, struggling from pay check to pay check, cutting back in times of hardship. The truth lies in front of us: we are the homeless people, the ones living in poverty, the ones that search for the next meal, and in an instant of circumstances, we are the homeless. People no different than ourselves, families no different than our own. The faces that we turn ours from are the reflections of the reminder that we could be there too.

HANK IS EVERYWHERE

 

Homeless HANK is a character that represents...

A single mother making min wage who loses the struggle to afford rent, childcare, transportation, and food

A family whose father suffers a debilitating illness and is unable to work

A man who has a mental illness without the resources for treatment

A child who ages out of the foster care system at the age of 18

A family with children living paycheck to paycheck when someone was laid off

A young man caught in a web of drug and alcohol addictions

A woman escaping an abusive relationship with nothing but the clothes on her back

A man who, because he is homeless without an address, phone number, clean clothes, a place to shower, and food, can’t secure gainful employment despite having needed skills

An elderly couple living on a fixed income facing rising rents, insurance, and medication costs

A family living in their car because the apartment they struggled to afford was converted to condos; the parents are terrified they will lose their children

H-Homelessness

A-Awareness

N-Needs

K- Knowledge

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANK

 

On his birthday, he walked the same street he had for the past year. He gave himself a moment on this day, to remember, to hold the memories.to remember, to keep the memories on this day. This was his gift to himself. His birthday gift was to cherish the memory of a home, of where he came from and where he hoped to be.