Invisible People (organization)

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Invisible People
EstablishedNovember 2008
FounderMark Horvath
Type501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Location
  • Los Angeles, California
Websitewww.invisiblepeople.tv

Invisible People is an American 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working for homeless people in the United States.[1] The organization educates the public about homelessness through storytelling, educational resources, and advocacy.[2]

The organization was founded in November 2008 by activist and former television executive, Mark Horvath. Interviews are posted on its website and other social media outlets.[3] The organization has interviewed homeless people in over 100 cities across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.[4]

History[edit]

Invisible People was founded by Mark Horvath. In the early 1990s, California resident[5] Horvath worked as a television distribution executive,[6][7][8] but addiction to drugs and alcohol resulted in him becoming homeless in 1995.[5][9][10] After eight years,[7][11] he sought rehabilitation with the help of the Los Angeles Dream Center[6][9] and, in 2005, relocated to St. Louis, Missouri.[6][7]

A headshot of InvisiblePeople.tv's founder, Mark Horvath
Mark Horvath, founder of InvisiblePeople.tv, in 2009

During the Great Recession, Horvath lost his job and home,[11][12][9] and returned to Los Angeles.[6] Facing homelessness again, he recorded interviews with homeless people on a Flipcam and posted them on YouTube and Twitter.[9][10] In November 2008, Invisible People was launched.[citation needed] It is registered in the United States as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.[13][14]

Production[edit]

The guy you see on the street with the cardboard sign – that's actually a very small demographic of homelessness ... you don't see these people on the street corner. You have families tripling up; you have people living in their cars. You have people, especially the homeless youth population, doing survival sex and all kinds of horrible things just to have a place to stay, and you have the huge amount of families living in hotels and they can't save up for first and last month's rent.

— Mark Horvath, 2011[7]

Horvath describes the organization as "a conversation about solutions to end homelessness" that "gives homeless people a chance to tell their own story."[7] Interviews on the subjects' sufferings are recorded using a hand-held videocamera, microphone, laptop, and iPhone, and posted unedited on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.[6]

Horvath initially interviewed subjects in California, then expanded across the United States and beyond, including Canada[7] Peru,[12] and the United Kingdom.[13] Hovarth travels worldwide to raise awareness about homelessness.[15][16] Private companies provide goods to be donated to the homeless during Invisible People's road tours, as well as providing transportation and lodging for Horvath.[8]

In April 2009, Invisible People streamed live interviews with homeless people in a tent city in Sacramento, California, on Twitter. After the interviews were posted, a Seattle-based company sponsored the organizations' first cross-country tour, in which Horvath traveled to over 20 cities and interviewed over 100 homeless people.[6] The organization has also partnered with Hanes in the ten-year-old Hanes National Sock Drive raising awareness about the homeless Americans.[2]

By 2010, the organization had released interviews with over 200 homeless people.[12] In 2011, a privately owned, non governmental, Not For Profit Homeless Organization based in Calgary commissioned Invisible People to tour 24 cities in Canada,[17] starting on July 4 in Victoria and ending on September 12 in St. John's, including stops in Toronto and Calgary.[7][11][18] The organization’s website received 50,000 hits per month in 2011.[11]

Reception[edit]

... some of the strongest stories – the people who are really most isolated or have gone through the toughest things – are those who wouldn't speak to me. They won't speak to anyone anymore.

— Mark Horvath, 2010[12]

According to NBC News, Horvath's interviews give the homeless a face and a voice.[19] The interviews conducted by the non-profit have resulted in assistance being provided to the interviewed subjects.[20] On August 22, 2010, YouTube allowed Horvath and Invisible People to curate YouTube's homepage for a day.[21] In 2012, LA Weekly awarded Invisible People and its founder, Mark Horvath, a "Best Online Do-Gooder" award.[9]

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the viewers raised money to buy shoes for 50 schoolchildren.[9] In Arkansas, a farmer donated 40 acres to create a farm that feeds 150 homeless people a week.[9][12] An interview with a 58-year-old homeless man dying of cancer in Calgary led to his brother finding him after 33 years of estrangement; the two were able to spend 53 days together before the man succumbed to cancer.[11][9] Housing programs have also been started in Arkansas and Calgary following the organization's tours in those cities.[6][5][22]

A documentary about Invisible People entitled "@home" won the 2014 Los Angeles Diversity Film Festival Best Documentary Award and aired on PBS in 2015.[14][23]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Berger, Nicholas. "The stigma behind homelessness". ABC Fox. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Craver, Richard. "Hanesbrands' sock drive reaches 10 years, 3 million donated pairs". Salem Journal. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  3. ^ Schmitz, Rob. "Former Homeless Man's Videos Profile Life On Street". NPR. Retrieved March 6, 2010.
  4. ^ Santiago, Ellyn (November 8, 2018). "Grace Maria 'Saves' Homeless Man's Life in Encounter With Armed Police". Heavy. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "YouTube video helps homeless man find suite". CBC News. April 26, 2011. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Streit, Valerie (December 1, 2009). "Activist's Web site, tweets put new face on homelessness - CNN.com". CNN. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Elash, Anita (August 19, 2011). "Q&A: Mark Horvath on homelessness". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Sreenivasan, Hari (August 26, 2011). "InvisiblePeople.tv Aims to Empower Homeless Through Social Media". PBS NewsHour. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Swearingen, Jake (September 19, 2012). "LA Weekly Web Awards 2012: Mark Horvath, Best Online Do-Gooder". L.A. Weekly. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Schwartz, Ariel (December 18, 2012). "YouTube For Good Wants You To Watch World-Changing Films Alongside Cat Videos". Fast Company. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  11. ^ a b c d e Monsebraaten, Laurie (August 20, 2011). "American activist documents life on Toronto streets | The Star". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d e Galliot, Lorena. "Giving homeless people a voice on the Web". France 24. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Official website". InvisiblePeople.tv. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Opening Americans' Eyes to Homelessness, Invisible People Documentary "@home" to Air on 70 PBS Stations Nationwide This Week". PRWeb. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  15. ^ Collins, Kate. "Invisible People: Southern Tier man giving homeless a voice". Press Connects. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  16. ^ "Ithaca's homeless camp, The Jungle, is home to dozens living in tents, shacks". Ithaca Journal. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  17. ^ "Putting a face and name to 'homeless'". Canada without poverty. August 8, 2011. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
  18. ^ Gorgone, Kerry O'Shea. "Storytelling and Nonprofit Marketing: Invisible People's Mark Horvath Talks to Marketing Smarts" (Podcast). MarketingProfs. No. August 20, 2014. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  19. ^ "City of Angels". NBC News. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  20. ^ Bermudez, Caroline (February 24, 2014). "After Living on the Streets, a Nonprofit Leader Seeks to Give the Homeless a Voice". The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  21. ^ "5 Questions for Mark Horvath, Founder of InvisiblePeople. tv". Official YouTube Blog. August 21, 2010. Archived from the original on April 2, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  22. ^ Staff. "YouTube video helps homeless man find suite". CBC. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  23. ^ "Official website". @home. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
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