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InvisiblePeople Documents Plight of the Homeless

by Terrence O'Brien on December 8, 2009 at 07:41 AM

Former TV Exec Uses Twitter to Raise Awareness About Homeless

Mark Horvath, a former executive, probably didn't think much about the destitute while he was working in TV and making six figures. But, thanks to a drug and alcohol addiction, Horvath found himself jobless, penniless, and ultimately homeless. For years, he sat outside the Chinese Theater in Hollywood with his pet iguana, named Dog, collecting a dollar from tourists who wanted to take a picture with the pair. He cleaned up, and got his life back together by breaking into marketing for faith-based organizations. But last year, Horvath found himself laid off and in danger of losing his home. When even McDonald's turned him away (He made too much money.), he decided to take his last $300, buy a camera, and head down to Sacramento to document life in the tent cities that had sprung up in the wake of the recession.

When it came time to share those stories, Horvath turned to Vimeo, Twitter, and Whrrl to create InvisiblePeople.tv. His glimpses into the lives of those who had lost everything captured the attention of not only the Web-browsing public, but of the developers at Whrrl, who helped him secure the funding and material support to take InvisiblePeople.tv on the road. He videotaped interviews with over 100 homeless people in 20 cities across the U.S.

Now, his two separate Twitter accounts, @hardlynormal and @invisiblepeople, have 10,000 total followers. The InvisiblePeople.tv Vimeo channel attracts 1,000 viewers every week. He's been a guest speaker at Blog World, Idea Camp, and the 140 Character Conference. But Horvath isn't doing this for fame or fortune. He still works part time in a homeless shelter and relies on the generosity of churches and friends to pay his rent.

Horvath closes most of the interviews by asking his subjects what they would want if they had three wishes; most reply with "a home" or "a job." One answer, though, from a man named Jay in Cleveland, sums up what is the key to solving our country's battle with homelessness and poverty.
"I wish that everyone would treat everyone as equals... We're all the same, we're all human beings. Why can't we just help each other. That would be my first wish. I think if everyone did that, I might not even need two more wishes."
[From: CNN]

Tags: homeless, homelessness, invisiblepeople.tv, mark horvath, MarkHorvath, top, twitter, whrrl

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