invisiblepeople.tv

I met Pam while passing through Cleveland, Ohio. She is mother and a grandmother who never thought she would become homeless. Many people think that if a person has close family members, they can just go live with family when all else fails. But for Pam and many others, it’s just not that simple.

Pam wished for a home; ...I hope she finds it.

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Last week was the 140 Conference in Los Angeles. Invisiblepeople.tv
was there to represent the voiceless and talk about using social media to raise awareness about homelessness in our country. Below are a few
links to some of the interviews with Mark and AnnMarie, a homeless woman who through the help of friends from soc...ial media was able to travel to LA to speak at the conference.

AnnMarie uses twitter and facebook and maintains
a blog that discusses her daily life as a homeless person and also provides information for other
homeless people on services and suggestions on ways we can help the homeless. Please
take the time check out these interviews and posts from the conference. But don’t stop there! Share
them with your friends on facebook and twitter, post the links to your blog, post a video. Help us get the word out!

http://homelessness.change.org/blog/view/tweets_from_the_streets

http://www.youtube.com/user/realplayersp#p/u/0/jTPewtWAL2Y



http://twitterroadtrip.com/journal/2009/10/27/interview-with-hardlynormal.html


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shira-lazar/the-cause-conference-circ_b_341220.html

AnnMarie’s blog: http://padschicago.wordpress.com/





AnnMarie on twitter: http://twitter.com/padschicago




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Mark on twitter http://twitter.com/hardlynormalRead more

I’d like to say that I found Ann Marie in Chicago, but the truth is that she found me. Ann Marie uses social media to escape from her world and connect with others. When I arrived in the Windy City I received a tweet from @padschicago [http://twitter.com/padschicago] and the next day we arranged to meet in a train stat...ion.

Ann Marie is not the first person experiencing homelessness to find me via social media [http://invisiblepeople.tv/blog/2009/03/Brianna]. As the face of homelessness changes, and social media continues to expand, I believe we will see many other people without homes on twitter, blogs, and Facebook. Service providers should pay attention to this evolution and understand that social media can be much more than tool for marketing. Twitter and Facebook can serve as an entry point for services or a vehicle for providing virtual case management.

Social media may have the potential to change the way we provide services, but it will not close the gaps that exist in our safety net. As social services become more specialized and targeted to specific populations, some of those who desperately need help simply cannot figure out where they fit in. Ann Marie would like to get off the streets, but she is falling through the gaps in the social service safety net.

ChicagoNow blogger Megan Cottrell [http://twitter.com/mmcottrell] tagged along when I met Ann Marie and wrote a very powerful post [http://chicagonow.com/blogs/one-story-up/2009/09/making-the-invisible-visible.html] We were also on a San Francisco radio show LIVE FROM THE LEFT COAST with Angie Coiro [http://lftlc.com/podcasts/october-5-2009-hour-2-invisible-people-using-social-media-help-homeless], and right now as I type Ann Marie is on a Greyhound headed to Los Angeles to speak with me at 140 Conference [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTPewtWAL2Y]

Truly Anne Marie is a special person simply trying to survive. She honestly shares the challenges she faces everyday and talks about how she uses social media. Although much of her story is sad at least for a few days she is on a vacation from homelessness [https://twitter.com/padschicago/status/5212566304]




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It's the toughest job there is, being a parent. And it's a role that
becomes exponentially more challenging when the safety of four walls
and a roof are gone. How do homeless parents help their family survive?
How do they provide for their children amid such uncertainty?
Sadly, these are questions that far too many familie...s are having to answer the hard way... by experiencing it.
http://homelessness.change.org/blog/view/parenting_while_homelessRead more

Thank you for all of the amazing work you do. Your organization is incredibly inspiring and we really appreciate all of the information and awareness you put out about homelessness.

I am in a social action rock band called Truth On Earth. We write original songs about major world problems and potential solutions. Though...t you might like to check out our song 'Where Will You Sleep Tonight' which addresses the topic of homelessness. We give 70% of our profits to organizations supporting the causes we sing about.
The clip is available to hear at http://truthonearthband.com/song_sleeptonight.html

http://truthonearth.com
http://facebook.com/truthonearth
http://youtube.com/truthonearthmusic

Peace & loveRead more