CASE

FOR

SUPPORT
Each year, as many as

3.5 MILLION


AMERICANS

sleep in shelters, transitional housing and public places not meant for human habitation

Reports estimate that

7.4 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE
LOST THEIR HOMES

and are living with family or friends due to economic necessity. Of these "invisible people," 1.3 million are children under six years old.

As our homeless crisis grows at epidemic proportions, so does community resistance to solutions that will save lives and save taxpayer money. Opposition against the creation of new supportive housing units or bridge housing is often fueled by negative perceptions of homelessness and homeless people.

The stereotypes of poor people in the United States are among the most negative prejudices that we have. People basically view homeless people as having no redeeming qualities.
Susan Fiske Professor of Psychology, Princeton University
THE PUBLIC’S INABILITY TO
RELATE TO HOMELESSNESS
IS OUR BIGGEST OBSTACLE
TO ENDING IT.

While many people support solutions to end homelessness, they often oppose the implementation in their own neighborhoods. These residents are commonly referred to as NIMBY, or Not In My Back Yard residents. Town halls turn into shouting matches. Legal battles are funded by communities to roadblock progress to ending homelessness. In Orange County, California, a local community rallied to have a judge thrown off a case because he demonstrated empathy for homeless people. Community boards like Nextdoor are filled with nasty comments from angry neighbors. Use of hostile architecture, design techniques in town/community planning to discourage homeless people from staying in certain areas, is growing.

Examples of hostile architecture include:

  • Slanted benches
  • Benches with armrests
  • Rocky pavements
  • Spiked window sills
  • Structures to keep homeless people from sleeping on heated grates.

Even worse, vigilante groups continue to grow, and violence against homeless people is increasing.

There is a direct correlation between what the general public perceives about homelessness and how it affects policy change. Most people blame homelessness on the person experiencing it, instead of the increasing shortage of affordable housing, lack of employment, a living wage, or the countless reasons that put a person at risk. This lack of understanding creates a dangerous cycle of misperception that leads to the inability to effectively address the root causes of homelessness.

Invisible People humanizes homelessness by giving a voice to people living on the streets and making their stories impossible to ignore. At the same time, we strive to educate communities about the systemic issues that contribute to the problem. We appeal to audiences hearts and minds with our groundbreaking educational content that reaches more than a billion people across the globe.

OUR MISSION

Invisible People is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about homelessness through innovative storytelling, news and information. Invisible People is a trusted resource for inspiring action and raising awareness in support of advocacy, policy change and thoughtful dialogue around poverty in North America.

OUR VISION

We imagine a world where everyone has a place to call home. Until then, we strive to be the most trusted source for homelessness news, education and advocacy.

OUR STORY

Since our launch in November 2008, Invisible People has leveraged the power of video and the massive reach of social media to share the compelling, gritty, and unfiltered stories of homeless people from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. Invisible People gets up close and personal with veterans, mothers, children, layoff victims and others who have been forced onto the streets through a variety of circumstances. Each week, they’re on InvisiblePeople.tv, and high traffic sites such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, proving to a global audience that while homeless people may often be ignored, they are far from invisible.

AWARENESS + EDUCATION

= ACTION.

Invisible People goes beyond the rhetoric, statistics, political debates, and limitations of social services to examine poverty in America via a medium that audiences of all ages can understand.

We put into context one of our nation’s most troubling and prevalent issues through personal stories and bring into focus the pain, hardship, and hopelessness that millions face each day. One story at a time, videos posted on InvisiblePeople.tv shatter the stereotypes of America’s homeless, force shifts in perception, and deliver a call to action that is being answered by national brands, nonprofit organizations, and everyday citizens now committed to opening their eyes and their hearts to those too often forgotten.

Invisible People knows that information is power and can drive hearts and minds to action. That’s why we’ve developed a three-pronged approach to drive change, right now.

  • We hire professional journalists, many of whom have current or past experiences of homelessness to cover homelessness in their cities. Our posts drive our news cycle five days a week and are syndicated on Apple News.
  • We provide an online portal for young adults to learn about homelessness and related topics.
  • We implemented a robust advocacy platform empowering people to contact their state and federal legislators.
Visit InvisiblePeople.tv view some incredible stories

HIGHLIGHTS & IMPACT

Invisible People reaches over one billion people every year leveraging social media and YouTube to educate the general public on the realities of homelessness. In addition, Invisible People serves as both an expert and resource in the realm of educational training, digital inclusion, advocacy, and support. Invisible People generates a yearly minimum of 30 million video views on YouTube with 320,000 subscribers and growing. Social Blade, a YouTube monitoring platform, reports Invisible People will have 400,000 subscribers in 2020 and over a million subscribers in less than five years time

THE POWER OF REACH

According to the Pew Research Center, 73% of U.S. adults and 85% of U.S. teens engage on YouTube: this number is growing. In fact, homelessness is the third most important cause to young adults according to DoSomething.org, making YouTube and other social media platforms the ideal place to reach them. As the most technologically advanced group, they are powerful influencers both online and within their peer communities. Their support to help end homelessness is essential. Invisible People creates educational content and news articles designed to harness their passion and inspire engagement.

PARTNERS

Invisible People continues to partner with major brands like HanesBrands Inc, YouTube, Google, Oculus, and Ford Motor Company. Our philanthropy sponsors include Craig Newmark Philanthropies and Pierce Family Foundation.

SEE. LEARN. TAKE ACTION.

Early in 2019, Invisible People launched our new brand refresh and online strategy.
EDUCATION
We created an online educational portal for young adults to learn about homelessness written by C4 Innovations, a leader in social services training.
NEWS
We post original news content on homelessness five days a week that is syndicated on Apple News. We focus on hiring writers who are currently and formerly homeless.
ADVOCACY
We implemented advocacy software empowering people to contact their state and federal legislators. 693 people have sent 2,377 emails and tweet to 601 politicians since campaign launch.

Through storytelling, education, news and activism, we are

CHANGING THE NARRATIVE
ON HOMELESSNESS

and creating policy change.

Visit the City of Angels Dateline NBC special feature online.
  • Oculus is partnering with Invisible People to produce a virtual reality movie on homelessness that will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020. The film is a real-life story of a homeless woman living in a tent in Los Angeles. The film employed homeless people and formerly homeless people as actors.
  • YouTube partnered with Invisible People to produce four VR180 (virtual reality) videos on homelessness.
  • A City of Los Angeles Council member, Mike Bonin, brought Invisible People in for six weeks to counter the harmful narrative NIMBY residents were spreading on homelessness.
  • In 2016, the City and County of Los Angeles commissioned Invisible People to help pass Proposition HHH (supportive housing) and Measure H (sales tax), two homeless bonds that will raise $4.6 billion dollars in ten years! Seven of the top ten posts shared during Prop HHH came from Invisible People far above the LA Times and celebrity videos.
  • In 2010, YouTube invited Invisible People to curate content on their homepage for 24 hours. 1.6 million individual viewers learned about homelessness from homeless people they would never speak to on their city sidewalks.
  • Google asked Invisible People to produce video interviews of homeless people to be played for President Obama, in 2011, prior to his State of the Union YouTube interview.
  • Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) invited Invisible People to participate in the Homeless Children and Youth Act Campaign. During the two days of our involvement, 518 individuals sent a total of 1541 messages to Congress, reaching 365 legislators. That was more than had signed up to take action since the campaign launch several months prior.
  • In 2011, the Canadian government commissioned Invisible People to travel to 24 cities in Canada to launch the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.
  • In 2012, Hanes partnered with Invisible People on an educational campaign that reached 132 million people in 30 days. In 2017, they gave smartphones to three homeless people to share a day in their life on Instagram Stories that reached 15 million young adults.
  • In 2009 and 2010, Ford Motor Company aggregated Invisible People’s content on their website in real-time.
  • In August 2018, Dateline NBC featured Invisible People in an hour-long special on homelessness. City of Angels is nominated for an Emmy in 2019.
LOOKING AHEAD:

2019 & BEYOND

We can transform cultural misperceptions of homeless people and drive policy change worldwide

INVISIBLE PEOPLE HUB FOR HOMELESSNESS NEWS, EDUCATION & ADVOCACY

  • Continue delivering daily educational and news content through Invisible People’s channels
  • Enhance content quality and frequency by Invisible People filmmakers, content contributors, and editor
  • Amplify educational outreach and content
    • * Tour and cover impacted regions, partnering with municipalities & service organizations in support of advocacy and policy change
    • * Organized live streams, interviews & speaking engagements

PROPRIETARY PERCEPTIONS OF HOMELESSNESS YEARLY TWO-PHASE STUDY

  • Benchmark and publish results that seek to understand the correlation between the public’s perception of homelessness and policy change
  • Insights shared with industry and the general public will inform future Invisible People’s content creation
  • Partners include C4 Innovations, University of Florida Center for Public Interest Communications and Research, and Market Strategies, Inc.
Over the next 3 years, we are seeking $1,458,285
to achieve the next phase of our mission

DEVELOP AND CREATE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMING FOR YOUNG ADULTS

  • Partner with C4 Innovation and the University of Florida Center for Public Interest Communications for program development and educational design.
  • Expand Invisible People’s online educational portal
  • Develop teaching aids on homelessness for schools
  • Produce educational video content specific for high schools and colleges
  • Produce web series on homelessness for YouTube
  • Produce short documentaries on homelessness. One every quarter. Four each year

AMPLIFY AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN

  • Produce a national campaign to get more people to contact their legislators

HIRE MORE HOMELESS WRITERS AND ONLINE COACHING

  • Expand Invisible People’s ability to hire more homeless writers through online writing coaches

For more information regarding our financial reports and to see a list of our extensive media and non-profit partnerships, please contact: Mark Horvath at mark@invisiblepeople.tv.

TOGETHER WE CAN

CHANGE THE WORLD

We’ve carefully built a budget to help us achieve the next phase of our mission: transform cultural misperceptions of homeless people and drive policy change worldwide. To carry out the next phase of our work, over the next three years, we are seeking $1,458,285 in overall funding, which breaks down into three broad areas.

PROGRAMS $280,000

Our program goal of $280,000 makes up a significant part of our budget. This covers costs associated with creating and producing quality educational content on a regular basis, including daily news on homelessness written by professional journalists and columnists. Programs include an advocacy platform for people to contact their legislators to demand they make ending homelessness a priority. Our yearly research on messaging and public opinion will benefit the homeless services sector. We will also continue to empower homeless people to share their own stories and produce documentary-style videos highlighting people working to end homelessness.

  • First-person video storytelling from people experiencing homelessness in 12 cities
  • Video content of people working to end homelessness in 12 different cities
  • Original reporting on homelessness published daily from journalists and professional writers (focus on hiring homeless people)
  • Four mini-documentaries exploring homelessness and solutions to end it
  • Curriculum on homelessness for high schools and colleges
  • Research to understand the correlation between the public’s perception of homelessness and policy change with an emphasis on messaging to counter harmful beliefs

STAFF $184,000

Hire a staff of visionary professionals to provide the necessary infrastructure, vision, training and passion required to achieve our goals.

Employees:
  • Full-time CEO
  • Full-time Executive Director
  • Part-time managing editor

SOFTWARE AND SERVICES $22,095

As we move to utilize every aspect of the media mechanism, we must equip ourselves with the most upto-date software and cutting-edge equipment.

  • Advocacy software
  • Business subscriptions
  • Site hosting
  • Office supplies
  • Insurance
  • Telecoms
  • Software subscriptions: Adobe Creative Cloud, Dropbox, Sprout Social, Content Licensing and more
ANY AMOUNT

YOU GIVE WILL

MAKE ALL THE

DIFFERENCE.

We cannot enter this next phase without you. You can join us for all or part of our initial 3- year projected costs of $1,458,285. Together we can create powerful, moving education materials and media content that will change lives and transform the nation.

Invisible People
7119 W Sunset Blvd, #618 | Los Angeles, CA 90046
213-245-1519 | info@invisiblepeople.tv
invisiblepeople.tv

Invisible People is a registered 501(c)(3)