Saturday was Invisible People.tv day at YouTube. InvisiblePeople.tv is a site/project that utilizes social media tools like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace to spread awareness about the growing homelessness problem.
The channel was featured on YouTube’s home page over the weekend, and YouTube discussed it in a company blog post, speaking with Founder Mark Horvath.
"We’re always inspired by the people who use YouTube as a way to document how the other half lives, and Mark Horvath is a great example," writes YouTube Nonprofits & Activism Manager Ramya Raghavan. "As the founder of Invisible People. tv, a project that encourages homeless people across the United States to tell their stories on YouTube, he has sparked a discussion on the site about poverty and hunger. Mark’s videos are a raw and real depiction of what it’s like to live in a tent city, under an overpass, or within a cardboard box."
Hovrath has collected hundreds of interviews with homeless people around the world, and the InvisiblePeople.tv YouTube channel has many of them available to view.
The purpose, the channel says, is to make the invisible visible. "I hope these people and their stories connect with you and don’t let go," Horvath says. "I hope their conversations with me will start a conversation in your circle of friends."
The channel is the #44 most subscribed to nonprofit on YouTube.