Final Project Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvY4PlRzvaY
Most of us would agree that one of the highlights after a long day is finally being able to jump into our cozy beds not having to worry about anything until the next morning. Simple things like being able to sleep in a bed, shower in private, eat in private, have air conditioning on a blazing hot day or heat in a blizzard are just a short list of things that we take for granted every day. There are millions of people around the globe that don’t have the opportunity to take advantage of just one of the simple things listed above. The real question is do we care? As a society we have turned away from these people who live in our very own community and have chosen to ignore their needs and pretend as if they don’t exist. I Insist that we must change the way that we treat homeless people and start treating them like human beings and how we would want to be treated if we were ever in that situation.
I have chosen the topic of homelessness for my project because I know it's something that most people till this day still feel somewhat uncomfortable speaking about. We all must come together and talk about this issue and how can help fix it. Living in Jersey City NJ a city just a few miles away from New York City which has the highest number of homeless people means that I see dozens of homeless people through the city every day.
After learning that I wanted to focus on homelessness for my project I began to observe from a distance how my community interacted with their local homelessness people. The results were devastating but not at all shocking. Most people walking would try not to speak or even make any eye contact with the homeless people they saw on the streets. In the reality of these people mind homeless people don’t exist, they don’t mean anything, and they have no one to blame for their life choices that landed them being homeless but themselves. Most people think that all homeless people are either drug addicts, alcoholics, murderers, or just in general evil people who deserve to be homeless. The truth is people can end up homeless for many reasons that any of us can face.
There are numerous artists who address the issue of homelessness. One of my favorite artists who addresses homelessness through art is an Australian artist named Meek. Who painted a picture on a street wall of a homeless man holding up a sign reading “Keep your coins, I want change” He stenciled this powerful image on a wall and while technically illegal, it has an important message. Giving a homeless person some spare change can help them in the short term by providing some food, or even cause harm if the person buys drugs with the money. The artist’s point is that fundamental political and social change is necessary to solve this problem. Another artist that addresses homelessness is John D’oh who painted on a city wall a maid sweeping under a rug with a large caption on top that reads “You Can't Hide Homelessness”. This art piece is expressing no matter how much society and the community try to act like homelessness isn't a thing and try to make a city look better through gentrification the problem of homelessness will always exist. In conclusion, my project will show that it is in fact possible to get to know someone who is homeless and prove that they are people like you and me who maybe only made a mistake that led them to have to live the way that they do.
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