Lifestyle

Family Members Of Pedestrians Pose As Homeless People To See If They'd Care (Video)

by Liz Rowley

This video project by New York Rescue Mission may be the most chilling demonstration of blithely unaware citizens, and the most striking call to action for human decency you've ever seen.

Watch as New Yorkers pass by homeless individuals on the sidewalk without batting an eye. Next, watch them realize after the fact that they failed to recognize their own family members sitting  in the streets.

In a campaign designed to raise awareness, this is a powerful and persuasive strategy. By forcing us to picture our loved ones suffering an invisible existence, this campaign hits as close to home as is literally and figuratively possible.

These New Yorkers are charged with recognizing their own dismissiveness, and it is both shaming and telling.

I dare you not to be touched at the end of this video, and I doubt the imagery will escape your psyche when next you stroll down a crowded sidewalk.

The takeaway? "Change how you see the homeless."