I would like to clear up a blatant misunderstanding.

Ten years ago, I began empowering homeless people by giving them an opportunity to share their personal stories through Invisible People, a nonprofit entity. Since then, I have traveled to more than 300 cities and nine different countries, most often at the request of organizations including governments, to humanize the conversation on homelessness for educational and awareness purposes.

In 2009, Utah invited me to assist in highlighting their homeless programs. In 2011, the Canadian government asked me to travel to 24 cities to help champion the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. Most recently, Los Angeles and Los Angeles County invited me to help with Proposition HHH and Measure H.

There is nothing corrupt about raising awareness about the homeless crisis facing the United States, and the world. Those who would use this as an argument to prevent access to shelter, a basic human need, seems immoral.

To humanize the homeless crisis facing Venice, Councilmember Mike Bonin offered to underwrite part of Invisible People’s storytelling. My goal is to show the human side of homelessness. If you have reviewed the invoice shared by those in opposition to my work, you will see I offer social media expertise to every organization that brings me in. However, speaking specifically to my contract with Venice, thus far I have only been asked to share the stories of the homeless people I meet, and that work began on December 1st. As stated previously, humanizing the homeless crisis by sharing the stories of those experiencing homelessness is something I have been doing for a decade. I have not consulted with Mike Bonin or his team about marketing or social media. I did offer a few thoughts after the town hall meeting, but that was it.

Suggesting dishonesty or fraudulence is a poor attempt to discredit the work I have been doing, which is sharing the stories of those who are most in need within the places I visit — your communities.

While I was in Venice from October 14th to October 19th, that stay was on me. I was at a YouTube conference and decided to stay a week in Venice as part vacation and part research. I am always working on sharing stories through Invisible People.

During the recent Town Hall meeting, Mike Bonin used a few images from Invisible People without my knowledge. What’s interesting is a few people found the images offensive, and suggested real life experiences are somehow corrupt. There is nothing corrupt about documenting actual personal experiences with the purpose of helping people. Others have suggested I was brought in to manipulate the Town Hall meeting by yelling things to make residents who oppose Bridge Housing look bad. This is another complete fabrication. Besides it not being my style, I had a cold and left the Town Hall early. I found it very upsetting that people in the crowd were there to disrupt the possibility of having a civil conversation.

The main reason I am here is to help the homeless people who live in Venice. As a formerly homeless person myself, and an Angeleno for more than 30 years, I care about homeless people, and I care about this city! If you look at my social media stream, I have been pushing stakeholders in Los Angeles to put some of the Measure H funds to creating shelters since it passed. More than 800 people died outside last year, and those deaths could have been avoided. We cannot allow people to die while we wait for permanent supportive housing to be built!

Allow me to address another issue opponents have brought up: the $10,000 payment to Invisible People. Here’s some logistical perspective — the day rate for a content producer in Los Angeles is around $1,000 a day. For a professional with my expertise and experience, it’s a lot more; but I strongly believe Venice needs more support services, so I gave the city a break. This contract has a day rate of $500 a day for 20 days. I work every day, so the actual cost is even less. All expenses are included.

Now let’s compare the $10,000 investment to the cost savings to taxpayers: When a homeless person is placed into housing, research shows the average annual savings to taxpayers is $18,500 per person. The savings come from eliminating the medical and emergency services. The proposed Venice Bridge Housing will have 150 beds with the goal of getting 100 adults and 50 youth into housing. That adds up to $2,775,000 in annual taxpayer savings. Not only are you saving money, but you are also saving lives.

This week I went to the Los Angeles City Council’s Homelessness and Poverty Committee. I sat and listened to many Venice residents who spoke both for and against the proposed Bridge Housing. Since I have your attention, I’d like to address the concerns I heard:

1) Bridge Housing will bring more transients to Venice.

After the meeting, Travis Binen, who is probably the loudest opposition to the Bridge Housing, offered to show me a video recorded on his phone of homeless people sharing where they relocated from. Travis continued that all of the license plates on the RVs parked around Venice are from out of state. He is trying to prove that homeless people will move here because of the new shelter; however, the new shelter is still years in the making. Travis is actually validating that people move to Venice, and that includes homeless people, too. Bridge Housing is not going to attract transients, but it will provide a solution to the growing homeless population.

2) Bridge Housing will put our lives at risk.

The proposed Bridge Housing is a few blocks from the boardwalk where most all of the homeless people gather. First, I don’t agree with the misperception that homeless people put other’s lives at risk. I am just pointing out the flawed logic behind this statement — “Bridge Housing presents more danger to the community” — homeless people are settled in the area already. If anything, the community will be safer after the Bridge Housing is created because instead of a big vacant, lot there will be a supervised facility.

3) Bridge Housing should be in another location.

I am not aware of all the location scouting and the behind the scenes decisions that went into picking the former MTA bus yard, but I can address what I like about it. It’s blocks away from where homeless people already gather. Being close will provide convenience so that homeless people can use the shelter. Let’s face it; the boardwalk is a magnet for people from all walks of life. Too far away will not work.

What I don’t like about Bridge Housing:

It’s not enough. It’s simply just not enough support for all of the people who need help. I am sure this same problem is at every Bridge Housing location and is not just Venice specific. Venice needs more than 100 adult beds and 50 youth beds. I understand there are funding and housing challenges just to make 150 beds happen, but my concern is I have seen time and again the homeless services sector fail to meet the current demand while homelessness continues to increase, and homeless numbers will increase. The bottom line is that until we fix the affordable housing crisis, we will never even put a dent in ending homelessness.

I also have a concern about the time it will take to implement Bridge Housing. Los Angeles must figure out a way to expedite all of the processes required to bring new support services from a concept into reality.

Why I support Bridge Housing:

Doing nothing will only guarantee disaster. For me, it’s the moral argument. I believe all life is precious and every human deserves the same love and respect as everyone else. No one should die outside homeless. Over the last few years, I have seen Los Angeles and Los Angeles County make massive progress in helping homeless people get off the streets. Why I agreed to this project and why I support Bridge Housing is because Bridge Housing is a tangible action in the right direction. We can no longer just sit back and ignore the homeless crisis, ignore the people facing homelessness. Although I believe more support is needed, 150 beds are far better than no beds! We have to start someplace!

After the Los Angeles City Council’s Homelessness and Poverty Committee meeting, I walked up to the Venice residents who spoke against the Bridge Housing and told them I respect them and I respect their opinion. I understand there is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding homelessness and people get emotional. What I don’t respect is the childish antics I witnessed at the Town Hall and the smear campaign that continues today. I have dedicated my life to helping homeless people. My reputation speaks for itself. I am doing today what I have done for the last 10 years — empowering homeless people to share their own stories to educate the public on homelessness. To those who claimed I shouted “put them in concentration camps” during the Town Hall in an attempt to make the opposition to Bridge Housing look bad is just as ridiculous as posting my invoice claiming my work is somehow corrupt.

To the Venice residents that would like to have a civil conversation on homelessness and Bridge Housing, please contact me and let’s go grab some coffee. To the people who just want to create trouble and cause drama, especially for the most vulnerable in our society, try to find more constructive things to do with your time. People are dying on the streets! They need your help!

I have been trying to vlog more and I did my very best to capture the experience of meeting Manda for the first time, touring Seattle’s sanctioned homeless tent encampments, and handing out Hanes socks with Manda to homeless people downtown Seattle. Because capturing vlog content is often challenging some of the footage is not the greatest but I selected clips on emotion over quality. I feel it’s important to bring you through the experience as authentically as possible. This video is far from perfect but it is real!

A few months back Manda posted a selfie on one of my Facebook pages of her drinking coffee from her homeless camp. We became friends online yet I never imagined that I one day I would be at Manda’s camp drinking coffee with her.

This video starts off with the moment I met Manda in real life for the first time. Manda then takes us on a short tour of her homeless camp. I have huge respect for Manda. It takes a lot of courage to open up your life for the world to see when you live under a bridge homeless.

We then meet up with a friend that works for the City of Seattle who takes us on a tour of Tent City 5 Interbay that is run by homeless people Licton Springs Village, a low barrier tent community that is a harm reduction model.

The next day folks from Hanes flew out to Seattle to meet Manda and to give socks away to several of Seattle’s homeless camps, the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC), and homeless people unsheltered downtown.

If you want to connect to homeless people you need to listen to homeless people. Manda took control. She was a force of nature handing out socks and hard to keep up with. The passion Manda had to help other people was contagious.

This video is an inside look into Seattle’s homeless population and how homeless people survive. Throughout this video, Manda shows us why it feels good to give to others. Let’s follow her lead and do all we can to help the hurting people in our communities. Manda is living proof we can all make a real positive difference in our world!

A Homeless Woman Shows Us Why It Feels Good to Give. was originally published in Be Yourself on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the first guy to give socks to homeless people. But I can almost guarantee no one has handed out socks to as many homeless people in as many cities and countries as I have. In the last ten years, I have traveled to over 300 cities and eight different countries handing out socks and making new homeless friends. I thought it would be a good idea to put together a “How-to” guide on handing out socks to people experiencing homelessness.

But, before I begin with the “how”, let’s first discuss the “why”.

There are reasons handing out socks is so important. First, socks are a real need to homeless people. Imagine you have to store all your clothes and belongings in a backpack carried with you all day. Maybe you’ve got two pairs of jeans, a couple of shirts, a couple of pairs of underwear, and some socks. And, socks get dirty. They get dirty fast.

What happens is homeless people wash their feet, but often they have to put dirty socks back on. While surprisingly simple, new socks are gold to homeless people because they feel good and help defend from several health problems. As one woman put it, brand new socks are “snuggly and comfy.”

Homeless people are getting sandwiches all day long, but very rarely do they receive socks. By handing out socks, you’re helping with a genuine need and creating a nonverbal connection that says, “You know something about homelessness. You care.”

Another reason to give out socks is it feels good helping somebody else. Sometimes when I’m feeling down or a little depressed, I will fill my backpack with a couple of bags of socks and go hand them out to homeless people and make some new friends. My problems don’t go away, but I gain a new perspective that helps me deal with life. I guarantee when you’re giving other people the gift of brand new fresh socks, you’re going to get all kinds of amazing responses back — from smiles to jumps for joy. I even had a homeless youth once yell, “White gold.” It will recharge you.

I often get asked by people, “There’s a homeless person in my neighborhood. I see him. I walk by him. I want to know his story.” Break the ice by giving some socks and then listen.

There’s a lot of different ways that you can hand out socks. You can, like me, carry socks in your backpack. Maybe carry a couple of pairs in your purse or in your briefcase. You can keep a couple of pairs in your glove box for when you’re at that exit ramp, and there’s a homeless person, and maybe the light turns red and it’s a little awkward. Take that awkward moment and turn it into something beautiful by handing the homeless person some socks.

Now let’s look at the “How” to give socks.

The number one question I get is, “What kind of socks do I give away?”

The only style of sock you should buy is men’s white crew socks. Don’t buy the “no-shows.” Don’t buy tube socks. Don’t buy ankle socks. And don’t buy black socks. People prefer white socks over black socks. Occasionally I will take black socks and white socks with me and give people a choice; 99 out of 100 times a homeless person will choose, “White socks.”

I also recommend Hanes socks. Hanes is a wonderful, comfortable sock at a fantastic price. There’s a lot of buy one give one brands out there. But for the cost of one sock from one of the buy one give one brands, you can buy 12 pairs of Hanes socks. That means you can give out six pairs of socks and keep six pairs if you wanted. Or you can give out all 12 pairs of socks for the price of 1 pair of the BOGO socks.

In full disclosure, Hanes occasionally hires me as a consultant and Hanes donates socks to Invisible People, but I am not being compensated for this post in any way. I am doing this because Hanes is the best sock for you to buy to give to homeless people.

I want homeless people to have socks. I want them to have quality socks, so that’s why I recommend Hanes.

My next tip is safety first — If you don’t feel safe, don’t engage with someone. Now, this is not just homelessness. We live in a really scary world. If you don’t feel comfortable, don’t go down that street. If you don’t feel comfortable when somebody tries to panhandle, don’t engage and give them socks. You have to feel safe and comfortable wherever you are. Your safety comes first.

I try to give every homeless person two pairs of socks. Sometimes that’s not possible. If I walk into a group that’s rather large, then maybe I’ll go down to one pair of socks. If the group is way too big, I may not even give socks at all, because when I went to school the teacher said, “If you don’t have enough gum to give to everybody in the class, don’t bring it out.” I go by that rule.

Last, but far from least is have fun. Some of the most amazing moments of my adult life have been out on the streets with a backpack full of socks making new homeless friends. Helping somebody in crisis with something so simple as a pair of new socks makes you feel grateful for what you have because when you hand them new socks, you’re going to see an amazing smile, shouts for joy, and you’re just going to go, “Wow. My life. I was upset about this today, and this person is happy just because they got new socks?” It’s an amazing experience.

Watch this video for more tips on how to give out socks to homeless people.

How to Give Socks to Homeless People. was originally published in Be Yourself on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As Invisible People approaches its 10th anniversary, it seems fitting to flashback to the beginning. To a time when I began empowering homeless people to share their stories. It was also a time of uncertainty — I was unemployed with no income, facing homelessness for a second time. Should my limited resources be invested in Invisible People? Would anyone watch these videos? Would my crazy gamble make an impact?

One tweet from @LAFDtalk changed everything and inspired me to continue my work. One man gave me the encouragement and support I needed to forge forward with Invisible People. That man is Brian Humphrey.

It wasn’t until recently that I was finally able to meet the man behind the tweet. As the public information officer at Los Angeles Fire Department, Brian is the epitome of a public servant. During our historic meeting, Brian joined me for this fantastic interview. Your experience in marketing and social media doesn’t matter — everyone can learn something from Brian, and the LAFD as a whole. Take, for example, the department’s SLIM philosophy:

“The best relationships are the ones with the people who are living in your neighborhood around the clock every day of the year,” Brian says. “I think that’s where social media is going — we like to call it our SLIM philosophy. We want social media to be Social, Local, Instant and Mobile friendly. So if we can have that SLIM relationship, and emphasis on the local, I think that’s where we want to be headed.”

Another lead the LAFD takes is an open communications policy. In the homeless services sector, communication departments often worry about privacy. The LAFD manages to maintain privacy while sharing their stories of heroic efforts through social media — often times in real time and during a crisis.

While monitoring the freeways, streets, skies, and ports, they provide Angelenos important, useful information that can be life-saving. All of this they do with a touch of class and a great sense of humor. Here’s Brian sharing another nugget of wisdom (what I like to call a Brian-ism):

“The greatest challenge to Los Angeles and its fire department are not train wrecks or terrorism — our greatest challenge is mediocrity and complacency. And that’s being mediocre and complacent about the fear, the uncertainty, and the doubts, or the FUD, that people can experience in daily life,” Brian says. “It’s our job to get out there, and social media’s been a great opportunity for us to reach out and connect with people closer and more frequently than ever.”

Grab a pen and paper — this is an interview you want to watch and take notes. It is truly one of my favorites! Not just because Brian is a hero of mine and an expert at social media. In it, he shares from the heart about the Los Angeles Fire Department. It’s also full of leadership nuggets and Brian-isms!

There are no words to express how wonderful it was to finally meet Brian. He is a true example of a public servant and I cannot express how much I respect this man and the Los Angeles Fire Department. They are true heroes.

I’ve been asked to weigh in on Housing First. But in order to really start that conversation, I want you to know that I firmly believe the faith-based community is our best chance of ending homelessness.

However, we must adapt to new models and new ways of thinking, and we must embrace disruptive change to help better serve our communities — not just in the world of homeless services, but in all things we set out to do.

Taking Action

I once heard Guy Kawasaki, author and former chief evangelist of Apple, share the story of Ice 3.0. Before mechanical refrigeration was invented and adopted, ice was harvested during the winter months and stored in the summer — think of that method as Ice 1.0. Then along came the ice factories — Ice 2.0. I can remember as a child going to an ice factory with my parents to buy ice. Today they are all out of business. Why? The refrigerator-freezer became commonplace in every home — Ice 3.0.

What’s especially fascinating is that the people running each ice business could not see the next version of ice coming. People harvesting ice never saw ice factories coming, just as the people behind ice factories never saw the refrigerator-freezer.

Even when we see what’s coming, we must take action to survive.

Remember Kodak? Around a decade ago, Kodak was the undisputed king of photography — the largest photography brand in the world. Then the universal switch to digital essentially killed their entire business. Did you know that Kodak actually invented the digital camera but decided to shelve the new invention because their photography business was going so well? Their fear of deviating from what they have always known — film — caused them to lose everything.

New and Improved Rescue Mission

Instead of just starting a conversation about Housing First, let’s talk about the rescue mission of the future — a “New and Improved Rescue Mission.”

I have a vision of a rescue mission rising up in each community across America as the center-point of service and support. I can see a new type of rescue mission that people can’t stop talking about because it is the catalyst for positive change everywhere we look. This isn’t a rescue mission stuck on old traditions and outdated models, but it will be a new rescue mission that works alongside every single stakeholder in every community and looks for ways to “fill gaps” of needed support. I see a rescue mission that regional and even national governments look to in order to help end homelessness. We can be that rescue mission. But first we need to change, and it is going to be painful.

In the last five years, I have traveled to more than 200 cities in six counties, working with homeless services at every level imaginable. When I visit a community and begin working with stakeholders, it’s rare that the local rescue mission is even at the table. While not always true, in most of the communities I’ve been to, the rescue mission stands to the side. This is unfortunate, because we should be the ones who are championing for positive change!

Embracing Change

When I started Invisible People and started to work on my first road trip across the United States, I reached out to rescue missions. My initial hope was to travel across the country and highlight the great work you are doing. However, that never happened because most (albeit, not all) rescue missions simply do not play well with others. In my experience, it’s the truth. Many rescue missions are draped in years of tradition and want to do things the way they have always been done. This instinct to keep the same course is not a fault. In fact, it’s human nature. However, to create change we must embrace change, and the fact is that lack of communication and cooperation with others hurts both us and our communities.

A question I hear frequently is, “How is homelessness different in my city?” Well, homelessness itself is pretty much the same everywhere. Obviously, people experiencing homelessness in Anchorage live differently than those sleeping outside in Tampa. The most noticeable difference is the way communities respond to homelessness. Some cities will try to criminalize homelessness or literally bulldoze it away. Others will instead admit their community has a problem and embrace working together to end homelessness. The communities that share their resources while forgetting their differences are the ones who actually have the most impact on ending homelessness.

That’s where I believe Housing First works. It can save lives and save money. I have personally witnessed the Housing First model succeed time and time again when other methods, such as an abstinence-based model, did not.

As a model, Housing First and Permanent Supportive Housing are brilliant ways to end homelessness. The problem is…people and their adaptation to new practices. Another issue is the way programs are implemented and executed. Housing First is now the sexy conversation, yet it leaves out the necessity of shelters when shelters play a crucial role in the success of Permanent Supportive Housing.

My Own Experience

When I first heard about Housing First, I was facing homelessness for a second time in my life. I still remember sitting in a meeting, listening to information about this new model, and getting upset. The thought of giving away an apartment to someone when I also needed an apartment had me screaming inside, “What about me? I’m about to be homeless too!” Then they passed around a photo book that emergency homeless responders had made of the 100 most vulnerable people. Even after being homeless myself and working with homeless people, I’d never seen anything like it. I could only turn about a quarter of the pages; it shook me up badly and it wasn’t until then that I understood it — Housing First saves the lives of the people closest to death.

Years ago, a leader in faith-based homeless services told me a story of when he was running a youth ministry. His team visited a large church in Los Angeles known for its work with homeless people. The visiting group, led by a ministry outreach leader from this large church, started walking on foot to downtown L.A. near Skid Row.

They happened to witness an older homeless man, bound to a wheelchair, tip over and fall to the ground. This man’s head was cut open and bleeding. The visiting team began to run over to help the stranger when the outreach leader stopped them and said with authority, “Don’t touch him. We’ll pray for him and God will take care of him.” My friend went on to tell me he was ready to call 911, but because of the insistence of the outreach leader, they all just kept on walking, leaving the homeless man lying on ground next to his wheelchair, bleeding on the sidewalk. We can no longer be witnesses, praying for help. We have to create the change.

I personally went through a faith-based recovery program and was hired on after my completion. My heart broke whenever a homeless person was too intoxicated or had severe mental illness and was not allowed into the program. What excites me about the Housing First model is that it’s a tool to help the most chronic and vulnerable of homeless people — those who, in my experience, are not allowed inside most shelters (faith-based or not).

60 Minutes recently aired a story featuring 100,000 Homes and their work using the Housing First model to fight homelessness in Nashville, Tennessee. I am a supporter of 100,000 Homes and was a leadership advisor during their startup. The segment shared the story of a man named Frank who was listed as the most vulnerable in the community, which meant unless he received help fast, Frank was probably going to die. He was placed into housing, and the next morning he was seen on the couch drunk after finishing off a bottle of whiskey.

I imagine that those opposed to the Housing First model might have passed right over his health issues and focused on the part where Frank was still drinking. But ask yourself this question: Would any of us have let Frank into our shelter? Perhaps, but probably only if Frank was willing to stop drinking and sit through Bible study. When we have a choice between sheltering or not, no one should make the choice that leaves a person out on the streets to die.

I had a homeless friend, Richard, in Los Angeles who had lived on the streets since his mother died. Alcohol had completely taken over his life. His liver was so damaged that there were sores on his legs so bad he couldn’t wear pants. He always wore shorts and tied bandannas around his legs so the sores weren’t visible. Any normal person would have immediately stopped drinking, right? But without help, Richard couldn’t stop. Along with an outreach team, we tried everything imaginable to help this young man get into either a rehab or a faith-based program. We tried for years.

Richard passed away on the side of the Los Angeles River some time ago. If Housing First was available, I believe his life could have been saved.

The police once called me to an abandoned building, where they had found a homeless man living inside. When I first met Lanny, he was in a condition worse than a human should ever get. He was so drunk he couldn’t stand or talk. For the next several years, I committed to Lanny. I tried to find him every day. Once in a while, I would be able to get him into an emergency shelter for a few days, but he would always return to sleeping outside. Lanny was a severe alcoholic. During one incident, paramedics told me he blew a .41 blood alcohol level. I don’t know of a single faith-based program that would allow someone in Lanny’s condition inside.

It took several years of fighting bureaucracy and other obstacles, but eventually we were able to get Lanny into housing. His transformation was immediate and drastic. Without a “program,” Lanny stopped drinking. He still has an occasional beer, but so do a lot of people. He keeps his apartment spotless and even gets invited to holiday parties by his neighbors. Where shelters couldn’t work, permanent supportive housing saved Lanny’s life.

Trouble Spots

Unfortunately, many nonprofits that claim to be using the Housing First model do not have the resources to do Housing First right.

I have witnessed nonprofits shoving homeless people into bare apartments without as much as a bed. They aren’t doing this out of malice; they simply don’t have the resources. Unless an agency can provide a complete home, they shouldn’t be placing people into housing, period!

The other and more important issue is the lack of supportive services. When a chronically homeless person is placed into housing, he needs to have support services stopping by every day for the first six months at least. Visits can then gradually taper off as the person starts stabilizing.

Many nonprofits simply don’t have the resources to provide this kind of support. It can be a scary and intimidating experience for individuals who move into an apartment from living in a park or under a bridge. One of the reasons Lanny was able to make the transition into housing is because I personally took it upon myself to visit him every day until he adjusted.

The good news is that these issues can be solved with the support of a faith-based community. Housing kits and furniture drives can be fun and engaging events for a church or ministry. Also, visiting housed homeless people and providing tangible interaction can be a great fit for church ministries. Instead of fighting Housing First, we should all find a way to work alongside one another to produce support needed to house more people.

We Need Both!

As Housing First started to receive more attention over the last year or so, I noticed that the wonderful individuals who run shelters and transitional programs were often being excluded. I wrote an article for Huffington Post titled: “It’s not Housing First or shelters. It’s Housing First and shelters!” My piece addressed some of the communication issues I’ve witnessed. To paraphrase, Housing First is just one of many new tools in our arsenal to help end homelessness. We still need shelters. And for Housing First to work, both shelters and outreach workers must be at the foundation of our efforts.

Organizations that are condemning Housing First should take a long, hard, honest look at their own methods. No one should be in a shelter longer than a few months without a clear plan for permanent housing.

I have traveled and toured more shelters perhaps than anyone else, and I have yet to see a shelter that truly gives a person dignity. Yes, many do great work and have amazing facilities, but even an above-average shelter is not a place for people to live for an extended amount of time.

Ideally, shelters should be used for the vast majority of people who only experience homelessness for a short period of time. A coordinated community system can and should work together with both life skills and workforce development programs to help individuals get off the streets and out of a shelter in the shortest amount of time possible.

For the people who are severe alcoholics or drug abusers, and for those with mental illness — who probably will never find gainful employment — a coordinated community system should provide services to help get them into permanent supportive housing as soon as possible. Shelters are also needed to help facilitate street-to-housing while housing stock is being secured.

I believe a year-long faith-based recovery program can benefit someone who desires it. But an authentic look at the data reveals that persons who are given the dignity of their own home will recover faster than those living on bunk beds or dormitory style with a large group of men or women.

Love All, Serve All

Rescue missions are called to do two things: help people with both their physical and spiritual needs. The heritage of rescue missions can be traced back hundreds of years. We’ve done an amazing amount of good, but the traditional method of requiring people to listen to preaching before each meal no longer works. I know this is changing in many missions. But I fear that where it isn’t, this practice and other outdated methods are even repelling people from Christianity. I certainly don’t claim to be the smartest man, nor am I a biblical scholar, but I can guarantee you that the best possible way to help people spiritually is by simply being more like Jesus by loving everyone and working with our communities to help the most vulnerable.

To end homelessness, we cannot work as Lone Rangers. Homeless-ness is an ageless, ongoing problem that is too expansive for any one organization to tackle alone. But working together, I earnestly believe we can end homelessness — or at least come extremely close.

Most communities have a lot of silos with very few systems. My encouragement and challenge to you is to start reaching out to your community and begin to act as the peacemaker. My vision of a new and improved rescue mission is happening as we speak. I know of many new, bold, and visionary individuals who are pioneering disruptive change to help us be able to love more and do more.

We are not ice factories. We aren’t Kodak. We can see that change is coming. So unlike Kodak, we can’t be afraid to divert from what we’ve always known.

Rescue missions have the power to unite communities, leverage their resources, and become the game changers the fight against homelessness needs. The new and improved rescue mission can do this — and the change starts with you.

First published in the March/April 2014 issue of Rescue magazine, Copyright © 2014 by the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions.

For the last few years, I was thrilled with the performance of Invisible People’s YouTube channel. With a focus on homelessness education, an average of 40,000 monthly views was a miracle, or so I thought.

After joining Patreon a few months back, I began paying more attention to YouTube. The lightbulb really went off when I typed “homeless” into the YouTube search bar. All that came up was prank videos and other awful content so far from the truth about homelessness.

Invisible People undoubtedly has more videos from homeless people than any other content creator. Yet none of my videos were showing in search with the keyword “homeless.” That was a problem!

Here’s what I know. For success on YouTube, you need to produce quality content that your audience actually wants to watch. This is above everything else. Then comes your video title and thumbnail — these are extremely important if you want your videos to get noticed. Next step, add a description and the proper tags to help YouTube’s algorithm feed your videos to the right folks.

Thanks to Roberto Blake, I also learned about TubeBuddy, a browser plugin for YouTube channels that I highly recommend. TubeBuddy has more features than I have time to figure out, but it’s suggested and explore tags feature will pay for itself!

Reaching Millions

Inspired and armed with TubeBuddy, I began implementing changes to my existing catalog of 876 YouTube videos. I updated 20 videos every morning while drinking my first cups of coffee. If I had a moment of time throughout the day, I would update more.

It took YouTube’s algorithm a few weeks to catchup to my changes, but the results have been dramatic. From 40,000 views every month to now more than 4 million views every month! And that isn’t even the most amazing part. Our average view duration is 2:41 — almost 3 minutes! That means more than four million people watch at least 3 minutes of our videos EVERY MONTH!

Our channel has generated high views before, but traffic was always just a spike after a media hit. The biggest was on August 22, 2010. YouTube allowed Invisible People to curate the content for their homepage on that day. Approximately 1.6 million people had a positive interaction with homelessness that day, people who may never have rolled down their window at an exit ramp to ask a homeless person their story.

With the changes I implemented, we now reach millions of people every month instead of just an occasional spike.

Put in the Effort

The irony is the changes that influenced this dramatic growth are things I have been telling other nonprofits to do for years.

In my defense, I always used descriptions and tags. However, my video title was the homeless person’s first name. Our very first website played off “Homelessness has a name,” and there was a flash element that brought attention to the first name. Even the current website uses the first name in the treatment. Although I preach to nonprofits about the importance of titles, Invisible People only had a first name.

Nonprofits (and I am sure for-profits too) often upload a video and put zero effort into the title, thumbnail, description, and tags. Many will spend thousands of dollars on producing a video yet do little to make sure people find the video online.

Last year I was commissioned to produce videos for a large nonprofit. It was a very challenging project and a lot of work. The videos ended up being powerful testimonies of their work, but no one sees them.

I suggested to them several times the importance of writing an engaging title and description and using tags. I even provided the nonprofit with several versions of custom thumbnails to use. The nonprofit did not use a good title or description nor did they use the thumbnails I created. Each video has around 100 views after being online for almost a year!

Secrets to YouTube Growth

There is a false belief that videos must be short to keep a viewer’s attention. On the contrary! These days, people will burst their bladder binge-watching video content. If you look at all the successful YouTubers, their content is between 10 and 30 minutes. This is important for two reasons:

1) Nonprofits need to produce content that engages people and brings them through a storyline. Forget about the length; produce videos for the story.

2) Watch time: the amount of time a viewer spends on a video has the greatest influence in YouTube’s algorithm deciding whether it’s popular or not.

The secret to YouTube growth is really no secret. You just have to put in a little effort in. OK, a lot of effort, but it’s worth it!

Invisible People’s focus is education and awareness, so the added growth increases impact. However, online donations have also increased behind the scenes. In June, Invisible People received more funding from private donors than we have in the last five years combined!

A Final Note

In my research to improve, I ran across a few YouTubers that had a dramatic influence on me. Roberto Blake’s channel got me thinking differently about creativity, production, and distribution. Derral Eves’s channel started me thinking about the mechanics behind the YouTube algorithm. Sara Dietschy’s channel gave me the inspiration to start vlogging.

Vlogging has helped to bring people along with me as I travel working to end homelessness. I am still experimenting with a format, but I have come to believe the YouTube and vlogging is always a work in progress. You can see some of my recent vlogs here.

Let’s talk about homeless people, a.k.a. “people experiencing homelessness”.

Does this messaging — “people experiencing homelessness” — resonate with people unfamiliar with the homeless sector?

The theory behind using the phrase “people experiencing homelessness” is that homelessness doesn’t define a person. But it does. I was a homeless person, and being homeless defined me as a survivor influencing who I am today.

And while the individuals behind the “people experiencing homelessness” movement mean well, the phrase doesn’t sound natural in conversation. My background is in marketing, so I agree that words matter. But for culture to adopt a phrase like “people experiencing homelessness”, it needs to be conversational.

In addition, many in the homeless services sector feel the phrase will de-stigmatize homelessness. But the general population doesn’t say “people experiencing cancer,” “people experiencing poverty” or “people experiencing a lack of education”. So the phrase “people experiencing homelessness” becomes jargon, and jargon does not communicate well.

I have met service providers who will only say “people experiencing homelessness” to the point of making conversations awkward. Even homeless people don’t use the phrase “people experiencing homelessness.”

Perspectives from Homeless People

The more I thought about my own homelessness and use of the phrase “people experiencing homelessness,” the more I found the phrase offensive. Using the word “experience” does not represent the pain I went through or the mountain I climbed to get out of it!

I facilitate an online support group for homeless and formerly homeless people. I asked folks what they thought of using the phrase “people experiencing homelessness.”

Mike who is homeless in New Jersey wrote this:

“When it comes to political correctness, I’m a bull in a china shop. Today’s knee-jerk liberal will often call me a bigot, a racist, and anti-semite, or homophobe all under the pretext that I’m a middle-class heterosexual white man. I’m black (not experiencing excessive melanin), I’m gay (not experiencing same sex attractions), I’m poor (not experiencing a lack of funds)….

“AND HELL YES I’M HOMELESS! But one thing I’m not is a glass jaw. Being all these things doesn’t define me. The totality of who and what I am could never be expressed on a spreadsheet. They are but components to my life. Seems to me more energy, time and effort are spent on sanitizing and making politically correct the very toxic issues that plague the homeless. But when do we actually get help? I don’t often quote the Bible but I’ll make an exception this time: “faith without works is dead.” And so are HOMELESS people without a living wage and home to call our own.”

This is what Rylan said on Facebook:

“I was homeless for three years recently and always referred to myself as such. While I see the point of changing some linguistic references in an attempt to de-stigmatize, in general, PC euphemisms are ridiculous and don’t help any cause to which they’re attached.”

It’s interesting how the views of people working in the homeless sector conflict with the views of homeless people.

Changing Public Opinion

There is a huge need to educate the general public on homelessness. I believe strongly that we will never end homelessness unless we have the public’s support. We need to change wrong impressions. Using the term “people experiencing homelessness” will not make this task easier.

The wrong beliefs people have about homelessness are deep-rooted and extremely hard to change. Inaccurate paradigms continue to be reinforced by pop culture, news media, and nonprofit fundraising materials.

The most popular YouTube videos on the topic of homelessness, viewed by hundreds of millions people, are mostly prank videos. Many of them are horrible, yet young adults get their first impressions of homeless people from them.

Research from a recent Washington Post article states: “the news media’s approach to reporting on homeless people can activate disgust, increasing public support for policies that make it difficult for the homeless to pull themselves out of poverty and get off the street.”

Nonprofit fundraising campaigns fill mailboxes and inboxes with needs-based images and stories. This gives the general public a false impression that homeless people are helpless and just need a meal.

No matter how well-intentioned, a phrase like “people experiencing homelessness” will not de-stigmatize homelessness. Sure, it may make the social services sector feel better. But it doesn’t encompass the varying factors that lead to homelessness. As Jessie sarcastically wrote on Facebook, “People experiencing chronic substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders and homelessness”. Her comment speaks volumes as to why “people experiencing homelessness” does not communicate well.

To change the wrong impressions people have of homelessness, we need more targeted education. Sadly, Invisible People is the only national-level, education-based campaign working to teach people about homelessness outside of the homeless sector. As a sector, we need to be conscious of how our words and actions influence outside views. We need more research and more funding to support educational campaigns. And we need to use messaging that resonates with the general public.

We had our own satellite so I walked over to Technical Operation Control (TOC), which was a room similar to a small NASA mission control — a lot of TVs and clocks showing time zones around the world. Not everyone is allowed in the room, so there were only a few of us watching the live raw camera feeds from all the news helicopters flying over the city. We could see smoke and fire and the whole city erupting into madness. The small group of us stood and watched in disbelief. It was a very eerie feeling and so surreal.

I was director level management with 30-plus direct reports. Being Los Angeles, my staff consisted of all different cultures. We were a tight team, but the racial tension was affecting everyone. It was a challenging time. It was a challenging time to be a boss.

The National Guard was dispatched to Los Angeles. Not sure if you all remember — they forgot to bring ammunition. Once the media reported that the Guard didn’t have bullets, the madness just got worse.

I lived close to a shopping center in North Hollywood that was a target for looters. It was not the best of areas to begin with. I owned a shotgun at the time, but I refused to have a loaded gun in the house. I slept in shorts with shells in my pockets. My thinking was if someone came into my apartment and it was night, I didn’t want to have to fumble around to find the shotgun shells.

Sleeping with ammunition in my pockets was probably pretty dumb, but I was scared, and that was when I used drugs and was high most of the time. I did a lot of dumb shit back then.

A friend contacted me and said we should go fishing to getaway. Looting was everywhere. The Guard was everywhere. Going up to Lake Piru and renting a boat for the day seemed like a great idea. We anchored by the dam and started to fish.

All of a sudden we heard a gunshot. Then we heard another, but this time we heard a ‘wooooosh’ go by our heads. We were two white guys being shot at — literally sitting ducks. Those little rental boats don’t go fast. I almost jumped in the water and started to swim to shore but I stayed in the boat. We got the hell out of there.

In the week that followed, when driving around North Hollywood, you’d see old TVs and couches, refrigerators and furniture — all kinds of stuff out on the curb waiting for trash pickup. So many people went “shopping”. It’s hard to fathom the number of people that participated in the rioting simply for personal gain. What started as a race issue quickly became a class riot. Folks were getting what they wanted and there was little stopping them.

One TV clip I’ll never forget is a police officer in a parking lot with his gun drawn. Looters were walking out of a store carrying TVs and anything they could pick up. The police officer pointed his gun at someone holding a TV and they just kept going ignoring the police officer’s demands. He pointed his gun at someone else and they ignored him, too. Eventually, the cop gave up. The lawlessness of that moment speaks volumes of what was going down throughout Los Angeles.

Starcom was awarded the FBI contract to convert all the media footage to VHS so possible looters could be identified and arrested. One of the departments I managed was the mass duplication so much of the conversion work fell under my team. Watching that footage, footage the public never saw, still sticks with me.

I have seen posts all week about the riots and wanted to write about my perspective, but I put it off because of the strong emotions tied to that time. Looking back, I recognize it was after the riots that I really started to abuse drugs. All my habits got worse. It was the beginning of the end for me.

Two years after the riots, the Northridge Earthquake hit. That, too, scarred me emotionally. I have insane stories about the quake, but that’s a different post. The only way I could process and deal with my emotions following the LA Riots and the Northridge Quake was using massive amounts of drugs.

I try to bury any thoughts of the riots. The feelings that come up are not healthy for me. And to be honest, I believe riots will happen again and again, only bigger and bigger. The rich in this country are getting richer and the poor are getting more desperate.

I am not against money or people having money, but the socioeconomic divide is growing and if something is not done soon, we will see similar riots and looting — only on a much larger scale!

I really wanted to write something but as I said, I was scared of the emotions it may bring up. Then I saw an aerial photo and it reminded me of being in the TOC, watching raw news feeds of the riots exploding throughout the city.

As difficult as it is to face the emotional scars of our past, both on a personal and a national level, we have to be brave. We have to have conversations about how these circumstances came to be. We have to listen with an open mind and understand while we may not all agree, we can compromise and take small steps to a brighter future.

On one of my road trips around the country, I was walking downtown in Salt Lake City handing out socks to people experiencing homelessness. I happened to run across a young man with a backpack who had a look of hopelessness in his eyes. I asked him about homelessness and he responded that not only was it his 18th birthday, but that it was his first day homeless. Without even thinking about it, I opened my wallet and handed the young man all the money I had on me — two $20 bills.

Contrary to popular belief, giving money to homeless people is okay.

Yes, the official stance of the homeless services sector is: don’t give money to panhandlers. Instead, they recommend money be given to them to help end homelessness. While I agree everyone should support community services working to end homelessness, the answer is not so black and white.

The truth is giving money to homeless people depends on the circumstances. If you feel the urge to give money and you feel safe, then it’s perfectly fine.

Give Without Worry

Pope Francis recently said it’s okay to give homeless people money and we should not worry about doing so. The Pope also said “the way of giving is as important as the gift. You should not simply drop a bill into a cup and walk away. You must stop, look the person in the eyes, and touch his or her hands.”

Oftentimes, we don’t take the time to listen and learn what a person may truly need. This is frequently the case even when a person is plainly stating their needs.

A homeless friend once shared a story about when he needed a toothbrush. He stood in front of a grocery store displaying a sign asking for money to buy the toothbrush. It wasn’t long before people started to give him food. He gratefully accepted multiple bags of fast food meals as he tried to collect money to buy a toothbrush. He set the bags next to him. Although it was clear he had already been given food, people continued to give him more. He never was able to purchase the toothbrush he needed.

In this situation, my homeless friend was clearly communicating his need. But the givers either were not listening or chose not to because they have been told not to give money to panhandlers. The thing is, with food stamps a person cannot buy toilet paper, toothpaste, a toothbrush and other hygienic needs. It takes money.

Stop Blaming the Individual

People experiencing homelessness are human beings. We should treat them with respect. But too often we view the homeless person asking for money as a bum or con artist. We blame homelessness on the person when their situation could be caused by a variety of reasons: lack of affordable housing, lack of a living wage, or some kind of trauma.

“Panhandlers use money to purchase drugs or alcohol.” This is also a common belief stopping people from giving money to panhandlers. Let’s think about that: if you’re going to the bathroom behind a dumpster in a McDonald’s parking lot, life sucks. You might as well have a beer!

Please know I have 21 years sober and I am not advocating for alcohol abuse in any way. I am just trying to show a little perspective. It’s hard to be homeless. Alcohol and drugs offer an escape from the pain.

When I lived on the streets of Los Angeles, I survived by panhandling. At times, I did use the money for drugs, but I had a severe drug addiction. I needed drugs like I needed air or I would get dope sick. If I got dope sick, I would be vulnerable. If I was vulnerable sleeping in a park, I could die. In a way, the people who gave me money helped to save my life!

We often look the other way when people we know abuse drugs: The soccer mom who hits the bottle to get through the day; your brother-in-law who drinks a case of beer on the weekend; the lawyer who smokes the pipe filled with crack; and the postal worker popping a few pills to help make their rounds. But when it’s a person experiencing homelessness, we look down upon them.

Homeless People Need Money for Basic Needs

The real truth is not every homeless person abuses drugs and alcohol.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates 38% of homeless people are dependent on alcohol and 26% abuse other drugs. More often than not, a person experiencing homelessness will use money to meet their basic needs like food and shelter.

A study on panhandling conducted in San Francisco’s Union Square district reported that 94% of the money was used to purchase food. The survey also found 60% of panhandlers made $25 a day or less, breaking the myth that beggars make large amounts of money panhandling.

Many people I meet raise money to get a room for the night, especially in cold weather. Numerous shelters now charge money for a bed every night. Although I don’t agree with this, I understand as homeless services are receiving less support. By charging, they make a few bucks to provide services. However, the people they are charging don’t have an income; this forces them to panhandle to get inside.

Tips for Interacting with a Panhandler

Here are a few tips to consider when interacting with a person experiencing homelessness:

• Make eye contact. It’s hard to be homeless and being ignored can be painful. Make eye contact and greet the person with a hello or good morning.
• If you feel like giving money than give. It’s okay. Like Pope Francis said “it’s okay to give homeless people money and we should not worry about doing so.”
• Keep in mind your safety must come first. Do not open your purse or take out your wallet if you feel it may be dangerous.
• If you don’t feel like giving money, simply say “sorry.” It’s never a good practice to lie and say you don’t have anything.
• If you’re not the type to give money than an alternative is to carry a few pairs of socks to hand out. I walk around with Hanes socks in my backpack. When someone asks me for money, I normally hand each person two pairs of new socks. It’s a great way to start a conversation and get to know the individual. Carry socks in your purse, briefcase or glovebox. Other items to give include gift cards or bus tokens, but I find socks are needed and easy to carry.
• There are occasions when a homeless person is overly aggressive, has severe mental health issues or is intoxicated. If you don’t feel safe, don’t engage with the person. However, remember to have compassion as to why they may act that way.
• Last but far from least is to simply listen. Homelessness is horrible, and people experiencing homelessness are often in crisis. They may have a simple need that you can help with. You just have to start a conversation and listen.

Giving Money to Homeless People Is Okay was originally published in Be Yourself on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Imagine you’re homeless. You live in a tent in a park. You don’t have any real income or transportation. You hear that a nonprofit has services that may help you get out of homelessness, or maybe an outreach worker told you about a housing opportunity.

You then panhandle to get on a bus to access badly-needed services. You arrive early to avoid any lines. The person at the front desk gives you a bunch of paperwork to fill out.

It’s the same paperwork you filled out the last time you tried to get help with a different agency. And the time before that. You wait several hours until your name is called. A case manager outlines the intake process with you. If you’re lucky, you’ll be placed on a waiting list. If you’re really lucky, they’ll give you bus tokens so you can get back to your tent. But chances are, you’ll have to panhandle to get back to where you feel safe to sleep.

All this to just do it again the next day, and the next, and the next. Panhandle for bus fare. Fill out the same forms. Wait for hours in a lobby to be called in to have an intake done. Placed on a waiting list — and that’s only if you’re lucky.

The homeless services system does not make it easy for someone to get out of homelessness. We place an extreme amount of the burden of acquiring support on a person who has limited resources and is fighting to survive.

We Need Better Support Solutions — Vote Yes on Measure H

I have traveled to different cities and interviewed hundreds of people experiencing homelessness. The one constant in every situation is the insane amount of times a homeless person has tried to access services for help, yet didn’t get the support needed. This creates Learned Helplessness.

Learned Helplessness is a condition in which a person suffers from a sense of powerlessness arising from a traumatic event or persistent failure to succeed. It is thought to be one of the underlying causes of depression.

You may remember Jossalyn. She has been on the streets of Los Angeles for 15 years. I have wanted nothing more than to help her get into housing.

I researched and found all the right places to go. I shared the referral information with her. However, Jossalyn has a mental illness and suffers from anxiety. Besides not having money or transportation, she cannot sit in an office waiting to be seen.

After a long conversation with her, I realized the only way for her to get help is if someone came to her and helped her navigate through the bureaucracy.

It is unrealistic to support an approach requiring a person with no income, no transportation and potential mental illness or drug addiction to travel to service agency locations to receive help. But that’s been the model in homeless services for a long time. Set aside the fact that many agencies in a Continuum of Care (CoC) help with specific needs; so a client has to travel to different locations to obtain assistance with both housing and healthcare, for example.

Sometimes agencies will have an outreach team that can transport clients between services. However, this is not cost-effective as you have staff from one agency waiting with a client to be seen by another agency.

An Effective Solution Is Producing Results — Vote Yes on Measure H

In my last post, I believe we can end homelessness, I wrote about the disconnect that exists between homeless service agencies. I also addressed how the City of Los Angeles and LA County, along with many other stakeholders have made significant improvements in communication and collaboration to develop a community-wide solution to ending homelessness.

C3: City, County, Community program is a key example of how City of Los Angeles and LA County are finding creative ways to build systems and reduce barriers to save lives and taxpayer money. C3 is a multidisciplinary and multiagency program made up of a dedicated team of service providers from the County’s Department of Mental Health, Health Services, Substance Abuse Prevention & Control, as well as Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and Americorps staff.

Instead of the unrealistic approach of having homeless people travel to services, C3 brings the services to the person in need. These teams include a nurse, a mental health clinician, and a substance abuse counselor. Because it is multiagency, barriers created by bureaucracy are greatly reduced. The homeless person gets the help they need right away and at an overall lower cost.

I recently joined the original C3 team on Skid Row. It is very exciting to see the model in action and experience the community collaboration. Learn more about how the C3 team effects change in this short interview with Sara Shortt, Director of the C3 Program on Skid Row.

Being able to deliver all services a homeless person may need rather than having them travel to different offices is invaluable. And it is producing results. In 2016, the C3 team on Skid Row was able to house 158 people and connected 326 more people to housing who will be getting indoors soon.

Measure H Will Help End Homelessness — Vote Yes on Measure H

The next step is implementing C3 teams throughout Los Angeles County. Measure H is the catalyst needed to achieve widespread results, ultimately saving lives and ending homelessness.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has placed Measure H on the March 7 ballot. Funded through a proposed ¼-cent County sales tax, Measure H would generate approximately $355 million annually to be used exclusively on these proven efforts that reduce and prevent homelessness.

If approved, Measure H will help an estimated 45,000 families and individuals move from homelessness to permanent housing within the first five years. It would also enable 30,000 more to avoid becoming homeless.

By voting YES on Measure H, you will help support an initiative that provides resources people with permanently disabling conditions need.

By voting YES, you will help ensure valuable resources are allocated sensibly.

By voting YES, you will help end the homelessness crisis that is certain to grow if changes are not made.

Help people get off the streets and save their lives. Vote YES on Measure H on March 7.

Watch the C3 Team on Skid Row in action. This video includes a tour of Skid Row Sobering Center, another city and county collaboration aiming to end homelessness. In addition to helping patients get sober, restart their lives and find transitional housing, the sobering center provides appropriate care for inebriated individuals who would otherwise be brought to emergency care facilities.