An article about a group of people who filmed the lives of 6 homeless individuals in Denver recently came up on the radar. The project was originally filmed for Mania TV, but after it was deemed “too edgy,” the filmmakers are now looking for somewhere to air this reality show. (Or “actuality show,” as it was noted in the article.) Optimistically, they are in the process of editing the 160 hours of footage down to smaller portions for future viewing as a television series.

When I was 16, I had a friend named Jimmy, who was a year or so older. He left his parents house due to abuse and lived on the streets. He was in our wide circle of friends, and would sleep in the park or at a friend’s house, stashing his few possessions in his backpack. I remember running into him and snacking on treats he had found (fully boxed and closed) in the dumpsters behind grocery stores, worrying about his safety, and amazed that despite living in a park he held down various part-time jobs, albeit for short periods of time. He was killed in a car accident when he was 23. At his funeral, we all wondered how he could have sustained his lifestyle in the long run and were happy his skateboard was with him in his coffin.

Ever since then, I’ve held a special spot in my heart for the homeless. Not the ones who swear and yell and beg you for money, but the ones who play instruments or have dogs or quietly sit on doorsteps with handmade signs. I am amazed at how life bustles on around them and how they almost become part of the landscape, not actual human beings. I generally try to at least catch their eyes and nod as I pass, letting them know that they are not invisible, they are not just part of a larger backdrop. They are us, only a few rent checks behind. Watching the video above reminded me of Jimmy, and wondered where he would be now had he lived, if his life would be like those chosen for the show. And I remember that he gave the best most enthusiastic hugs of anyone I’ve ever known, and it is for him, that I donate some of my knitted items to the homeless.

Women In Need, Inc.
America’s Youngest Outcasts
National Coalition for the Homeless
National Alliance to End Homelessness
Department of Veterans Affairs Homeless Veteran Program

For more information on how you can help homeless people in your area, try Googling “your city name” and “homeless.” It should set you off with a few places near you that happily take handmade donations for those in need.