In recent browsing on the internet I came across a new sociological project starting up in San Francisco, “Homeless GoPro”. The purpose of the project is to help bring empathy and compassion back into human nature in society, including but not limited to situations dealing with the homeless. The Homeless GoPro project is led mainly by Kevin Fadler, an entrepreneur and sociologist, and Adam, a man who has been homeless on and off for the last 30 years. Through their documentary, the two hope to allow people to experience Homelessness and interactions on the street through the completely opposite perspective of what they’re used to. In the first video, “Birthday”, Adam is wearing the GoPro on his chest and attempting to sell “Street Sheet” newspapers. The videio opens with Adam explaining when he spent Christmas on the streets for the first time and how much it hurt. He doesn’t want to have to spend his birthday, which is the next day, on the streets. He tells people passing by that it is his birthday and he’s attempting to sell enough papers to buy himself a hotel room for tomorrow night. As people walk by, the majority either don’t look at Adam at all or, even worse, many people make a rather obvious attempt to look in the other direction and act as if they don’t hear him.

I had my birthday six days ago and cannot imagine having this experience. I was so happy to wake up and have breakfast in bed. Adam isn’t able to have either of these. I felt so much love and compassion from people who walked by and wished me a happy birthday. Adam was telling people about his birthday and they didn’t even respond. As I read the comments on the Yahoo article that feature this project, which I highly recommend you read for yourself, I constantly wanted to yell “F#@k Off” or “You don’t even F@$king know” to the people writing hateful and ill-informed comments. I even had to leave the room where my family was celebrating Easter just to get a breath of fresh air and calm down. How can people be so ignorant and give into so many stereotypes? This class has taught me so much, yet it has also led to so many moments of frustration with humanity.

This project offers a unique viewpoint on Homelessness and also opens the door to a whole new form of studying the world views and experiences of those on the street. While our class is ending, I definitely recommend keeping an eye on this project, as I believe it has great potential.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/homeless-gopro-offers-a-firsthand-perspective-of-those-living-on-the-streets-180947286.html;_ylt=AwrTWVU2U1RTc2gAOELQtDMD

http://www.homelessgopro.com/