Unity
Perla Herrera
Imagine living on your own, what would you do? You would buy food, have a job, and enjoy life, right? You can go about your day resting anywhere. If you need help with something you can just ask. Now imagine you have none of these privileges. What would you do if you can get a ticket, get arrested or possibly harassed by complete strangers? Within the United States this occurs quite regularly. It may not happen to you, but this happens to most people who are homeless. Homelessness will possibly be an ongoing problem, but most states in the U.S have started to address the homeless by criminalizing the basic needs of human survival, in most cases denying their human rights.
Focusing on the identity, criminal, and survival aspects, I have developed a campaign to promote awareness. As a society, we have implemented negative identities that they become easy to ignore and easier targets for criminal acts. By creating a series of posters and a video, I plan to “make” people pay attention to the homeless, to stop denying their human rights. The book aims to inform people about criminalization of the homeless by making it illustrative, and giving the homeless a new identity. In most states, there isn’t enough shelter options available that most of the homeless sleep outside. The helping blanket aims to inform the homeless of available options/programs within their location. It can also be used as a sign without words for the public.