501derful.org
Mark Horvarth (@HardlyNormal) for those of us on Twitter, has been garnering national attention for his efforts to bring voices to the homeless. His blog and his website have given him a place to explore unexplored stories, and call attention to some of our most overlooked citizens—the homeless among us. Alan invited him to come see Austin and go on a truck run, attend the screening of Happiness Is, and serve the homeless. So, Mark decided to make Austin a stop on his nation-wide tour! He’ll be here from the 29th of July through the 1st of August. Mark, who is, as he puts it “not a solutions guy,” is embarking on his road trip to “see homelessness” and to “help people” by calling attention to their stories. According to Mark, he has two main strengths going for him: he’s "pushy,” and he’s "loud”—not to mention compassionate. During our conversation he was particularly upset about the stories he has heard of families “downsizing” by kicking out their eldest children. So why is he doing this now? Good question. As Mark puts it, we are entering into a “perfect storm of homelessness,” with the economy in the place it is, with government out of money. (In fact, some of his sponsors haven’t even been able to commit because of financial difficulties!) So, what better time to call attention to this immense need? Mark will be arriving in town just in time to take part in our social media extravaganza around the movie “Happiness Is.” You’ll likely be able to have your OWN conversation with Mark at any of these events.
