NEWSBYMARK HORVATH

Yes, Anthony is homeless. We met at a rotating shelter near Detroit. When Anthony first lost his job and place to live, he tried squatting in an abandoned building filled with people using drugs.

Then he found MCREST Rotating Shelter. I love the rotating shelter model. Basically a group a faith-based organizations come together to share resources to help hurting people. That sounds to me like what church should be all about.

Calvin has a job and by now is living in his own apartment. He is also going back to school. I wish all stories ended like Calvin's. With your help they can.

This week I was in Washington, D.C. I had a few meetings, and even though it was raining out, I decided to walk because I didn't have money for taxi rides.

I met a few new homeless friends along the way. Calvin has only been homeless for a month. Like he says, "There is no guarantee that you'll always be taken care of or have a job."

Calvin talks about the horrors of living in the shelter system. He says he'd rather sleep outside in the rain than stay in a shelter.

The good news is that he is getting help from a homeless services organization and hopefully soon will be off the streets before the rain turns to snow.

I met LaQuisha and her daughter at a rotating shelter (meaning that residents are shifted between churches) near Detroit. Although living in a homeless shelter can be challenging, LaQuisha works hard to look at the bright side. She was scared at first, but that changes as she made friends with people in the same situation.

I love the rotating shelter system. I visited this one last year, too. As I listened to LaQuisha's story about how her mom kicked her out, I could not help but notice the similarities with Dawn's story. Young single mothers are a growing portion of the homeless population.

Special thanks to MCREST

I met Terry on a rainy day in Nashville. He told me he once owned a landscaping business and made over $125,000 a year. But then he went through a horrible divorce.

You can tell by the character of his face that Terry has been on the streets for some time. After getting out of the Marines after three trips to Vietnam he started to travel. He says traveling gets into your blood. He has now survived 33 years of homelessness.

You may see an old man that has probably had too much to drink. What I see is a kind Vietnam vet doing the best he can to forget the madness of his past life and present situation.

While I was driving around the country this summer, a young man who is currently in the seventh grade walked from Tampa to Los Angeles for homeless youth. That young man is Zach Bonner, and Zach is one of the most amazing people I have ever met.

This was not his first walk. In 2007, he walked from his house in Florida to the White House. He also started Little Red Wagon Foundation to help kids. But I think he is also helping all of us older folks get motivated. I mean come on now, next time you think you can't do something, think about everything Zach has accomplished. Watch this and I think you'll see what I am talking about:

Last week our paths happened to cross and I was able to spend a little time with Zach and his mom. They were coming back from helping my favorite formerly homeless family move into their new apartment.

UPDATE 10/13/2010: Behold the power of Twitter! Shortly after Mark published this story, skateboarder Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) found out about his fan Keifer and got in touch. He tweeted: "whatup Keifer! Please DM me your clothing & shoe sizes (and address) and I will send you some stuff. Stay strong! -Tony." Other users then began suggesting other items, like an iPad. The gifts will be great, but probably not as great as just being acknowledged.

I'll start at the beginning. Although this interview was taped in Dayton, Nevada, I first meet Kerry and his family months ago on Twitter. Kerry uses the handle @alleycat22469, his wife Sabrina is @bully_lover78 and their 13-year-old son is @keifer1122.

As I think about this family I get emotional. I cannot imagine raising a child in a small RV with no bathroom or running water. This family's life is far from easy, but together they keep fighting, and together they stay grateful for the little things.

Kerry has become the biggest evangelist for the We Are Visible community. He even collected cans to pay for the printing costs to distribute flyers at a local Homeless Connect day. Not sure any church or homeless services organization has done that.

Kerry is always thanking people on Twitter and keeps engaging new homeless people who join the community. I am grateful for Kerry because he's championed We Are Visible to become so much more than what I ever imagined.

When I started it, I envisioned homeless services helping homeless people via social media. But something far better has happened. Homeless people are encouraging and helping other homeless people.

What I also never imagined was a 13-year-old homeless boy connecting with me on social media. Keifer uses his Sony PSP to get on Facebook. He leaves me little notes because he does not have a keyboard to type on. Often he'll just leave a "hi" or "hugz" on my wall. Completely wrecks me every time. It's because of this young boy that I have a new vision for We Are Visible that I made public at the 140 Characters Conference in Los Angeles.

This new video comes from Mark's InvisiblePeople.tv 30-city, 11,000-mile, 75-day road trip, going on now.

"Caution: some content may be offensive." Ka'e k'e's interview from St. Paul, Minnesota, is exactly why I have that disclaimer on InvisiblePeople.tv, where I post my videos. She flat out tells us what life is like on the streets for a young woman.

The disclaimer ends with the sentence, "Our hope is you'll get mad enough to do something." I am sure Ka'e k'e's experience will offend you in some way. She has to sleep with strangers just to survive. It's the better option than freezing outside. Ka'e k'e is pregnant, and because she has "survival sex," she does not know who the baby's father is. I sure hope that gets you crazy mad.

Before you label Ka'e k'e an awful mother, know that she is just one of many young girls having babies on the streets. It's a vicious cycle for many. They don't know how to avoid it and many don't have the choices we take for granted. Having sex with strangers and taking drugs to forget the pain is the only way to survive.

I wish you could see what I see in person. I see a hurting young woman who is screaming for help. She is living the life that her family's socio-economic background gave to her. Most of these young adults come from families who were also homeless, or very close to it.

This new video comes from Mark's InvisiblePeople.tv 30-city, 11,000-mile, 75-day road trip, going on now.

Elizabeth sure does not look like what we all imagine a homeless person to be. Then again, most people don't look "homeless" when they're new to the streets. (She arrived in Portland from Tennessee two months ago.) It's after years of survival that the human spirit just gets beat down to not caring anymore.

Listen to Elizabeth happily talk about new socks then imagine you were homeless and didn't have clean clothes.

A very special thanks to Hanes for helping me give the gift of fresh, clean socks to so many people.

This new video comes from Mark's InvisiblePeople.tv 30-city, 11,000-mile, 75-day road trip, going on now.

We still use the phrase "American Dream," yet for so many people any chance of a dream has turned into a nightmare.

I met Mike and his wife Taren "flying a sign" in Bend, Oregon. Taren never imagined living like this. She is pregnant and on some days goes without food.

Is there an American Dream anymore? Is it within reach?

This new video comes from Mark's InvisiblePeople.tv 30-city, 11,000-mile, 75-day road trip, going on now.

Walking down the street in Missoula, Montana, I could not help but notice Troy. He was visibly emotional. Troy recently lost his job, place to live and his dog.

He had been out of work for just three weeks. "I worked all my life to have nothing," he said.

He was carrying all that he owns, his camping gear. He used to use it for camping trips, but now he has to rely on it to live outdoors. His only wish is to get back the dog he had to give away when he became homeless. Many homeless people have close bonds with their pets and it can be heartbreaking to be separated.