I freaked out. When I got to the office, I exclaimed, “Our guy is gone!” OUR guy is gone … as if he was ours.
Did he pass away? Was he arrested? Maybe he moved or found a better life. It made me realize how quickly we become desensitized to the homeless, as they blend into the backdrop of busy streets. I’d never given him money, but I cared. He returned the next day, for better or worse.
The Home Street Home signs are made out of cardboard found on the street, with hand-stitched type. We frame the signs and hang them in public places. The goal is to make people take a second look and realize yes, that cement is someone’s home.
The signs stay up for a few days or weeks before someone steals them (or the city removes them). It’s a time-consuming process (and hanging signs in public isn’t exactly legal), so we screen printed cardboard postcards to broaden the reach. The cards are mailed to folks in other communities in the hopes of encouraging involvement on a local level.
There are many ways to help people, directly or indirectly, and homelessness is a very complicated issue. I have no illusions that this is changing the world, but if it can make just a few people notice and care, then that’s the first step.
Brian Singer is the founder of Altitude, a San Francisco design firm that engages people through inspiration. Altitude has collaborated on projects with Apple, Adidas, SFMOMA, Chronicle Books and Perfetti Van Melle. Singer is also the creator of The 1000 Journals Project, which will be on exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles starting Oct. 5, 2010. He is a former president of the San Francisco chapter of AIGA, has taught at the Academy of Art University and serves on the advisory board for the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery.
