idealist.org

Have you ever really talked to a homeless person? The American Streetbook Project calls on young people from all over America to collect the life stories of our nation’s homeless men and women and compile them into a publication, called ‘The American Streetbook.’ This is your chance to re-humanize the 3.5 million men and women on our nation’s streets, and reveal our world’s most inspirational lessons of perseverance and humanity. To get involved, visit the American Streetbook Project’s temporary website at http://streetbook.blogspot.com, or contact Robin Thomas at robthom@stanford.edu.

Streetbook volunteers are asked, essentially, to talk to strangers. Volunteers interact with the homeless men and women in their own communities, not by donating money but by donating a little time and a listening ear. With consent, they write down the life stories of these people on the streets as they describe them, to be compiled into a publication for the world to see. In the future, Streetbook volunteers will be provided with pre-paid disposable cameras and envelopes to be distributed to the homeless in order to publish their artwork, written expression, and photography.