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 were in New York City, you can enjoy resting in Central Park, possibly take a nap on the great lawn. If you need help with something you can just ask for help. Now imagine you have none of these privileges. What would you do if you can get a ticket, arrested or possibly harassed by complete strangers? Doesn’t feel good right? You would possibly feel humiliated, annoyed, etc. Well, within the United States this occurs quite regularly. It may not happen to you but this happens to most people who are homeless. Homelessness has and will possibly be an ongoing problem, but most states in the U.S and around the world have started to address the homeless by criminalizing the basic needs of a human to survive, in most cases denying their human rights.

Focusing on the identity, criminal, and survival aspects I have developed a campaign to promote awareness but as well as giving the homeless a “helping hand.” Now that people see the homeless as drug addicts, lazy bums, untrustworthy, etc. We as a society have implemented these negative identities that they become easy to ignore as well as 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 also aims to inform people about criminalization on the homeless by making it illustrative, but as well as 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.