The Current

Homeless people read mean tweets about them, exposing attitudes

The video of homeless people reading what other people say about them lasts just over one minute. But it is devastating to those reading and to anyone watching. Today in Checking-In, we hear the motivation behind this video release when we follow-up on stories we've been tracking.
Watch as people living with homelessness read mean tweets about homelessness. Their reactions will remind you the conversation around the issue needs to change. All humans should work together. Raising the Roof #HumansForHumans http://www.humansforhumans.ca (Raising the Roof)

In January we brought together two people who knew first hand what it's like to be homeless. Cheryl, who lived on the streets for years until a few months ago, and a man who goes by his nickname, "Captain." When we spoke with him he was still on the streets, and searching for a home.

Over the last five years, an estimated 1.3-million Canadians have experienced having nowhere to go, to sleep, to call home. Today, we speak to two people who have lived a homeless life for years to offer a glimpse of what that's really like.

Now Raising the Roof, a national homelessness charity, has produced a video that is getting a lot of attention.... and it includes Cheryl.

Change the Conversation: #HumansforHumans

On the video, Homeless people are shown some cruel tweets that have been posted online... and are asked to read them out loud.

Caitlin Boros is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator for Raising the Roof. She was part of the team that produced the video. She joined us in our Toronto studio.


This segment was produced by The Current's Ines Colabrese.