Veterans and Cognitive Surplus
While browsing Indiegogo, I found many “Veterans Helping Veterans” initiatives. It was a lot harder to find campaigns geared specifically towards helping homeless veterans. There were many that were geared towards the homeless population in general, so that is encouraging. One of the most touching ones I found specifically concerning veterans was one that simply wanted to raise money to feed veterans a Thanksgiving dinner.
The results of my Kickstarter search showed a few successfully funded campaigns that were quite striking. The first I looked at was a place for veterans to get photography classes. A Brooklyn-based homeless shelter would provide these classes to cultivate a hobby and perhaps even expand a potential resume. The second was a collection of photos of homeless veterans in Washington DC. The photographer wanted to tell the veteran’s stories, as well as help them by giving them some clothing and showing them where they can get help. I was moved by many of the photos, and while this isn’t a completely new idea, it seems to be effective.
The most successful and well-funded campaigns seemed to appeal to ethos and force the viewer to make a human connection with the issue of homelessness. They also included a simple and easy to understand title, with an accompanying picture. This makes it easier for someone browsing the site to get a quick idea of the campaign’s aim.
Intrestingly, there is no “homeless veteran[s]” page on Wikipedia. The site directed me to look at Homelessness in the United States, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, and Veteran, among others. Homelessness in the United States was the lengthiest and most well-documented article that I looked at. When I looked at the “Talk” tab, I saw that the author planned on making separate pages for homeless LGBT youth. There were quite a few statistics and facts about homeless veterans throughout the page, which makes me wonder why it doesn’t have its own page yet.
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