There is more power in unity than division.
Emanuel Cleaver
Have you ever been lost before? Homelessness is like being constantly lost, not able to find your way home, and invisible in a crowd of people. As a student at San Jose State University, I always see homeless people just off campus in downtown San Jose. It gives me a different perspective on this issue, and something needs to be done.
I often ask myself, “Who is helping these people? What can be done to help them?” Honestly, I do not always think that I can be the one with a solution. But it is sad that people just walk by the homeless, making them feel even more invisible. Thankfully there is someone who has taken initiative. His name is Kevin Adler.
Kevin decided that he needed to take action, and not just be another bystander. He had a personal connection with homelessness as his uncle had been homeless. This reminded him of a very important detail that we can forget: homeless people are human too. But too often these people are defined by what they do not have, rather than being recognized as individuals with unique stories to tell.
One day Kevin decided to start Miracle Messages to help homeless people find their families. It all started when he met Jeffrey in downtown San Francisco. He asked Jeffrey if he would like to record a video message to his loved ones. Little did he know after posting this video on Facebook, it went viral and Jeffrey was reunited with his family after more than 20 years! This was only the first of many more stories similar to Jeffrey’s.
To date, Kevin Adler’s Miracle Messages has changed the lives of dozens of people by getting them connected to their families. It is very inspiring to see how one simple decision can go a long way. Although some of us cannot relate to the extent that Kevin Adler could, there are other ways we experience separation in families. In my family I experienced divorce at a very young age, and this definitely had an affect on me growing up. For homeless people, the separation is much worse since they do not have a place they can call home. It is exciting to see how Adler is using technology to unite families, and he is barely on his way to reaching his goal, to reunite more than 100 people with their families.
Find out more about Miracle Messages and get involved.
