Drawing Attention to the Hungry and Homeless With Street Art: Sometimes, just thinking about the hardships of those living on the street can be overwhelming. Their ever-presence creates a feeling of resignation. Conflicted about how to help, it’s often easier to look away and move on.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. This film attempts to awaken people to the needs of the hungry and homeless by capturing artists illustrating images and messages right on the street.

It then encourages viewers to volunteer, or give donations to Crossroads Community, a New York–based organization providing meals and groceries to those in need.

The grittiness of the street art was shown to not only draw attention to the problem but it also drew viewers in—motivating them into action. The tactile effect of the chalk created a sense of empathy toward those who struggle with the unsanitary conditions of living, and eating, on the street. And thus helped individuals to actually “see” homelessness with open eyes through the creation of hand-drawn illustrations.

Drawing Attention to the Hungry and Homeless With Street Art: We realized the paved roads themselves could connect people walking on the street with those living on it.

Our Medium Was Chalk. Our Canvas Was the Street:

We illustrated faces with mouths as garbage, potholes, and other debris, demonstrating the unsanitary conditions for the homeless isn’t only unpleasant—it’s thought provoking.

Plus, the grittiness of the street art engaged our target far greater than real-life photos ever could. Our illustrations drew attention to the problem and drew people in.

From NYC Streets to Global Footprint:

• First drawings translated into transit posters, street projections, online banners and commercials running from 2014 through early 2015

• Events held invited individuals to draw, then photograph and post images in social media

• Chalk kits sent out, facilitated drawings to appear in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, London, Milan, and Sydney

Illustrating the Suffering of the Hungry and Homeless Helped Produce Significant Results:

Output/Awareness:

From January 2014 through February 2015, the campaign utilized various media channels that created the following impressions:

NYC Bus Shelters: 15,923,166

Taxi TVs: 4,263,592

Gas Pump TVs: 3,074,942

Building Projections: 90,000

Salon TV: 923,000

CNN: 1,112,000

Total Media Impressions: 25,386,700

Knowledge Consideration:

Over 13 months, our messaging created favorable likes, comments and reposting online:

Women ages 25-54 engaged on social media posts: 14% increase

Men ages 25-54 engaged in social media posts: 8% increase

Action/Business Impact:

As of December 2014, we saw the following substantial increases:

63% increase in the number of individual donations

25% increase in the amount of individual donations

17% increase in grants awarded

20% increase in volunteer applicants

50% increase in groceries provided

In total, we served 156,824 meals to those in need at Crossroads Community.