Have you heard of the #WithTheseHands campaign?
It’s part of a national initiative to raise awareness of the issue of veteran homelessness and the fight to end it. (The campaign takes its name from the final verse of the Bruce Springsteen song, “My City of Ruins.”)
The people behind the campaign are Give US Your Poor, which is a group dedicated to bringing together homeless organizations, celebrity advocates, and people like you to end homelessness. With this latest campaign, they’re using music and art to dispel myths, show support, and foster action on veteran homelessness.
The timing is right. In case you haven’t heard, the federal government and communities around the country are engaged in a national effort to end veteran homelessness by the end of 2015.
Nearly 50,000 veterans experience homelessness in the U.S. on a given night. That’s an improvement over previous years. Thanks to the national effort we have reduced the number of veterans who experience homelessness by 33 percent since 2010.
If you want to show your support, you can participate in the #WithTheseHands campaign. All you have to do is tweet a photo of yourself showing your hands (see the photo of Jon Bon Jovi above for an example) with the hashtag #WithTheseHands to @GiveUSYourPoor.
You’ll be in good company.
In addition to Bon Jovi, Mario Frangoulis, and Steve Earle are already participating. And your photo will eventually be included with theirs in a video montage that will release on multiple platforms and screen at the American Music Project: Voice for Veterans benefit concert in St. Louis.
Show your support to ending veteran homelessness in four easy steps:
- Snap it
- Tag it with #WithTheseHands
- Post it to @GiveUSYourPoor
- Share it with friends