Heartbreaking Story of a 73-year-old Homeless Woman in Gainesville, Florida.

UPDATE: I tried to find Granny this year. I was told she was in an ally and her health was bad. I aggressively looked for a few days to no avail. Someone just shared with me that she was killed in a hit and run accident.

"She was so proud of being featured in the video that your organization posted. She couldn’t believe how many people viewed it, and she loved to tell people about it or show them."

Email I received informing me of Granny's death.
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I first met Granny the night before. She was sitting down on a sidewalk panhandling. I said hello and gave her some socks. We talked for a little bit but I didn't get to know her.

Last night I was walking around and I hear "thank you for the socks" off in the distance. I turn and there was Granny. I walked over to say hello and started to ask her a little more about her story.

Granny is homeless in Gainesville, Florida. She ran away from an orphanage when she was just 13. Granny has been on and off the streets homeless since then.

Granny was in placed into housing for a month but she didn't feel safe where they housed her. Often the only landlords that participate in housing programs have properties in bad neighborhoods. Before being housed, Granny was homeless for almost six years.

Granny has a strong faith. She tries to help others when she can. When I asked her about all of the people walking by her she responded "that's OK. Not everyone knows Jesus the way I do. Some call themselves Christians but it's just a name to them."

It's heartbreaking to see so many homeless seniors out on the streets. Homeless shelters are starting to look like nursing homes. The elderly homeless population is the fastest growing demographic of homelessness. It's very scary because there are not enough resources to help all of the people now. The growing senior homelessness will tax a system that's already overwhelmed.

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Since its launch in November 2008, Invisible People has leveraged the power of video and the massive reach of social media to share the compelling, gritty, and unfiltered stories of homeless people from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. The vlog (video blog) gets up close and personal with veterans, mothers, children, layoff victims and others who have been forced onto the streets by a variety of circumstances. Each week, they're on InvisiblePeople.tv, and high traffic sites such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, proving to a global audience that while they may often be ignored, they are far from invisible.

Invisible People goes beyond the rhetoric, statistics, political debates, and limitations of social services to examine poverty in America via a medium that audiences of all ages can understand, and can't ignore. The vlog puts into context one of our nation's most troubling and prevalent issues through personal stories captured by the lens of Mark Horvath – its founder – and brings into focus the pain, hardship and hopelessness that millions face each day. One story at a time, videos posted on InvisiblePeople.tv shatter the stereotypes of America's homeless, force shifts in perception and deliver a call to action that is being answered by national brands, nonprofit organizations and everyday citizens now committed to opening their eyes and their hearts to those too often forgotten.

Invisible People is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the way we think about people experiencing homelessness.