Would You Notice Your Mother Dressed as a Homeless Person?

The Make Them Visible campaign by the New York City Rescue Mission had husbands, sisters and nieces walk by relatives clad in large, unfitting clothes in a demonstration of how invisible the homeless are to pedestrians on American streets.

In the video below, the apparently unwitting passers-by are heard talking about how much they care for their family members. They’re then shown footage of themselves walking past homeless versions of those loved ones without recognizing them.

Michelle Tolson, director of public relations for the New York City Rescue Mission, told The Huffington Post, “We don’t look at them. We don’t take a second look.”

Video director Jun Diaz of Smuggler production company told the magazine Fast Company, “There’s only one person that didn’t make it into the film — because they couldn’t handle the fact that they walked by their family.”

New York Rescue Mission:

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.