On December 3rd, the eighth grade class ventured to Century Center. Dressed finely in suits, we walked into the building with synchronized footsteps and matching hand positions.  We sat at table 56 and enjoyed the exquisite salads, pasta dishes, and cheesecake and we were entranced by the flower shaped butter.

          As we ate the actual flowers that were presented on our salads, we listened to many inspirational speakers, some of which, were former guests of the Center for the Homeless. One woman was deaf in one ear and overcame domestic violence and has had a home with her children for the past six years. Her son now attends Atlanta Institute of Art and the other has graduated high school. She works in special education for the school corporation.

          The keynote speaker started the nonprofit organization, Invisible People. “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 Invisible People.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.”

While we’d like to say we wrote that, we did not. It was taken from the Invisible People website. We suggest you check it out and donate to the wonderful cause they support. We listened to Mark Horvath speak passionately about all of the people he’d run into during his time as a homeless person himself, then as a person who wants to tell homeless people’s stories. And we had the pleasure of talking to Mark after lunch. 

We also met Irish Dave, a local celebrity and radio host on U93. He asked to call him the next morning, which we did, and we ended up on the radio. Did any of you hear us?

All in all, it was another wonderful Center experience.