We come into to this world yearning for human connection. What happens in many life-paths along the way can leave people not just without physical homes, but without community and emotional connection. World Homeless Day is a day for awareness, compassion, and connection. Its purpose is to draw attention to homeless people’s needs locally and provide opportunities for communities all over the world to get involved in responding to homelessness.

View the full World Homeless Day Gallery with additional images on Flickr.

10 Heart Breaking Facts About Homelessness

Over half a million people are homeless in the US alone.

One quarter of homeless people are children.

Tens of thousands of veterans are homeless.

Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness among women

Many people are homeless because they cannot afford rent.

There are fewer places for poor people to rent than ever before.

In the last few years millions have lost their homes.

The government does not help as much as you think.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/soulmotions/9624801840/

One in five homeless people suffers from untreated severe mental illness.

Cities are increasingly making homelessness a crime.

10 Compassionate Homelessness Quotes Worth Sharing

We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty. ~ Mother Teresa

No one has ever become poor by giving. ~ Anne Frank

Poverty is the worst form of violence. ~ Ghandi

As you grow older, you discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others. ~ Audrey Hepburn

Overcoming poverty is not an act of charity, it is an act of justice. ~ Nelson Mandela

I always wondered why somebody doesn’t do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody.  ~ Lily Tomlin

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. ~ Lao Tzu

Compassion without action is just observation …

Poverty is not made by God, it is created by you and me when we don’t share what we have. ~ Mother Theresa

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. ~ Albert Einstein