The work was motivated by homelessness reaching the highest levels since the Great Depression, but to get people to actually pause during their morning commutes, Bombas wanted to offer a narrative that turns distant concern into urgent empathy. The campaign stresses that work ethic does not make wages any higher or housing any cheaper: A New Yorker earning minimum wage would need to work 110 hours per week to afford a basic one-bedroom apartment, according to the landing page. 

“What you encounter when you’re living in New York and walking around the city is not really the full picture,” said Bombas co-founder Randy Golberg, referencing the 70,000 New Yorkers who stay in shelters compared to the 3,500 who sleep on the street. “We’re trying to create a little bit more of a nuanced understanding of a very complex issue.”

The landing page presents viewers with both volunteer opportunities and prompts like “How to talk to kids about homelessness” and “How to introduce yourself to your unhoused neighbors,” highlighting that these individuals rarely hear their own names out loud.

Trixie MacKinnon, who experienced homelessness after leaving the military sector, said that surviving the instability means “you have to love yourself more than you think you deserve.” 

“Attach yourself to that feeling of being lost, where things don’t make sense,” said MacKinnon. “Feel that, amplify it and then take your roof off your head. That’s what homelessness is.”