【eroticism and the body politic by lynn hunt (johns hopkins university press, 1991)】

As we approach Thanksgiving and eroticism and the body politic by lynn hunt (johns hopkins university press, 1991)the rest of the holiday season, many of us will spend the coming days and weeks thinking about what we're grateful for: family and friends, food and shelter, health and happiness.

But across the U.S., hundreds of thousands of homeless people are struggling just to get by. A new series of one-minute PSAs from the New York City-based poverty organization Robin Hood Foundation aims to highlight their resilience.

Called "The Things They Carry," the video series features five people who found a path out of homelessness, talking about the one item they carried with them through it all.

From a college diploma to a particular pair of pants, these everyday objects became powerful symbols of their journeys – and stark reminders that those experiencing homelessness come from all walks of life.

"We were looking for a way to bring some humanity and pathos to the whole emotional experience of being homeless," Alan Blum, chief marketing officer at Robin Hood Foundation, told Mashable.

"These are people who took with them mementos that give us insight into who they are... so we, during the holiday season, can think more about those who don't have as much as they should," he said.

Robin Hood met with dozens of formerly homeless people for the series. The resulting five videos feature those who had especially resonant backstories and interesting objects to show.

One of those people, Dawn, said she once had it all — a BMW, a two-bedroom condo — but an aneurysm sent her to the hospital for two weeks. Medical costs prevented her from having enough money to avoid eviction. So she held onto her college diploma from Pace University while she was homeless.

It reminded her that she was a fighter.

"I thought, if I keep this with me, I'm always going to feel like somebody," she said in the video. "Like I have something to offer."

Blum said Dawn's story could be eye-opening to those who think homeless people don't stand a chance.

"Here's a woman who was a college graduate and who lived a fairly good life until some occurrence," he said.

Another video features Hector, who carried a wallet that his mother gave him years earlier. That wallet became an important reminder of who he was when he "lost the desire to live."

"It was like an angel who told me, 'What are you doing?'" Hector said. "I saw my mother. The wallet saved me."

The 2016 Annual Homeless Assessment Report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that 549,928 people experienced homelessness on a single night this year. Nationally, the number of homeless people has decreased by 3 percent since 2015.

In New York City, however, there are more than 60,000 homeless people on a given night — an all-time high. According to Blum, 24,000 of those are children in the shelter system. He said the marginalization of those without means in the city has intensified, pushing people "further and further out of the mainstream."

"We're facing soaring rents, stagnant wages and the city’s most severe affordable housing crisis," Blum said. "Vacancy rates for affordable units are 2 to 3 percent. Even though homelessness is a multifaceted issue, the basis for effective intervention is affordable housing."

But there are many efforts to help, including Robin Hood Foundation. Robin Hood works with more than 200 organizations offering critical support for New Yorkers in need. Blum said its efforts against homelessness provide about $10 million per year to these organizations and shelters.

"Funding organizations that deal with [homelessness] is an increasing focus of ours, and it's as important now as it's ever been," he said.

One of the last videos in the series features William, who talks about the pair of jeans he wore every day when he was homeless. Now cleaned and kept in a plastic bag, they help him remember to take the necessary steps and actions in his life to avoid going back to the streets.

"I keep these jeans here to remind myself of where I come from," William said. "This is my homeless clothes. Sometimes I hate to see them, you know? But they remind me."

Robin Hood Foundation will begin releasing the videos from "The Things They Carry" on Thursday for Thanksgiving, and the series will run through Christmas.

You can watch the other two videos — Dawn, who kept her shawl, and Nikki, who carried her bible — below.