Man Inspires New Yorkers With His Signs Of Encouragement
A 32-year-old guy in New York named Jose Cruz is on a mission to spread love through inspiring messages for strangers.
He’s been standing on a walkway on the Brooklyn Bridge, holding signs that say things like, “If you are looking for a sign that things will get better, this is it. Keep going. Don’t give up!” He’s on a one-man “World Needs Love Tour,” that stemmed from his own battle with mental health.
Cruz started this idea in August of 2022. He just has a white board and a Sharpie and whatever he writes he needs to hear himself or has needed to hear in the past. He hits the pavement for several hours a day, at least three times a week, during the early evening rush hour and on weekends when there’s more foot traffic — and when, he said, the need for mini morale boosts is even higher. He’s also had his signs in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Miami. He said one woman looked at his sign for 20 minutes before finally hugging him and sharing she had lost her son to suicide. They cried together.