Welcome to
I_AM_HUMAN
About Us
In the rush of city life, it is easy to walk past people in need without truly seeing them. That is where I_am_HUMAN began, when 16-year-old Abby Pollak chose action over indifference in New York and Miami.
What started with distributing winter hats to people experiencing homelessness has grown into a national movement fighting for the wrongfully convicted.
We believe every human deserves to be seen, valued, and free. At I_am_HUMAN, we are not just raising awareness. We are raising voices, lifting lives, and demanding change.
Our Story
We are powerful beings and can be the catalyst for positive change in our communities. As HUMANS, we have the gift of consciousness and the ability to distinguish right from wrong.
Walking to work every day and seeing homeless people in the streets, we walked by “them” as if they were inanimate objects, as if we had nothing in common. Technology numbs and disconnects us from our own humanity, making it easier to disassociate. It is easy to feel helpless, not make it our “problem,” and complain about the government not doing enough for our city and our country. We decided something had to be done.
We needed to start somewhere, or we would have thought this idea to death like it often happens. We chose to start with winter hats, it may or may not work, but it had to be done. The goal is to grow this idea and create revenue to help fund programs so that TOGETHER we can keep our fellow humans off the street and provide the support needed to lead a fulfilled and healthy life.
We received our first shipment of winter hats in January 2022. In less than two weeks, with the help of our supporters and friends, we distributed over 200 hats. This is just the beginning…
Fast forward 2025 amd we are proud to show our partnerships with different organizations and our impact in our communities. We also expanded to include the wrongfully convicted
Thank you! Your support means the world to us.
Meet our founders
Abby Pollak
Co-founder, I_Am_Human.
At an age when most teenagers are focused on school and friends, Abby Pollak was focused on justice. At just 16 years old, Abby founded I_am_HUMAN with a simple but powerful belief: every human being deserves dignity, equality, and freedom.
Her journey began on the streets of New York and Miami, where she witnessed firsthand how society often looks past people experiencing homelessness. Refusing to accept that indifference was normal, she launched I_am_HUMAN by distributing winter hats, socks, and essential items — a grassroots effort that quickly grew into a community-driven movement.
But Abby’s vision did not stop there. As she learned more about systemic injustices, she turned her attention to one of the most devastating failures of our legal system: wrongful convictions.
With extraordinary determination, Abby led advocacy efforts for the case of the Waverly Two, two men wrongfully imprisoned for years. She met with the Department of Justice, lobbied Senators, and ultimately spoke with the White House and President Biden himself. In 2025, after two years of relentless effort, the Waverly Two were granted their freedom — a historic achievement for I_am_HUMAN and a testament to Abby’s leadership.
Abby also spearheaded partnerships with organizations like Right of Return, Life After Justice, The Cure Alliance, and The Salvation Army to expand I_am_HUMAN’s reach. She helped raise over $100,000 through art auctions featuring works from formerly incarcerated artists, creating both funding and visibility for justice reform.
Today, she continues to push forward, leading initiatives such as the I_am_HUMAN Fellowship for Artists Impacted by Incarceration, empowering young creatives to reclaim their voices and futures.
“Through I_am_HUMAN, I want to awaken the humanity in all of us. To see those society has left behind, not as statistics, but as people. Because change begins when we recognize each other as human.”
Abby’s story is proof that age is no barrier to impact. From a teenager handing out winter hats to a leader meeting with the President of the United States, her vision, and courage drive I_am_HUMAN forward — and inspire others to stand up against wrongful convictions.
Matthew Pollak
Founder, I_Am_Human.
At just 16 years old, Matthew Pollak founded I_am_HUMAN as an LLC with the goal of creating a self-sustaining organization where he and his siblings would work to help others. With the support of his brother and sister in delivering orders, he built a foundation rooted in empathy and action, inspired by the values instilled by his parents.
What We Do
Advocacy & Awareness
At I_am_HUMAN, advocacy begins with listening and telling the stories that are too often ignored. Wrongful convictions are not numbers on a page but lives interrupted, families broken, and futures stolen. Through education, storytelling, and collective action, we work to make these stories visible, to remind the world that behind every case there is a human being who deserves freedom and dignity.
Partnerships
Change happens when we unite. We proudly work with organizations such as Right of Return, Life After Justice, The Salvation Army, The Cure Alliance and The LOHM to expand the reach of our advocacy and amplify the impact.
Fellowship for Artists Impacted by Incarceration
Creativity is resistance. Through our artist fellowship, we support young artists who have been directly impacted by incarceration and wrongful convictions, giving them resources and opportunities to tell their stories and reclaim their futures.
Roots in Action
Creativity is resistance. Through our artist fellowship, we support young artists who have been directly impacted by incarceration and wrongful convictions, giving them resources and opportunities to tell their stories and reclaim their futures.
Why We Do It
Because injustice anywhere is a threat to humanity everywhere.
Because human dignity should never be negotiable.
Because when we stand together, we can rewrite the story.
How we do it?
At I_am_HUMAN, we believe real change comes from persistence and presence. We take stories that are too often ignored and bring them to the highest levels of power — from community conversations to the halls of the Department of Justice and even the White House. We build trust through partnerships, we channel creativity through art, and we keep humanity at the center of everything we do. Our method isn’t complicated: we refuse to stay silent, we show up where it matters, and we keep fighting until justice is seen and freedom is restored.
Join Us
The story of our impact is still being written. Stand with us as we continue to fight wrongful convictions and bring humanity back to justice.