HOMELESS

HAS A NAME HOMELESS FILM FESTIVAL 2012

Letter from the Executive Director of

Depaul USA

Homelessness is a complicated problem that intersects with other social issues including poverty, disability and affordable housing. Because of this complexity, many feel that homelessness is an unsolvable problem. However,

recovery from homelessness is possible as the subjects of the films tonight demonstrate. These films also dispel other stereotypes by showing the full range of people who experience homelessness. One of the most detrimental results of homelessness is invisibility. Depaul USA believes that it is critically important that we really see and hear the stories

of homeless people in order to understand and, subsequently, solve this problem. Our goal with this film festival is to dispel stereotypes and bring attention to homeless peoples’ stories. The artists, filmmakers and stars of the films screened tonight have bravely shared their stories and lives with us. We owe it to them to listen. And we owe it to ourselves and our community to act to end this crisis.

Enjoy the films and thanks for your support,

Charles Levesque Executive Director

Can You See Me Now

Michele Loschiavo In the United States 3.5 million people are likely to experience homelessness in a given year; 1.34 million of them are children. Many children take to the streets seeking a safer alternative to an abusive home. In this ten minute documentary Robert, Daphne and Elizabeth, talk

about how they lived and survived on the streets. But with the help of The Covenant House they’re learning to trust and create their own lives. Charles and Guy

Jon Olshefski This film is a portrait of the symbiotic relationship between two homeless men living in South Philadelphia. Charles is disabled and charismatic and is able to successfully solicit funds from passersby whereas Guy is more socially awkward, but he protects and cares for Charles.

Clear Enough to See

JoLynne Holloman As many newspapers felt the

effects of the economy in late

2009, a Philadelphia

organization set out to

establish a voice for the often

ignored. One Step Away,

Philadelphia's first and only

street paper, began with a two-

fold purpose: one, to provide

meaningful income to those selling the paper, and two, to

backlight the challenges facing those without homes in the

region. With content produced solely by the men, women, and

children living within Philadelphia-area shelters, a strong voice

was established and the paper quickly found success. Clear

Enough to See focuses on the establishment of the organization

and the individuals who helped cultivate its growth.

Fighter

Joanne Guerilus, Fontain and Stephanie G. "Fighter" profiles Nichel Greer and his long time battle with homelessness. Despite facing a series of setbacks and disappointments, Nichel has managed to overcome. This is his story.

Fragile

Neighborhood Film Company The story of a woman at Project H.O.M.E. who hasn't returned to her childhood home in over 20 years. We travel back with her as she re-opens her haunted past and

shows us what it means to be truly home. James

Justine Hong Prior to this course, I had no personal connection to the homeless population in Durham. When picturing the concept of “homelessness” I imagined malnourished individuals panhandling on the street in dirty clothing. However James could not be farther from this image. Dressed in a polo shirt and

dress pants the first time I met him, he has graciously allowed me into his life and been incredibly open about his experiences.

Living Room

Nikki Heyman An intimate portrait of three homeless families in Northeast Ohio struggling to provide for their children and coping with their sense of parenting guilt. A short documentary that exposes the harsh and often unseen lives of parents and children living on the edge, victims of

the American recession, this film provides an important lens into the unraveling the misconceptions of being homeless in America. Pressure

Red Featuring a cast of homeless people, Pressure is a short film by Scott Davidson. For six months Scott filmed the entire homeless population of his hometown Dundee reciting the

lyrics of Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie. This bleak but moving film paints a portrait of homelessness in our cities.

Speakers Panel Dennis Culhane is the Dana and Andrew Stone Professor of Social Policy at the School of Social Policy and Practice at The University of Pennsylvania. His primary areas of research are homelessness, assisted housing policy, and policy analysis research methods. He is the Director of Research for the US Veteran’s Administration’s National Center for

Homelessness among Veterans. Culhane’s work has resulted in federal legislation requiring all cities and states to develop administrative data systems for tracking homeless services. His work has also been instrumental in a national shift in how cities address chronic homelessness and family homelessness.

Ned Eckhardt is a founding member of the television and documentary programs at Rowan University and an award-winning documentary maker. He has Executive Produced many social issue documentaries that have addressed the cultural problems of homelessness, drug addiction, binge drinking, hazing, and

stalking. He is currently coordinating a five-college initiative to use student documentaries to address the social problem of sexual assault in college. His book Documentary Filmmakers Handbook is published by McFarland Press (2012). Ben Mitchell has been homeless since the age of 15 as the result of

drugs, crime and incarceration. Through the support and encouragement of many committed people from many different agencies, Ben was able to turn his life around. He first became involved with the Vote for Homes Coalition as a way of empowering himself. That was over 12 years ago and since then he has been advocating for the

homeless. Ben is now employed as a Certified Peer Specialist at Horizon House.

After a fifteen-year career in financial services, Teresa Araco Rodgers started harp-weaver LLC in 2010 to give donors a better way to add meaning to their lives and to align their gifting with personal, family and financial goals. Teresa received her undergraduate degree in Finance from Lehigh University, her graduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania including a Certificate in Nonprofit Administration, and holds

the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy designation. Teresa writes a regular column on philanthropy for the Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal. harp-weaver is an independent philanthropy advisory firm based in Philadelphia (www.harp-weaver.com).

Jane C. W. Vincent is the Regional Administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Region III. She is responsible for the oversight of a $47.3 billion dollar portfolio of programs and services throughout DE, MD, PA, VA, WV and Washington, DC. During her tenure, Ms. Vincent has reinvigorated the Regional Interagency Council on Homelessness, a collaboration of nine federal agencies

dedicated to supporting Opening Doors, the nation’s strategic plan to end veterans and chronic homelessness by 2015, and to ending homelessness among children, family, and youth by 2020.

Our moderator Veteran journalist and eight-time Emmy award-winner Lu Ann Cahn joined WCAU in 1987. In her current role she focuses on special assignments, exclusive features, and high-profile stories of the day. Cahn is most admired by her colleagues and viewers for her personal story of battling breast cancer at the age of 35. Through her struggle and determination conquering this disease, she has

heightened the awareness and importance of breast self-exam and mammography testing. Her 1992 special report, "Breast Cancer: My Personal Story," won her a national Clarion award and two Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmys.

Jury Committee Ann Aviles de Bradley is an Assistant Professor at Northeastern Illinois University, in the Department of Educational Inquiry and Curriculum Studies (EICS). She has worked with individuals experiencing homelessness for over 10 years, focusing on areas of life skill development, education, employment and educational policy. Joan Bressler is the Director of Greater Philadelphia Filmmakers, the local support program of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office. She joined the Film Office staff in 1992. Over the years, her responsibilities have included tracking economic impact, organizing and executing the very successful jobs hotline, managing the Fiscal Sponsorship program, developing and facilitating events and programs sponsored by the Film Office and representing the Film Office on career panels and other public venues. Vincent Paul Covell is a 46-year old man from the Midwest. He attended Kendall College of Art and Design and Farris State University. Because of addiction and unresolved issues with mental illness, Vincent became homeless in 2002. This is a battle he still fights today with faith and Depaul USA on his side. Brāvette Arthur Fleet is a 36-year old artist, singer and musician from Baltimore, MD. He moved to Philadelphia from Washington DC in 2001 to be closer to his mother’s side of the family and to further pursue a music career. He currently resides at Depaul House, located in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. Maggi Lawler Kirk is a Development and Donor Services Officer at The Philadelphia Foundation where she also manages the Foundation’s Community Art Gallery. She has extensive experience working in the arts and culture sector including the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, The Academy of Natural Sciences, the Philadelphia Zoo and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Therese Madden is a radio producer living in Philadelphia. Over the years she has worked on various projects and programs for both WHYY and WRTI, including her current post as Associate Producer for Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Neal McLaurin works as a vendor for One Step Away street paper. He was born and raised in North Philadelphia with his sister and two brothers. He enjoys playing sports, performing drama and working

out. Currently, Neal attends the Community College of Philadelphia, where he is studying theatre and drama.. William P. was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia. He has a trade, as a moldmaker, and three years of college. Will says, “As I look back, I believe I became homeless years before I physically experienced it when I lost my family. For me, homelessness is both a mental and physical state of being.” He lives at a Bethesda Project program. Michael Schweisheimer is the founder and executive producer of the Philadelphia-based video production company Primitive World Productions. Focusing on video for nonprofits and founded over 12 years ago, PWP works not only in SE Pennsylvania, but nationally and internationally. Janine Spruill is a graduate of Temple University, School of Communication and Theater. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Lil’ Filmmakers™, a media and performing arts organization for youth and teens. Celeste Walker is an actor, director and educator, with a BFA from Kutztown University and Master of Fine Arts Degree in Acting from The Actor’s Studio Drama School at the New School University in New York. Celeste is an Adjunct Professor of Theatre Arts at Arcadia University and Montgomery County Community College. Since 2006, she has been a roster artist with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Laura Wall is the Executive Director of Inter-Faith Housing Alliance, a non-profit organization providing housing and supportive services for homeless families throughout the greater Montgomery County region. Ms. Wall has over 2 decades’ experience working with community-based non-profit organizations. She has written a book entitled Being The Change, profiling individuals positively impacting our community. William Zackhery is a 21-year old who has lived in the shelter system for 8 months. He’s attending CCP and works part time. He’s also working on developing his own business and website for gamers.

Homeless Has A Name Film Committee Michelle Abbruzzese, Depaul USA

Erik Burling, Bethesda Project Andrea Brooks, Project HOME Sandra Guillory, Depaul USA

Kevin Roberts, One Step Away

The film committee would like to thank: Bethesda Project

Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP) Ashley Gearhart, graphic designer

Painted Bride Art Center Project HOME

PTI - Nonprofit Support Services U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Erin Williams All of the filmmakers who submitted documentaries and the

individuals who shared their stories with us.

Depaul USA provides people experiencing homelessness with purpose and hope for a

positive future.

For more information about Depaul USA, contact Peggy Robertson at 215-438-1955 or

peggy.robertson@depaulusa.org.

Bethesda Project provides shelter, housing, and services to homeless and formerly homeless men

and women in Philadelphia.

For more information about Bethesda Project contact them at 215-985-1600, or visit them online

at BethesdaProject.org.

One Step Away is Philadelphia's street newspaper, providing a voice of advocacy and meaningful

income opportunities for the homeless. One Step Away is a program of national human services nonprofit Resources for Human Development.

For more information about One Step Away,

contact Emily Taylor at emilyt@rhd.org or 215-951-0300 ext. 3595