Invite friends to watch films on child homelessness then discuss these issues over popcorn.
CHILD HOMELESSNESS
The Homestretch - Follow three homeless teens as they fight to stay in school, graduate, and build a future. Each of these smart, ambitious teenagers will surprise, inspire, and challenge audiences to rethink stereotypes of homelessness as they work to complete their education while facing the trauma of being alone and abandoned at an early age. As their stories unfold, the film connects us deeply with larger issues of poverty, race, juvenile justice, immigration, foster care, and LGBTQ rights.
"Hard Times Generation: Homeless Kids" 60 Minutes Report
"Hard Times Generation: Families Living In Cars" 60 Minutes Report
The Florida Project - Moonnee and her mother live in the purple-painted Magic Castle motel, a stone’s throw from Disney World, and they’re part of Florida’s hidden homeless population — people who don’t have prospects for permanent housing so they resort to couch surfing with relatives or find other temporary alternatives. That means, statistically, they often aren’t counted as homeless. "Maybe the most joyful movie about poverty ever screened" - The Washington Post
Moonlight - a brilliant film highlighting "the hidden homeless". "A film about masculinity, the wounds and crises of which are the same for all sexualities, but conditioned by the background weather of race and class." - The Guardian
RELATED ISSUES/CAUSES OF CHILD HOMELESSNESS
Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a lifetime, to the point where those who’ve experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart disease and lung cancer. An impassioned plea for pediatric medicine to confront the prevention and treatment of trauma, head-on.
Dr. Joy DeGruy is a nationally and internationally renowned researcher, educator, author and presenter. Dr. Joy is the acclaimed author of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome — America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: The Study Guide.
G-Dog - tells the entertaining, hilarious and unlikely story of how a white Jesuit priest became an expert in gang lives. Called G-Dog by his homies, he works by a powerful idea: "Nothing Stops a Bullet like a Job." His Homeboy Industries in L.A. has a 70% success rate at redirecting kids away from gang life provides tattoo removal, job training, counseling, yoga, fatherhood and substance abuse classes – all free. It's the one place in the 'hood that turns lives around: swapping violence for community and building toward a future of hope.
The Garden - follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers:
Why was the land sold to a wealthy developer for millions less than fair-market value? Why was the transaction done in a closed-door session of the LA City Council? Why has it never been made public?
CRAFTIVISM
Activism Needs Introverts - For the introverts among us, traditional forms activism like marches, protests and door-to-door canvassing can be intimidating and stressful. Take it from Sarah Corbett, a former professional campaigner and self-proclaimed introvert. She introduces us to "craftivism," a quieter form of activism that uses handicrafts as a way to get people to slow down and think deeply about the issues they're facing, all while engaging the public more gently. Who says an embroidered handkerchief can't change the world?
Olek - She's AMAZING! Here's just one of her many political pieces: New York-based crochet queen OLEK (Agata Oleksiak, Poland) and Kerava Art Museum has invited refugees and immigrants to wrap a house with pink crocheting patterns. The building situated in the center of Finnish town Kerava is now known as Gallery Alli, but it used to be a home of carpenter Karl Jacob Svensk and his family. During the Winter War 1939─40 they had to seek shelter, but the family and the house survived the bombings. In 2015 around 21 million people lost their homes and had to flee abroad due to war and conflicts. In the world there are over 65 million refugees, of which over 80% are women and children.
Yarn - Meet the artists who are redefining the tradition of knit and crochet, bringing yarn out of the house and into the world. Reinventing our relationship with this colorful tradition, YARN weaves together wool graffiti artists, circus performers, and structural designers into a visually-striking look at the women who are making a creative stance while building one of modern art's hottest trends.
