Another long shot, even more challenging than our
CITGO Fueling Good win last November: to get our documentary
on the edge: Family Homelessness in America shown on PBS affiliates across the country for Mother's Day. Another long shot, another success for
HEAR US supporters!
By surprise (OK, I confess to being slightly skeptical of our PBS chances), I saw a Facebook message on our
on the edge page saying
"I caught the documentary on PBS tonight - thank you. Thank you for bringing awareness to the plight of women and their families as they face the reality of homelessness. I'll be sure to share!" from Cynthia.
What?!! Really? So I did a quick Google search of "on the edge: Family Homelessness in America, PBS" and wahoo! Lots of stations are running it, from Alaska to New Hampshire and points in-between.
Should I be surprised? Nope, but I was. I keep forgetting the power of social media and how dedicated the supportive band of HEAR US believers are. Besides winning several prestigious film festivals, OTE received a great review from the American Library Association.
If your station, as did WTTW-11 in Chicago, says they're not members of NETA (the PBS-pipeline for this film) but they're willing to review the film, let me know and I'll send one out right away!
Getting these stories out to as many people as possible will be one significant way to change stereotypes about homelessness. My friend and film-guru director, Laura Vazquez, professor at Northern Illinois University, and I know these 7 women's stories have unlimited power to open minds and hearts. It's just a matter of getting in front of eyeballs. That's where you can help!
The DVD, a slightly re-formatted version of our original 2010 release, includes the 58-min. closed-captioned feature, a 15-min. segment where Columbia University MSW students and their professor Markus Redding discuss the film. A 4-min. and 8-min. trailer are included for those shorter screen times, plus the 4-min. trailer from the first HEAR US hit, My Own Four Walls. All of this for a modest $30+s/h (order form). As a bonus, all proceeds from the film benefit HEAR US.
Laura often chides me for the "spaghetti sticking on the wall" approach to homelessness awareness raising. Whatever. Getting these seven women's inspiring and courageous stories in front of as many audiences as possible does a real tribute to the invisible mothers across the land who teeter on the edge of homelessness. If flinging spaghetti onto the wall will help open eyes, then start the water boiling!
