Great Review for "on the edge: Family Homelessness in America"

on the edge
Documentary, 60 min.
Nomad Productions, 2010
Diane Nilan, Producer
Laura Vazquez, Director
Available from HEAR US Inc.

Booklist Online Reviews, Published Jan. 2012

“After you’ve been homeless, you will do whatever is in your power to keep from being homeless again,”

remarks one of the down-but-not-quite-out subjects in this heartbreaking documentary, which puts a human face on homelessness. In candid interviews, seven women share their tales of homelessness, telling about circumstances that led to their rootless existence and their attempts to find sleeping arrangements with friends or in cheap hotels and shelters, all the while trying to get themselves back on their feet.

Experts address legal, social, and child-development issues and present staggering statistics (a single mother of two working a minimum-wage job would have to work 120 hours a week just to afford an apartment).

The film is straightforward rather than sensationalistic, making the women’s stories even more powerful. Use this in community groups and classrooms to spur discussions about this widespread problem.
— Donald Liebenson

Discussion Guide, download (pdf) http://hearus.us/pdf/OTE_DG.pdf

Oscars Awarded, Mothers' Day Plans Ahead

[Naperville, IL, 2/28/2012] "Better than an Oscar," proclaims Diane Nilan, producer of on the edge: Family Homelessness in America. She's referring to the announcement that their award-winning documentary featuring 7 women's stories of homelessness qualified to be shown on Mothers' Day on PBS stations nationwide.

Nilan and film director Laura Vazquez, Northern Illinois University professor in the Communication Department, see the Mothers' Day opportunity as one that will change the nation's perception of homelessness. Their hour-long film unfolds around the women's stories, reflecting circumstances similar to many invisible mothers and daughters who struggle with poverty, domestic violence, failed foster care, substance abuse, and inadequate housing. OTE has won major film festival awards and has been screened in communities across the U.S., including Congress, since its release in November 2010.

Mothers' Day represents both a symbolic holiday and a tremendous opportunity for local communities to  focus on this much-ignored and soaring issue. The challenge: to get PBS affiliates to schedule the film, which has received preliminary approval from the PBS pipeline, the National Educational Telecommunications Association. Stations respond to viewers' requests, something both women are confident will flow when word gets out.

The high level of invisibility has kept women and children out of the nation's conscience and thereby inadequately assisted by federal housing resources, according to Nilan, a former shelter director. "Congress, for the most part, does not know we have millions of women and children without homes."  For the past 7 years, she has traveled the nation's backroads, chronicling homelessness of families and youth, and she's developed a sizable following of educators, college students, and parents and youth without homes through her nonprofit, HEAR US Inc.

"We've done everything we can to get these women's stories heard and seen. All we need is people to take a few moments to connect with their local station," urges Vazquez. The HEAR US website (http://hearus.us) has all the information and links needed.

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Homeless Kids Offer Reality Check to Congress

Photo (C) Pat Van Doren, HEAR US

[Naperville, IL 12/13/11] Domestic violence. Poverty. Poor housing conditions. Disaster. These and other critical issues will be front and center on Thursday to members of the U.S. House of Representative's Financial Services Subcommittee, chaired by Congresswoman Judy Biggert (R-13,IL) as members consider barriers for homeless families and youth seeking help.

Children and youth who have experienced homelessness will be the key testifiers as the committee considers the implementation of new HUD regulations that many advocates feel will cause even more hardship for homeless families and youth. HEAR US Inc., a national Naperville-based nonprofit, will participate in the event. Diane Nilan, HEAR US president, invited an 11-year-old boy to share the story of his family's nomadic existence.

Mrs. Biggert has championed the cause of homeless children and youth since being elected to Congress in 1998, leading the way for passage of comprehensive legislation, based on the IL Education for Homeless Children Act, that removes barriers commonly encountered by homeless kids trying to get an education. She's introduced HR 32 to change the way HUD defines homelessness. She and Nilan have worked together on this issue for over a dozen years.

Since November 2005, Nilan, under the banner of her nonprofit HEAR US, has been on the road chronicling homelessness, concentrating on non-urban families and youth. She and Professor Laura Vazquez, NIU School of Communication, have made several documentaries on this issue. Nilan will again set off, stopping in DC on Thursday, then heading south for her 7th cross-country journey. Nilan lives in, works out of and travels solo in her road-weary motorhome.

An uncharacteristic amount of attention is being focused on the soaring growth of homelessness and poverty. The National Center on Family Homelessness released their report homeless families indicating at least 1.6 million children now experience homelessness. 

And Thursday, 12/15, the U. S. Conference of Mayors issues their assessment of homelessness and hunger. Nilan led a campaign to strengthen this highly-cited report, which according to her, relies on abysmally inaccurate data that complies with the very narrow HUD definition of homelessness. "It will be the same old, same old report," she fears.

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Big Victory for the Little Folks!

[Naperville, IL, Dec. 9, 2011] Over 1,500 agencies from across the country competed for the $5,000 CITGO gas card in their Fueling Good contest. Naperville-based national nonprofit HEAR US Inc., likely the smallest of them all, certainly the one most needing this tailor-made prize, claimed victory along with 11 other organizations. On Weds., Dec. 14, CITGO officials will present HEAR US with the prize.

"We are ecstatic," exclaimed Diane Nilan, HEAR US president and founder. Nilan, for the past 6 years, has traveled over 130,000 mostly backroads miles chronicling the plight of homeless families, living and working out of Tillie, her gas-hungry motorhome. Nilan and her board rustled up over 2,500 votes to win the gas prize. "We have lots of friends nationwide, and people believe in our mission," giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth.

The CITGO contest was brought to Nilan's attention by a Naperville friend, Melanie Swiger Murphy, who figured this would be a perfect fit. Nilan hammered reminders on the HEAR US Facebook page. Her board enlisted, well, nagged, family friends and associates. "We're not the type of agency that can pull off huge fundraising events," said Nilan, "but we're scrappy and hard-working! And people love what we do and are willing to help."

After CITGO reps present Nilan with the gas cards on Weds., Dec. 14, at 10:00 a.m. at the Highland CITGO, 702 S. Washington St. in Naperville, Nilan will hop behind the wheel and make tracks to Washington, DC for a hearing on child homelessness organized by Congresswoman Judy Biggert. She'll gas up first, powered by the surge of support of countless people across the country.

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Homelessness Film Heading to National Broadcast, Scheduled for Aurora Screening

[Naperville, IL, 11/28/11] Take a good film and make it better! The award-winning documentary on the edge, heading for national broadcast, required local filmmakers to hone their already-acclaimed film. The enhanced version will enjoy a Fox Valley premiere screening on Dec. 5, 7 pm at Aurora's Rosary High School in the McEnroe Auditorium.

Film producer Diane Nilan, who previously ran the homeless shelter at Hesed House, has been invited to Rosary as part of their Human Rights week activities. Nilan has been on the road for the past 6 years, living in and working out of her modest motorhome, traveling over 130,000 miles of mostly backroads chronicling homelessness. Her Naperville-based national nonprofit organization, HEAR US Inc., gives voice and visibility to homeless children and youth.

Laura Vazquez, the film's director, teaches at Northern Illinois University in the communication department. She and Nilan have worked together on several homelessness-awareness films over the past 6 years. Her film expertise combined with Nilan's knowledge of homelessness has gained national attention and respect, opening doors of Congress for film screenings and leading to on the edge being selected for the Broadcast Education Association Festival of Media Arts, First Place Faculty Division this April. At September's Naperville Independent Film Festival, a record crowd of nearly 300 people attended the on the edge screening.

Technical improvements, including closed-captioning, will make the film eligible for airing on public television stations nationwide. Nilan promises a huge grassroots campaign to get the film shown on PBS affiliates nationwide. She points out, "The seven women in this film speak for millions of others in similar situations, mostly invisible, struggling with homelessness, trauma and poverty. They must be heard!"

The screening at Rosary will be a joint fundraiser for Mutual Ground, the Fox Valley's domestic violence shelter, and HEAR US. Free-will donations ensure everyone can afford to attend. For more information, visit the HEAR US website (http://hearus.us), or call 630/225-5012.

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Invisible Homeless Families Not Forgotten

To call attention to hidden homelessness, often plaguing women and kids, Diane Nilan will share her award-winning documentary on the edge, seven women revealing their journeys in and out of homelessness, at a public screening on Monday, December 5,  7 pm, at Rosary High School's McEnroe Auditorium.

Free-will donations will be accepted, divided between Mutual Ground and HEAR US. Download the PDF flier about this event to circulate.

Nilan, former shelter director at Hesed House, points to this year's 2000+ foreclosed upon homeowners and 950+ evicted households in Kane County.  Not all will become homeless, but some will, and it's likely they won't land at shelters in the county, just yet anyhow. "Vulnerable families typically spiral into homelessness, often accompanied by domestic violence," Nilan points out. They're often invisible, many in motels or doubled up with family or friends.

For the past six years, under the banner of her national nonprofit organization HEAR US Inc. Nilan has racked up over 130,000 miles of mostly backroads travel in her motorhome chronicling and calling attention to homelessness. She and Dr. Laura Vazquez, media professor at Northern Illinois University, have teamed up to film and produce documentaries on homeless families and youth. on the edge was recently featured at the Naperville Independent Film Festival and it won first prize at the Broadcasters Education Association festival.

Members of the Human Rights Club at Rosary approached Nilan about showing the hour-long video. She arranged her travel schedule to accommodate the opportunity. She'll address Rosary students Monday morning and will also be speaking to adult education classes at St. Timothy Lutheran church in Naperville Sunday morning, Dec. 4. She then leaves for a 3,000 mile cross-country tour, greatly aided by winning a $5000 CITGO gas card in a recent contest.

Rosary High School is located at 910 N. Edgelawn, Aurora. For more information contact the school at 630/896-8392 or HEAR US, 630/225-5012.

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Better Than an Oscar!

Getting people to leave their homes on the opening night of the much-awaited fall television season is no easy task, especially to see a documentary about women and children without homes. But close to 300 people came from near and far to watch on the edge, our documentary film in the Naperville Independent Film Festival screened Monday, 9/19, at the venerable Ogden 6 Theater.

Watching the crowd amass was exciting, especially because it was a mixture of people I knew from my days prior to my running the PADS shelter at Hesed House and a considerable slew of folks who responded to Bridge Community’s urging for people to see our award-winning documentary. Having screened our year-old film countless times, I could judge the audience’s engagement by their chuckles, their silence, and their palpable angst as the 7 courageous women in this film shared their heart-wrenching stories of traversing in and out of homelessness.

The opportunity to participate in Naperville's festival was an unplanned opportunity—Glessna and Edmond Coisson attended our HEAR US Inc. tribute to Mary Lou Cowlishaw last October at North Central College. The tribute included the premiere screening of on the edge and resulted in the Coisson’s inviting our film’s director, Laura Vazquez, associate professor of communication at Northern Illinois University, to the festival.

One key reason for the record crowd at the delightfully friendly and refurbished Ogden 6 theater was the push by Bridge Communities to have their current and prospective volunteers and supporters attend prior to their ambitious “Sleep Out Saturday” this year set for Nov. 5^th. Bridge leaders rightly figure if more people understand homelessness from homeless families' point of view, compassion and action will ensue.

With what seems to be a growing discord about the need to help families and individuals struggling for survival, the crowd at this film was on the far opposite end of the spectrum. My challenge urging them to participate in a “compassion epidemic” brought cheers instead of jeers. This positive energy gives a huge boost to those of us engaged in helping stave off the devastation of homelessness. My Naperville-based nonprofit organization, HEAR US Inc., continues to give voice and visibility to homeless children and youth through projects like on the edge.

Little did I know that in November 2005 when I left the Naperville border heading out on my unconventional sojourn—to chronicle faces and voices of homeless kids from across the nation for My Own Four Walls—that I’d be heading out for my 7^th cross-country trip and our country would be in an economic quagmire that makes previous times of trouble pale. With the child poverty rate at a record high 22%, dark clouds loom on the horizon, especially for homeless families with toddlers, the subject of our new film, Littlest Nomads (in production).

My journey away from DuPage County begins Monday. Starting tomorrow I’ll be sporting new signage on my road-weary motorhome/office thanks to a generous collaboration with Design Resource Center and FastSigns, both Naperville businesses with a track record of benevolence. I’ll be venturing out to share a message of painful reality—soaring family homelessness at a time of conflicting political will—but I will recall the surge of compassion from the crowd that stepped from their comfort zones and comfortable homes to learn from these seven experts on homelessness. It’s better than an Oscar!

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