tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8881298575503107092024-02-20T04:02:05.590-06:00HEAR US Media CenterHEAR US newsletters, press releases and product information.
For more info, contact Diane Nilan,
HEAR US President, 630/267-5424, diane@hearus.us.Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-46080982378747850792021-03-29T15:26:00.001-05:002021-03-29T15:29:07.139-05:00Naperville: A “Stagecoach Stop” to Support Homeless Families<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFudRx6NOuhz0NN9exnYTMZEEyVE_sPzDGZq1676TN6qaSRTacYBO_mULsSXCwy4UU4vgWYqG0oAaAaHJTNBGfG9ImpbYPEVk_R7iID5ARlMMQFouPwRepoUbplbyA36SkoK-O8f6XVNY/s1800/DDN_T2_OSU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 12.17391300201416px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1221" data-original-width="1800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFudRx6NOuhz0NN9exnYTMZEEyVE_sPzDGZq1676TN6qaSRTacYBO_mULsSXCwy4UU4vgWYqG0oAaAaHJTNBGfG9ImpbYPEVk_R7iID5ARlMMQFouPwRepoUbplbyA36SkoK-O8f6XVNY/s320/DDN_T2_OSU.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">[Naperville, IL, 3/29/21] </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Headquarters for <a href="http://www.hearus.us" target="_blank">HEAR US Inc.</a>, the unique national nonprofit supporting homeless families and </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">youth, Naperville is like a stagecoach stop for founder and sole employee<a href="https://hearus.us/about-us/dianes-bio.html" target="_blank"> Diane Nilan</a>. It’s her opportunity to re-stock books, get replacement signs for her van, touch base with board members, and to call attention to her new book and film.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Her van, dubbed “Tillie the Turtle,” or T2 (now her second vehicle), serves as her home, office and vehicle for cross-country travels which she’s been doing since November 2005. As turtles do, Nilan carries almost everything she owns in her van, her only home. Her travels have taken her to 49 states, chronicling hundreds of stories shared by children, youth and parents experiencing homelessness.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"> </span></p><div style="text-align: left;">Nilan, the former founder of the homeless shelter in Joliet (Daybreak, formerly Will County PADS), and director of the PADS shelter at Hesed House in Aurora, created HEAR US to fill what she saw as a tremendous gap—the voices and visibility of homeless families and youth. She has been instrumental in attaining, protecting, and promoting educational rights of homeless students, legislation with its origin in the Fox Valley, since 1993. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xP96pCBjJWU5msQLBis2xAam-FG3EDvINpE8gt6R3gTABRtTD_jqX9N82jVpIuwVSMrDXqookgx7lMvvLXgKu9slzTe6pSx7eKSINBPoocWB0fZHIaN_-vJmkvPOKUKr5pmRHhUhZGA/s2048/T1_back_sign.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xP96pCBjJWU5msQLBis2xAam-FG3EDvINpE8gt6R3gTABRtTD_jqX9N82jVpIuwVSMrDXqookgx7lMvvLXgKu9slzTe6pSx7eKSINBPoocWB0fZHIaN_-vJmkvPOKUKr5pmRHhUhZGA/w385-h288/T1_back_sign.JPG" width="385" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tillie1, Nilan's first van, bore a sign saying 1.5 million kids <br />were homeless in the US.</td></tr></tbody></table>She points to a disturbing fact, depicted on the sign on her van’s back door. “My first sign reflected the estimated number of homeless students—1.5 million in 2007,” Nilan stated. “I just ordered a replacement sign and the number is now <a href="https://hearus.us/understand-homelessnses/howmany.html">7 million</a>.”</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Part of the dramatic increase is due to the work of HEAR US, filming and producing short videos featuring kids and parents sharing their stories of homelessness, including their hopes and dreams. Her films raise awareness of the still largely invisible homeless families and youth who don’t typically stand on street corners asking for help. They bounce around from friend’s couches to motels to parking lots and more. “My all-time favorite is my first film, <a href="https://youtu.be/umxD8CG-4Fw" target="_blank"><b><i>My Own Four Walls</i></b></a>, when I knew nothing about filmmaking.”</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Nilan credits Professor Laura Vazquez and her Northern Illinois University students for their production expertise of that film. She and Vazquez then teamed up to film and produce award-winning <a href="https://youtu.be/vo_14qhrx9A" target="_blank"><b><i>on the edge: Family Homelessness in America</i></b></a>, which screened at the Naperville Film Festival and was shown on PBS stations. They’ve collaborated on other films, but Nilan says her professor-friend-guru has taught her enough to be on her own. </p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIn7cbK-_UmQKp_alcarzp4De7Jl1mCgBz8sBjiPOOxK8fP_5mXBrBXzB6j0g2Cu2jE0Oa7Vni7i2UmZAb3YfQu9kQOoE-wL1RWG-RgvIUm0KRbZbCnBYGKrMtsNJxlPamHJkalH1xoi8/s865/D-D_cover+art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="865" data-original-width="591" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIn7cbK-_UmQKp_alcarzp4De7Jl1mCgBz8sBjiPOOxK8fP_5mXBrBXzB6j0g2Cu2jE0Oa7Vni7i2UmZAb3YfQu9kQOoE-wL1RWG-RgvIUm0KRbZbCnBYGKrMtsNJxlPamHJkalH1xoi8/w163-h238/D-D_cover+art.jpg" width="163" /></a>The pandemic put the brakes on Nilan’s travels for a few months, giving her time to write her memoir, <a href="https://bit.ly/2ITtkZz" target="_blank"><b><i>Dismazed and Driven - My Look at Family Homelessness in America</i></b></a>, which she hopes Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville will carry. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">HEAR US just released a poignant new film, <a href="https://bit.ly/3r6rt3u" target="_blank"><b><i>Capital Failure: Family Homelessness Surging</i></b></a>, which Nilan filmed in Raleigh, NC in the first part of 2021. This 12-minute film focuses on homeless families stuck in motels. “Jamie, the mother who shared her story, gave a striking description of what millions of families in similar situations endure,” credits Nilan. “Anyone who watches this eye-opening film will better understand the debilitating nature of family homelessness.”</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The virtual world has opened up possibilities for HEAR US presentations. She’s recently presented at a state conference in Minnesota, Columbia University graduate social work students, and to a forum on homeless students at North Carolina State University. This month, Nilan will address audiences in Ft. Worth and Austin, Texas, and will speak to a virtual gathering of state coordinators for homeless education across the country. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">She and a colleague are planning a <a href="https://hearus.us/projects/babestour.html" target="_blank">rare joint tour </a>in September from Texas to California, one which promises to get them in “good trouble” in memory of Congressman John Lewis. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Information about HEAR US, <a href="http://www.hearus.us" target="_blank">www.hearus.us. </a></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span># # #</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIn7cbK-_UmQKp_alcarzp4De7Jl1mCgBz8sBjiPOOxK8fP_5mXBrBXzB6j0g2Cu2jE0Oa7Vni7i2UmZAb3YfQu9kQOoE-wL1RWG-RgvIUm0KRbZbCnBYGKrMtsNJxlPamHJkalH1xoi8/s865/D-D_cover+art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div><br /><p></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"> </p>Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-79675579643615270932019-06-25T15:25:00.001-05:002019-06-25T15:27:16.660-05:00Inside Look at Family/Youth Homelessness: Local Filmmaker, Former Shelter Director, Offers Insights and Solutions<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scholarly endeavors. Photo by Diane Nilan</td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">[Naperville, June 25, 2019] School’s out, but for tens of thousands of kids across Illinois and millions across the country, their lifeline—school—is severed because they have no home. </span><a href="https://www.hearus.us/understand-homelessnses/charlie-ehca.html" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Twenty-five years after Illinois became the first state to remove barriers for homeless students</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">, the work begun in the Fox Valley</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">continues to pay off for students experiencing homelessness across the country. This subject will be highlighted at a film screening on July 12 in Naperville.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Diane Nilan, president of <a href="http://www.hearus.us/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">HEAR US Inc.</span></a>, a Naperville-based nonprofit, will share 2 of her short documentaries, a coast-to-coast look at </span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkHT5H2ayMRJYcr8R2sAstUhj2ATEg0-bcF3F8kq8BKa638U5NtZgeDOud3tHMQV0_ODok_BsrehK595FdKN-jyTdI7i0_pcYq-0pYeKhf3_72IS5-rSdx4dlonVKxPx243CwQKHy8d1M/s1600/DDN-Colorful.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkHT5H2ayMRJYcr8R2sAstUhj2ATEg0-bcF3F8kq8BKa638U5NtZgeDOud3tHMQV0_ODok_BsrehK595FdKN-jyTdI7i0_pcYq-0pYeKhf3_72IS5-rSdx4dlonVKxPx243CwQKHy8d1M/s200/DDN-Colorful.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Diane Nilan</td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">homelessness—Washington State and New Hampshire—for the monthly Just Views film screening at DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Nilan, former shelter director at Hesed House in Aurora, and a small group of activists, worked with Fox Valley area legislators to spearhead the <b><a href="https://www.hearus.us/understand-homelessnses/charlie-ehca.html" target="_blank">Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act</a> </b>which passed 25 years ago. Her film subjects frequently refer to the significance of the federal law that grew from the Illinois statute. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Nilan’s been living in her van since 2005 and has traveled over 400,000 miles of mostly backroads through 48 mainland states and Hawaii (not in her R.V.), making dozens of films viewed by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide about family and youth homelessness. State education departments hire her to film and produce these short documentaries to highlight the mostly invisible homeless student population. Her work has earned recognition from a variety of organizations. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEtTlWVSgu-2dFdQB8KfBgILRXZUiKLXyo10w9AUMzyKpBxg2fWUAKj2jK6B9RvxSitv9yIUTgLfIrNgBWLZMCVpTDt0M1d6csfSPUcT6vkpJlBsW5zfJVpFKr-j4wiEMN6bizT8tvso/s1600/DDN1.HHkids-studying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="432" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEtTlWVSgu-2dFdQB8KfBgILRXZUiKLXyo10w9AUMzyKpBxg2fWUAKj2jK6B9RvxSitv9yIUTgLfIrNgBWLZMCVpTDt0M1d6csfSPUcT6vkpJlBsW5zfJVpFKr-j4wiEMN6bizT8tvso/s320/DDN1.HHkids-studying.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A quiet place to do school work just doesn't exist <br />
for kids without homes. <br />
Photo by Diane Nilan</td></tr>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Her documentaries give parents and youth the opportunity to share their stories, debunking many myths about homelessness. Nilan will also explain a legislative effort to address these problems: <a href="http://www.helphomelesskidsnow.org/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">The Homeless Children and Youth Act </span></a>-- legislation being considered by U.S. House Finance Committee. Two Naperville area congresspersons, Bill Foster and Sean Casten, sit on this committee.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The audience will also learn about the <a href="https://www.hearus.us/projects/awareness/2020.html"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">HEAR US 2020 VisionQuest journey</span></a>, launching from Naperville on July 20th. H</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">EAR US VisionQuest 2020, a 9,000-mile, 25-state journey will call attention to invisible family and youth homelessness. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b>EVENT DETAILS</b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">This film screening begins at 7:20 pm, and it is free and open to the public. Just Views is sponsored by the </span><a href="http://www.dupagepeacethroughjustice.org/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">DuPage Peace through Justice Coalition</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">. The monthly event is held in Naperville at the DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church at 1828 Old Naperville Road. Event organizers are Stephanie Hughes 630/ 420-4233; Associate Director is Carol Tritschler 630/961-0106.</span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-15452738081981770362019-06-20T16:47:00.001-05:002019-06-20T16:47:32.101-05:00HEAR US: Homing In On Homelessness Causes & Cures<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> [</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Naperville, IL, June 21, 2019] </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Filmmaker Diane Nilan probably knows as much as anyone in the USA about </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">the trials and tribulations of homeless persons. On July 12, Nilan will return to </span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Just Views</b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">, a free monthly film screening event sponsored by the </span><a href="http://dupagepeacethroughjustice.org/jv/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;" target="_blank">DuPage Peace through Justice Coalition,</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> to screen two of her recent short documentaries featuring homeless families and youth. A short discussion will follow. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VjcVCNEVggbs8y9LvYLo8htTFU_eiEkd1UHKoU57t3sr0dg8ZuGTLJpmxkN1KGAa3qFXvPhTx0H6C4PmvIm2MM25lsr7DMDshG1VL7HTgHUr8neREXmP0hH-X_zUGC55vpH6A7xQBCo/s1600/DDN_T2_OSU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In 2005, <a href="https://www.hearus.us/about-us/dianes-bio.html" target="_blank">Nilan</a> founded a nonprofit organization, <a href="http://www.hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEAR US Inc</a>., to give voice and visibility to the (now) 6,000,000+ American children and youth living in cars and shelters, on the streets, or doubled up with other families. She previously led area shelters (Joliet and Aurora) and was instrumental in legislative efforts to <a href="https://www.hearus.us/understand-homelessnses/charlie-ehca.html" target="_blank">remove barriers to education</a> encountered by students without homes.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VjcVCNEVggbs8y9LvYLo8htTFU_eiEkd1UHKoU57t3sr0dg8ZuGTLJpmxkN1KGAa3qFXvPhTx0H6C4PmvIm2MM25lsr7DMDshG1VL7HTgHUr8neREXmP0hH-X_zUGC55vpH6A7xQBCo/s1600/DDN_T2_OSU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="1600" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VjcVCNEVggbs8y9LvYLo8htTFU_eiEkd1UHKoU57t3sr0dg8ZuGTLJpmxkN1KGAa3qFXvPhTx0H6C4PmvIm2MM25lsr7DMDshG1VL7HTgHUr8neREXmP0hH-X_zUGC55vpH6A7xQBCo/s200/DDN_T2_OSU.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nilan’s been living in her van since 2005 and has traveled over 400,000 miles of </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">mostly backroads </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; clear: right; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">through 48 mainland states, and Hawaii (not in her R.V.), making <a href="https://www.hearus.us/understand-homelessnses/videos.html" target="_blank">dozens of films</a> viewed by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Her work has earned recognition from a variety of organizations.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Her documentaries give parents and youth the opportunity to share their stories, debunking many myths about homelessness. Nilan will also explain a legislative effort to address these problems: <a href="http://www.helphomelesskidsnow.org/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">The Homeless Children and Youth Act </span></a>-- legislation being considered by U.S. House Finance Committee. Two Naperville area congresspersons, Bill Foster and Sean Casten, sit on this committee.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> The audience will also learn about Nilan’s most ambitious journey, the </span><a href="https://www.hearus.us/projects/awareness/2020.html" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">HEAR US 2020 VisionQuest journey</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">, launching from Naperville on July 20th.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This film screening begins at 7:20 pm, and it is free and open to the public. Just Views is sponsored by the DuPage Peace through Justice Coalition. The event is held in Naperville at the DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church at 1828 Old Naperville Road. Event organizers are Stephanie Hughes 630/ 420-4233; Associate Director is Carol Tritschler 630/961-010</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">6.</span></span></div>
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Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0Naperville, IL, USA41.7508391 -88.15353519999996541.5612851 -88.47625869999996 41.9403931 -87.83081169999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-82742030801516060922018-09-24T15:14:00.001-05:002018-09-24T16:13:31.935-05:00Children Facing Homelessness--What They Really Think<br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11pt;"><b>PRESS RELEASE</b> - For Immediate Release - 9/25/18</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="background-color: white; border: none; color: #222222; font-size: 10pt; text-align: right;">Rev. Dr. Ron Greene at 630-728-9034 or </span><span style="border: none; font-size: 10pt; text-align: right;"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><a href="mailto:ronogreene@gmail.com" style="color: magenta;" target="_blank">ronogreene@gmail.com</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; text-align: right;">Diane Nilan, 630-267-5424 or</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; text-align: right;"> </span><a href="mailto:diane@hearus.us" style="color: magenta; font-size: 10pt; text-align: right;">diane@hearus.us</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11pt;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The world premiere broadcast of the award-winning children's book, "Where Can I Build My Volcano?” will be held on Sunday, October 28, 2018, 10:00 a.m. as part of the community worship service at Christ United Methodist Church in Algonquin, IL. This true-to-life story of Susan, the young girl whose homelessness unfolds in a riveting tale of heartbreak and compassion, conveys this issue from a child’s viewpoint.</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTh0tEvzaG0Wr005wSQrLfPG7Kq4WWJxGNDvC7VLRFavSriHtUp-PlHOW2ApstQ_VDSVe3flQWVWiO-JKIUFhRCI3WfjjRhe7_-zJ_ddZ1hr0o1J5hF-ja3UdzYGuXRKG3qgdbkFfFeo/s1600/volcano+bk+cover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1161" data-original-width="1172" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTh0tEvzaG0Wr005wSQrLfPG7Kq4WWJxGNDvC7VLRFavSriHtUp-PlHOW2ApstQ_VDSVe3flQWVWiO-JKIUFhRCI3WfjjRhe7_-zJ_ddZ1hr0o1J5hF-ja3UdzYGuXRKG3qgdbkFfFeo/s200/volcano+bk+cover.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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Hanging out at the frenetic shelter at Hesed House in Aurora, IL over 20 years ago gave Naperville Sun photo</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;">journalist (now retired) Pat Van Doren an inspiration that has helped countless homeless kids over the years. That experience is getting an exciting boost thanks to Ron Greene, pastor of </span><a href="http://www.gocumc.org/" style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;" target="_blank">Christ United Methodist Church</a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;"> in Algonquin.</span><br />
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Van Doren’s passion led to her writing the iconic children’s book, “<span class="Hyperlink0" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.hearus.us/understand-homelessnses/books/where-can-i-build-my-volcano.html" style="color: magenta;">Where Can I Build My Volcano?</a></span>” This true-to-life story of Susan, the young girl whose homelessness unfolds in a riveting tale of heartbreak and compassion, reflects uncommon realism. This award-winning book’s compelling illustrations by Van Doren’s colleague Wanda Platt perfectly depict the story, in a book that has been distributed nationally over the past 2 decades.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Naperville-based nonprofit <a href="http://www.hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEAR US Inc</a>. wanted to highlight the Volcano book for the 20th anniversary of publication. HEAR US board member Van Doren pursued several leads to get the story converted into a screenplay, seemingly to no avail. Rev. Greene got wind of her efforts and stepped up, creating a script suitable for a no-frills performance as a “radio” broadcast, including projected images from the book’s illustrations. Following a recent rehearsal reading of the script, Rev. Greene admitted, “It melted my emotional defenses and made me feel at one with these victims of circumstances.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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“Homelessness among families is sadly still a growing reality,” pointed out Diane Nilan, president/founder of HEAR US, the national nonprofit that gives voice and visibility to children and youth experiencing homelessness. “Van Doren’s book is unmatched when it comes to conveying the reality of kids in homeless situations.” Nilan, who ran the shelter at Hesed House, has spent the past 13 years living in a small van, traveling throughout the country <span lang="DA">filming</span>family/youth homelessness, creating short documentaries.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The world premiere performance of “Where Can I Build My Volcano?” will be held at Christ UMC on Oct. 28, 10:00 a.m., during their community worship service. Free will donations accepted. The book will be available for purchase at the event and is also sold through the <span class="Hyperlink0" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://squareup.com/store/hear-us-inc/" style="color: magenta;">HEAR US website</a></span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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HEAR US will work with Rev. Greene to create a Volcano package suitable for distribution. “It’s a story that needs to be shared far and wide,” commented Nilan. “Children and adults will benefit by this touching tale.” Once inspired, HEAR US suggests people check out their new “Charlie’s Compassion Challenge,” found on the <span class="Hyperlink0" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.hearus.us/" style="color: magenta;">HEAR US website</a></span>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“I had no idea when I wrote this book that it would be so relevant 20 years later,” observed Van Doren. “We need to inspire more compassion!” <o:p></o:p><br />
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Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-12995473666821600222016-10-17T14:16:00.000-05:002016-10-17T14:16:54.766-05:00Homeless Little Boy With Cat Takes On Powerful Political Figures<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">[Naperville, IL, 10/17/16] The bedraggled little boy clutching a cat that almost matches him in size faces strong competition, but it’s <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdqX6vN7CxZxcgyDLetP5K3zrwx7DvO4ZzD1mU8zSEOUv8VT7I6DyQpMEU2K859H3C2UI2AeWP5N8zbE4jkONdhZA0xkkVmaA_h8v4ITE3k-vPPeC_FGXFoHGc0WM85ww-nA_SlRbnEI/s1600/Charlie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdqX6vN7CxZxcgyDLetP5K3zrwx7DvO4ZzD1mU8zSEOUv8VT7I6DyQpMEU2K859H3C2UI2AeWP5N8zbE4jkONdhZA0xkkVmaA_h8v4ITE3k-vPPeC_FGXFoHGc0WM85ww-nA_SlRbnEI/s200/Charlie.jpg" width="82" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Charlie<br />© Pat Van Doren</span></h2>
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really no contest. In the end, Charlie will win, inspiring compassionate deeds on behalf of millions of America’s children and youth in homeless situations.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><a href="http://www.hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEAR US</a>, a Naperville-based national nonprofit organization giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth, is launching <b><i><a href="http://www.hearus.us/projects/ybyk/charliebook.html" target="_blank">The Charlie Book: 60 Ways to Help Homeless Kids</a></i></b>, a 24-page guide to anyone wanting to make life a little better for the millions of mostly-invisible homeless kids in every community. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The cover of this little book bears Charle’s iconic picture, taken by Naperville photojournalist Pat Van Doren back in the days of the Aurora-Naperville struggle to get homeless kids into school. This little boy, whose image she captured outside the shelter at Hesed House in Aurora, became the poster child for the <b><a href="http://www.hearus.us/projects/ybyk/charliebook/whocharlie.html" target="_blank">successful 1994 “Charlie’s Bill” campaig</a>n</b>, making Illinois the first state to guarantee the rights to education for homeless students. (Ret.) Congresswoman Judy Biggert led the successful effort to enact this law on the national level in 2002. More than 1.3 million students without homes benefitted from this law last year.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b><i>The Charlie Book</i></b>, written by national homeless education expert Diana Bowman for HEAR US, reflects tried-and-true practices from across the nation. HEAR US founder and president Diane Nilan edited the book and provided photos from her vast collection of images she’s amassed in her past 11 years of cross-country travel to chronicle children and youth homelessness. Beth Adams, a local graphic artist, volunteered her layout and design services.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Charlie, aka Charles, is real. He and his wife and 3 children now live in West Virginia, where he works. He and Nilan connect occasionally. She’s sending his family several copies of this book.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">The book is suitable for schools, shelters, scout troops, faith communities, service groups, and well-intentioned individuals wanting to make a difference for children in their communities. It sells for $10 (+s/h).</span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Information and ordering instructions are on the HEAR US website, </span><a href="http://www.hearus.us/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">www.hearus.us</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">. Proceeds from the book support the continuing work of this well-regarded organization.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Nilan is loading up hundreds of copies of The Charlie Book in her van/home/office. She heads to Orlando on Thursday for a national conference of homeless student educators, many of whom have expressed great interest in this unique book. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Who is the competition Charlie (and his book) face? None other than the national presidential candidates who occupy the media with their campaign fodder. When the dust settles, the goodness Charlie and his followers accomplish will touch lives of millions of kids without homes, a story worthy of widespread media coverage.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span></div>
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Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-33149112009046037002016-10-03T12:26:00.002-05:002016-10-03T12:26:25.636-05:00George and Charlie to Help Homeless Kids in Naperville and Beyond <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZ0RnRPYPXuRFAYprjvcxGMBDX2KoCZXFs_15m3kW6ndaFI9LmleCrNQRKkuxcxT1teg7P9sUOMAD_9Gd6t0pfrDtd0ivQ9n-cddARA3AEOAAzLYMgZxV29ekUVyXztttVyap8hkbWyk/s1600/Charlie-book_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>
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Press Release <br />For Immediate Release <br />October 3, 2016<br /><br /><br />[Naperville, IL] Launching <a href="http://www.hearus.us/projects/ybyk/charliebook.html">The Charlie Book: 60 Ways to Help Homeless Kids </a>at the October 13 George Winston HEAR US Benefit concert will bring together the perennially popular musician George Winston with the iconic Charlie, the homeless boy who opened school doors for millions of homeless kids nationwide. <a href="http://www.hearus.us/cal2016-17/gwbenefit.html">Mr. Winston </a>will play at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Naperville. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEAR US Inc.</a>, the Naperville-based national nonprofit giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth, uses the image of Charlie in its logo. Naperville photojournalist Pat Van Doren photographed the little boy holding a cat, an image that became the poster child for the campaign to pass the first statewide law guaranteeing homeless kids access to school, legislation now in effect across the entire nation.<br /><br /><b><i>The Charlie Book: 60 Ways to Help Homeless Kids</i></b>, written by Diana Bowman, a nationally prominent expert on homeless children, contains photos by Diane Nilan, former shelter director at Hesed House in Aurora, one of the people responsible for the homeless education laws. Nilan founded HEAR US 12 years ago and has been on the road since then, living in a small camper, chronicling homeless children and youth.<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZ0RnRPYPXuRFAYprjvcxGMBDX2KoCZXFs_15m3kW6ndaFI9LmleCrNQRKkuxcxT1teg7P9sUOMAD_9Gd6t0pfrDtd0ivQ9n-cddARA3AEOAAzLYMgZxV29ekUVyXztttVyap8hkbWyk/s1600/Charlie-book_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZ0RnRPYPXuRFAYprjvcxGMBDX2KoCZXFs_15m3kW6ndaFI9LmleCrNQRKkuxcxT1teg7P9sUOMAD_9Gd6t0pfrDtd0ivQ9n-cddARA3AEOAAzLYMgZxV29ekUVyXztttVyap8hkbWyk/s200/Charlie-book_cover.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="164" /></a><br />HEAR US will sell the books for $10, with proceeds supporting this unique nonprofit’s efforts to expand the common perception of homelessness to include children and youth. The 24-page Charlie Book gives practical suggestions to help kids and families. Nilan said, “This is a perfect tool for shelters, faith communities, scout troops, community organizations and individuals who want to make an impact in their community. When I ran the PADS shelter I would have loved to be able to hand the book to people who expressed sincere desire to help families and youth.” <br /><br />This is the 3rd concert George Winston has done to benefit HEAR US. Nilan met up with George in Seattle recently at one of his performances. “I’m awed a musician of his prominence gives so generously to causes of homelessness and hunger,” she said. Winston has asked those attending the concert to bring donations of food for Loaves & Fishes Community Services, a Naperville-based agency providing food and services to those in need.<br /><br />Nilan will be in the Naperville area for a short time before taking off for Florida to present at the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth’s annual conference on the new HEAR US effort, <b style="text-align: center;"><i>Yay Babies!</i></b><span style="text-align: center;"> According to Nilan, most people have no idea that over 1 million homeless babies and toddlers, mostly with their families, struggle to survive without enough formula or diapers. Her 2-minute </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=askYMSEQMBM" style="text-align: center;">Yay Babies!</a><span style="text-align: center;"> public service video calls attention to this little population.</span><br /><br />Naperville was “ground zero” for the birth of this important civil rights legislation that guarantees access to school for over 1.3 million children and youth without homes. Naperville area legislators, educators, and activists were involved in this campaign in 1993-94, including Nilan. “We’ve got ‘skin in the game’ on making sure this law works and that policymakers pay attention to the needs of families and youth in homeless situations,” stated Nilan. She’s coming back to make good on that promise. </div>
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Information about ticket and book sales:<a href="http://www.hearus.us/" target="_blank"> www.hearus.us </a></blockquote>
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Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-13725865628879722862016-08-30T16:10:00.000-05:002016-08-30T16:19:08.127-05:00By George! George Winston To Return for HEAR US Benefit<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">August 30, 2016</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">For information: </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><a href="mailto:diane@hearus.us" target="_blank">Diane Nilan</a>, 630/267-5424</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAny9FfB2eOx3qLTfFMDCMfxACoyGStUMfMYiBP7Dz1lR8ZktSkEnEGtCDO1WKrRrA_pi6Ul4JS89wyLlt0cT_YDNWwakXEpUBonYf7n2SblKrPRYrooDuFYG0iEe1z-aPc1ycP6lAkxI/s1600/GW+Cat+Credit+Steve+Lankford-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAny9FfB2eOx3qLTfFMDCMfxACoyGStUMfMYiBP7Dz1lR8ZktSkEnEGtCDO1WKrRrA_pi6Ul4JS89wyLlt0cT_YDNWwakXEpUBonYf7n2SblKrPRYrooDuFYG0iEe1z-aPc1ycP6lAkxI/s320/GW+Cat+Credit+Steve+Lankford-small.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-kerning: none;">[Naperville, IL] Homeless babies, toddlers, kids of all ages are counting on fans of <b><a href="http://www.georgewinston.com/" target="_blank">George Winston</a></b>, the </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;">popular musician whose piano and guitar music has delighted fans for decades. His benefit concert for the Naperville-based national nonprofit<a href="http://hearus.us/" target="_blank"> HEAR US Inc.</a> on Oct. 13 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Naperville will support the organization’s newest project, </span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><i><a href="http://www.hearus.us/projects/ybyk.html" target="_blank">Yay Babies! Yay Kids!</a></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">“George is incredibly supportive of programs serving homeless and hungry people,” states <a href="https://about.me/diane.nilan" target="_blank">Diane Nilan</a>, president and founder of HEAR US, a unique effort giving voice and visibility to millions of homeless children and youth in the U.S. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Winston has performed 2 other benefit concerts for HEAR US since it started in 2005. Nilan, former shelter director at Hesed House in Aurora, has been living in a small van, traveling the country raising awareness of and inspiring compassion for invisible homeless families and youth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The Oct. 13 concert will feature a variety of George Winston’s styles including melodic folk piano, New Orleans R&B piano, and stride piano. He performs songs from his seasonal favorites “Autumn,” “December,” “Winter Into Spring,” and “Summer,” as well as Peanuts pieces from his Vince Guaraldi tribute albums “Linus & Lucy –The Music of Vince Guaraldi,” and Love Will Come-The Music of Vince Guaraldi, Vol. 2,” and more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">HEAR US relies on generous donations and events like this concert to fund efforts to improve lives of over 3 million homeless children and youth. Their latest project, <b><i><a href="http://www.hearus.us/projects/ybyk.html" target="_blank">Yay Babies! Yay Kids!</a></i></b>, creates ways to help babies, toddlers and kids in local communities. Nilan’s latest video production is a 2-minute public service announcement film, <b><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=askYMSEQMBM" target="_blank">Yay Babies!</a></i></b> It’s designed to be shared on social media and focuses on the segment of the homeless population seldom considered—babies. The video can be found at <a href="http://www.hearus.us/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">www.hearus.us</span></a>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzsfsA8K05JeWTgeh4-i6ZvKjozU8OT7VUlFwQ4iZCnEvWZmVkzYMRt_t4wrtkYUQaEkvYKbsjVEvkEwzlEfGb9XWqn8wHvcxeYljMMt-NiL0G5m_Fmh6I5Aia7_VG5GS9diy6raSlEo/s1600/HEAR_US_LOGO150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxzsfsA8K05JeWTgeh4-i6ZvKjozU8OT7VUlFwQ4iZCnEvWZmVkzYMRt_t4wrtkYUQaEkvYKbsjVEvkEwzlEfGb9XWqn8wHvcxeYljMMt-NiL0G5m_Fmh6I5Aia7_VG5GS9diy6raSlEo/s200/HEAR_US_LOGO150.jpg" width="80" /></a><span style="font-kerning: none;">Another exciting HEAR US effort is underway—the publishing of “The Charlie Book” </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">outlining 60 ways to help homeless kids—which will have its national release at the concert. This 20-page guide gives practical information and offers ways individuals and groups can help families and youth in homeless situations. With the extensive HEAR US network, this book promises a national impact, both in practical ways and in focusing attention on an often-neglected population.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The book is named after Charlie, the iconic photograph of Charlie, a small homeless boy holding a cat, an image captured by photojournalist Pat Van Doren, a HEAR US board member. This image, now central to the HEAR US logo,helped Illinois pass the nation's first state law to remove barriers common to homeless students attempting to get their education. Van Doren, Nilan and many other HEAR US board members were part of that campaign that led to passage the federal law, <b><a href="http://www.hearus.us/understanding-homelessnses/homeless-education.html" target="_blank">The Education of Homeless Children and Youth Act </a></b>which protects the educational rights of over 1.3 million students without homes. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">Information about the concert and ticket sales can be found at </span><a href="http://www.hearus.us/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">www.hearus.us</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;"> </span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">Kansas tornadoes, wind, rain, heat and cold. Heartbreaking stories of domestic violence, house fires, abject poverty and abuse. Diane Nilan blended these adversities into “</span><a href="http://www.hearus.us/projects/wowm/wowmks.html" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;"><b><i>Worn Out Welcome Mat - Kansas</i></b></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">,” her latest documentary about the invisible crisis of doubled-up homelessness. Her efforts earned the </span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">Best Targeted Campaign Award</b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;"> from the </span><a href="http://naehcy.org/conference/2015-naehcy-awards" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;"><b>National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth</b></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;"> (</span><a href="http://www.naehcy.org/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">NAEHCY</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">), to be presented at the organization’s national conference Nov. 15-17 in Phoenix.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://about.me/diane.nilan" target="_blank">Nilan</a>, president and founder of<b> </b><a href="http://www.hearus.us/"><b>HEAR US Inc.</b></a>, the Naperville-based national nonprofit giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth, has been on the road for the past 10 years chronicling the plight and promise of homeless children and youth. Her experience as shelter director and advocate for homeless students shaped her creation of HEAR US, a unique approach to raising awareness about an epidemic issue. She lives in a van and has traveled over 240,000 miles of mostly backroads, filming and presenting to audiences from Congress to California to “give voice and visibility to homeless children and youth,” a subpopulation of homeless persons she believes is in excess of 3 million babies, toddlers, children and youth. </div>
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The <a href="http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=565">Kansas State Department of Education homeless education</a> state coordinator Tate Toedman invited Nilan to film doubled up families and youth to focus on the majority of Kansas homeless students. Of more than 10,000 homeless students identified by Kansas schools, over 80% experience doubled up, a much-misunderstood and under-identified situation. “Hardships experienced by doubled-up homeless students and families often escape the attention of school officials,” points out Toedman. “Families may just think they’re experiencing ‘hard times’ and don’t self-identify as homeless.” </div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.hearus.us/projects/wowm/wowmks.html"><b><i>Worn Out Welcome Mat - KS</i></b></a></span> will be screened at the NAEHCY conference, and also in Manhattan, KS for National Homelessness and Hunger week. Nilan screened her documentary in Georgia and Mississippi on her “10th Anniversary-10,000 Mile” trek. </div>
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“The heartbreaking stories, told by the parents and students experiencing homelessness,” Nilan states, “will enlighten those who never thought doubled up was ‘so bad.’ It is worse than bad. And we urgently need to comprehensively acknowledge and address this issue.”</div>
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Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-46084876134746023732015-09-03T08:55:00.000-05:002015-09-03T08:55:13.317-05:00Homelessness Activist Selected For Top Joliet Franciscan Honors<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
Press Release......................................................................................................For Immediate Release</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4KXP_KGYIicOga4pcwwQyS9098oFPB9999_gly61Udjv7fnVQj98fJ5ZD_BA9BPuZFmcW7LLVynIALndFSz6h_mDrvB_DSFqMOQqHK6LKTgdMQXB_dhY42de7X4KVJHVn990ppBY2vs/s1600/DDN1.MotherAlfredMoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4KXP_KGYIicOga4pcwwQyS9098oFPB9999_gly61Udjv7fnVQj98fJ5ZD_BA9BPuZFmcW7LLVynIALndFSz6h_mDrvB_DSFqMOQqHK6LKTgdMQXB_dhY42de7X4KVJHVn990ppBY2vs/s320/DDN1.MotherAlfredMoes.jpg" width="240" /></a>[Naperville, IL] Despite all the trouble <b>Diane Nilan</b> caused the Joliet Franciscan Sisters, they will present her with the <b>Mother Alfred Moes Award,</b> their highest honor, for her decades of work with homeless children and adults. The presentation will be made during the <a href="http://www.jolietfranciscans.org/event/franciscan-autumn-feast/" target="_blank"><b>Franciscan Autumn Fest</b>,</a> Oct. 25, at the Patrick C. Haley Mansion in Joliet. </div>
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Nilan, with her long, speckled history with the Joliet Franciscans, credits them with her moral fortitude that galvanized her spirit to work on behalf of homeless children and adults. The Sisters taught her from 3rd grade through college, and for a time Nilan considered joining their ranks. She is now founder and president of <b><a href="http://www.hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEAR US Inc.</a></b>, a national nonprofit giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth.</div>
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In the mid-80s, Nilan spearheaded the Joliet’s first homeless shelter, Will County PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter), now Daybreak. After leaving Joliet, Nilan ran the PADS shelter at Hesed House in Aurora for many years, leading efforts to start the Rainbow Clinic and spurring legislative advocacy campaigns that gave Illinois homeless persons the right to vote, established the IL Housing Trust Fund, and guaranteed access to education for homeless students, in Illinois then nationwide.</div>
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According to Nilan, the only thing she and Mother Alfred Moes, a woman who didn’t hesitate to respond to desperate needs around her, have in common is that both taught at St. John’s School in Joliet. </div>
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Not surprisingly, the Sisters disagree. The Mother Alfred Moes Award “honors the pioneering spirit that exists in an individual…one who is a visionary just as Mother Alfred was.” Along with Nilan, the Will-Grundy Medical Clinic will be honored for their work with the medically underserved.</div>
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According to the Sisters, “The foundress of the Joliet Franciscans, Mother Alfred Moes, was a woman ahead of her time. She was a pioneer, a visionary, who used her own dowry to transform her vision into service. Mother Alfred responded not only to the needs of the people of Joliet, but wherever the need of communities across the country called her.”</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKV0CYt1FBn1cSMYA30Qfn80vs3BKpCn4NLSKAXcwDqEG7AJP_jEU29V26Uu8gKuYX1DO2VU_oCI5d6CkFfwqOaS0KwnYdc6-886YEirVPxCin3dHTzqQYyJ-utB4mv7UFb6XSJMTzrRI/s1600/DDN08.T2_DDN_TX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKV0CYt1FBn1cSMYA30Qfn80vs3BKpCn4NLSKAXcwDqEG7AJP_jEU29V26Uu8gKuYX1DO2VU_oCI5d6CkFfwqOaS0KwnYdc6-886YEirVPxCin3dHTzqQYyJ-utB4mv7UFb6XSJMTzrRI/s320/DDN08.T2_DDN_TX.jpg" width="320" /></a>For the past 10 years, Nilan has been living in a small motorhome, traveling over 225,000 miles in 48 states, chronicling the plight and promise of homeless families and youth under the banner of her unconventional one-woman nonprofit organization, HEAR US (<a href="http://www.hearus.us/">www.hearus.us</a>). She’s made several documentaries and short videos of those experiencing homelessness sharing their stories. Her latest was just released, <b><i><a href="http://www.hearus.us/projects/wowm/wowmks.html" target="_blank">Worn out Welcome Mat - Kansas</a>. </i></b><br />
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<a href="https://about.me/diane.nilan" target="_blank">Nilan</a> learned RVing and videography on the road. She relentlessly pursues audiences from Congress to California, exposing them to little-known realities experienced by millions of invisible homeless families and youth. </div>
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“When all is said and done,” said Nilan, “the Joliet Franciscans have shaped me more than I’ll ever realize. Franciscan values have affected my life choices. For that I’ll be eternally grateful.” </div>
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For reservations or more information about the event, 815-725-8735, x116.</div>
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Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-71506131417845020192015-09-02T12:36:00.000-05:002015-09-02T12:36:05.483-05:00Invisible Homeless Families and Youth in Kansas: New Documentary Tells Their Stories<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
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<b><i></i></b>For Immediate Release</div>
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Contact: Diane Nilan, diane@hearus.us, 630-267-5424</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvjQsVp1ioKoQpMz5Y04NcaUQMm7wSUkzgY-Ht_43ge2VvNCBmgD0Xzv5rTkbNFiw0G_FOBKKKqVeovFbBigFVpyDFMErbQDhk_hKT1eVQMj6bA279S9LOD_Gwdfo7A-8cxDs2KiwFzyU/s1600/WOWM_KS_Sunflower-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvjQsVp1ioKoQpMz5Y04NcaUQMm7wSUkzgY-Ht_43ge2VvNCBmgD0Xzv5rTkbNFiw0G_FOBKKKqVeovFbBigFVpyDFMErbQDhk_hKT1eVQMj6bA279S9LOD_Gwdfo7A-8cxDs2KiwFzyU/s320/WOWM_KS_Sunflower-small.jpg" width="320" /></a>“<b><i><a href="http://www.hearus.us/projects/wowm/wowmks.html" target="_blank">Worn Out Welcome Mat — Kansas,</a></i></b>” a documentary providing the first in-depth look at invisible homeless families and youth in Kansas, will be released Friday, Sept. 4 on the <b><a href="http://www.hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEAR US Inc</a></b>. website.</div>
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<b>PREVIEW FILM</b> <b><i><a href="https://vimeo.com/137787517" target="_blank">Worn Out Welcome Mat</a></i></b></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">Commissioned by the </span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;"><a href="http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=565" target="_blank">Kansas State Department of Education’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Education program</a></b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">, this 21-minute film takes viewers across Kansas to hear from parents and youth who lost housing and had nowhere to go. Diane Nilan,</span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;"> <a href="http://www.hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEAR US</a> </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">president and founder, began filming this documentary in February 2015. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">One woman, a Marine, with her 4-year-old daughter, talks about going from “having everything to having nothing…” Another woman with a social work degree and a 13-year-old daughter, contemplated moving into their storage unit because they couldn’t get into overcrowded shelters. Domestic violence forced one mother and her 11-year-old son to bounce from family to acquaintances because they had nowhere to go, her son getting in trouble for “issues” like running too much bath water. A school social worker shared her story of being kicked out as a youth, and homeless again when her house trailer was repossessed, leaving her and her young son on the streets.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUc66Fmn78O_hQLFAgHS9b3wxVsinjTak24pvGR7dT730OjaSRo0Pj8wZ8KnphBd1Mwbh3tbOL6n6cB-0UhQFY70P2HH-omFy8ZIlVHx1tw1-wqWQPoHWZrJaxLWodL4x4vQdHfsXd3EE/s1600/DDN08.T2_DDN_TX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUc66Fmn78O_hQLFAgHS9b3wxVsinjTak24pvGR7dT730OjaSRo0Pj8wZ8KnphBd1Mwbh3tbOL6n6cB-0UhQFY70P2HH-omFy8ZIlVHx1tw1-wqWQPoHWZrJaxLWodL4x4vQdHfsXd3EE/s200/DDN08.T2_DDN_TX.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://about.me/diane.nilan" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;" target="_blank">Nilan</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">, who ran shelters in Illinois for many years, has been on the road for the past 10 years, living in a </span>small motorhome, traveling backroads to chronicle family and youth homelessness. Her award-winning documentaries give those experiencing homelessness the opportunity to be seen and heard—dispelling myths and empowering those too often homeless and invisible in communities across the nation.</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">This film project is the second in the </span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;"><i><a href="http://www.hearus.us/projects/wowm.html" target="_blank">Worn Out Welcome Mat</a> </i></b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">series; the first was in Texas (2013). Because homeless families and youth have nowhere to go—no shelters available in most areas and no other resources—they often double up with family, friends or acquaintances, bouncing around as they are faced with the “worn out welcome mat” syndrome. Too often they are not identified as homeless, nor do they realize that’s what their plight is called.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.ksde.org/Portals/0/Title%20Programs%20and%20Services/Homeless/Data-2013-2014KansasEHCY.pdf" target="_blank">Schools in Kansas have identified over 10,000 homeless students last year. </a>Over 80% were doubled up. Tate Toedman, KS State Department of Education’s state coordinator overseeing homeless education, points out that this film will be invaluable when training school personnel, “These are our families and young people. We need to make sure they at least have access to education. This film will open eyes and minds!”</div>
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<b><i>“These are our families and young people. We need to make sure they at least have access to education. This film will open eyes and minds!”</i></b></blockquote>
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">N</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">ilan will screen</span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic;"> Worn Out Welcome Mat - KS </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">at the </span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"><a href="http://www.naehcy.org/" target="_blank">National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth </a> </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">annual conference</span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </b><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">in Phoenix this November.</span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">The documentary will be available for individual viewing on the HEAR US website (</span><a href="http://www.hearus.us/" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">www.hearus.us</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">) and on DVDs for larger audiences. DVDs will be available for $15 (includes shipping/handling). Contact </span><a href="mailto:diane@hearus.us" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">diane@hearus.us</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11px;">.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D888129857550310709%23editor%2Fsrc%3Dsidebar&media=https%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-9sZOSbXgOA8%2FVecKyY-WmBI%2FAAAAAAAAL_Q%2FHPoWdcLReDU%2Fs320%2FWOWM_KS_Sunflower-small.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.37.01&xuid=jyVuuwh4C9ZP&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 26px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 98px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com%2Fblogger.g%3FblogID%3D888129857550310709%23editor%2Fsrc%3Dsidebar&media=https%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-9sZOSbXgOA8%2FVecKyY-WmBI%2FAAAAAAAAL_Q%2FHPoWdcLReDU%2Fs320%2FWOWM_KS_Sunflower-small.jpg&xm=h&xv=sa1.37.01&xuid=jyVuuwh4C9ZP&description=" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; left: 26px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; top: 98px; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-37886374062612940612014-11-15T17:43:00.000-06:002014-11-15T17:43:35.624-06:00NIU Students To Rally for Homeless Children and Youth; Launching HEAR US 10th Year<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HEAR US founder Diane Nilan stands alongside <br />her new motorhome, which serves as her home, <br />office and vehicle.</td></tr>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">[Naperville and DeKalb, IL, Nov. 15, 2014] </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Nomadic activist Diane Nilan will enlist students at Northern Illinois </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">University in a grass-roots campaign to increase awareness of homeless families and youth as she screens her latest documentary, </span><a href="http://youtu.be/ev5XVRPwC30" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><b><i>Worn Out Welcome Mat</i></b></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">, on Nov. 18 for </span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><a href="http://nationalhomeless.org/about-us/projects/awareness-week/" target="_blank">National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week. </a></b><br />
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Nilan launches her 10th year on the road with this NIU event. On Nov. 18, 2005, this former shelter director set out on a quest to chronicle the invisible issue of family and youth homelessness nationwide.<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> She sold her townhouse and purchased a small motorhome which she's lived in since then. Nilan started her nonprofit <a href="http://hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEAR US Inc.</a> to give voice and visibility to millions of babies, toddlers, children and youth. NIU professor Laura Vazquez has partnered with Nilan to create several award-winning documentaries.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span></div>
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<b><i><a href="http://www.hearus.us/projects/wowmtx.html" target="_blank">Worn Out Welcome Mat</a></i></b> features families and youth living in doubled up situations, the most common and most misunderstood manifestation of homelessness. This 20-min film exposes the myths commonly attributed to those with nowhere to go who bounce around in tentative arrangements to avoid sleeping on the streets. Several homeless teens shared their stories.</div>
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HEAR US Inc. has actively solicited support for the <a href="http://www.helphomelesskidsnow.org/"><b>Homeless Children and Youth Act</b></a>, a measure being considered in Congress to force HUD to expand their narrow definition of “homeless” to include those doubled up and in non-sheltered situations like motels and campgrounds. Participants at the film screening will be asked to petition their member of Congress to cosponsor this bipartisan legislation.</div>
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“Tragically, millions of invisible youth and families pay the price for HUD’s unwillingness to address the true scope of homelessness in America,” Nilan points out. Students can make a difference by their simple act of contacting their Representative, a task made easy on the <b>Take Action page </b>of the website <a href="http://www.helphomelesskidsnow.org/">www.helphomelesskidsnow.org</a>. </div>
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The <b>National Coalition for the Homeless </b>created <a href="http://nationalhomeless.org/about-us/projects/awareness-week/">National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week </a>to encourage non-homeless persons to reflect on the inequities of food and shelter in the United States. Last year over 700 groups participated. NIU has several activities planned for the week. Nilan serves on the board of NCH.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The film and short discussion will take place from 3-4 pm in the Holmes Student Center, Room 305. This event is cosponsored by Poverty & Inequality Research-to-Action Collaborative, Center for NGO Leadership and Development, Department of Psychology, and Department of Public Administration. Admission is free. For information, call the NGOLD Center at 815-753-4410.</span></div>
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Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-24107436489490889692014-09-19T09:16:00.000-05:002014-09-19T09:19:27.347-05:00Serendipity and Need: Doc and Homeless Advocate Reconnect<!--[if !mso]>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11.0pt;">September 19, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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PRESS RELEASE<br />
For Immediate Release<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body">
Contact: Diane Nilan, 630/267-5424<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9r9WXfH4m57-g1k0lmCg7OK6GKPPVVSkyVpoOQ3BWPpGjn595JqOiJfNul23VoU7V1zvKEuduRuYf3HRcCoX3m5UqDMcltWxgCrlEpHiZurcwKpHZg6A7En7f-Q5Z5OmkJoDz7yiXhEg/s1600/Karen_DDN_Tillie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9r9WXfH4m57-g1k0lmCg7OK6GKPPVVSkyVpoOQ3BWPpGjn595JqOiJfNul23VoU7V1zvKEuduRuYf3HRcCoX3m5UqDMcltWxgCrlEpHiZurcwKpHZg6A7En7f-Q5Z5OmkJoDz7yiXhEg/s1600/Karen_DDN_Tillie.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diane Nilan (L) and Karen Maloney inside Tillie, the<br />
good Karma motorhome being exchanged. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">[Naperville, IL] </span>“Dialing for docs”<span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span>20
years ago connected Diane Nilan, former shelter director at <o:p></o:p></div>
Hesed House in
Aurora with Dr. Karen Maloney, a physician from the St. Charles area. Nilan was
recruiting volunteer medical personnel for Rainbow Clinic at the former
incinerator turned shelter. On Monday, Nilan will hand over the keys to her
motorhome to Maloney, solving a problem for both women.<br />
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The two met again at a volunteer mission in Tanzania in 2013. “It
was great to catch up and learn that our paths</span> never veered too far away,”<span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span>said
Nilan, founder/president of a one-woman national nonprofit, <a href="http://hearus.us/">HEAR US Inc.</a>, giving voice and visibility to
homeless children and youth. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
Nine years ago, she sold her townhome and <o:p></o:p><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3oL6nx6GUMfSFasoo_RUlyPySgEaiUsW6VrTQfZn3cFJXgOh4X9Uh1nKGvma0V2wHsE20KY6mrVj13a_M5yE2-5hTSDUT7pDoq5gh-rioCksbOFLqj1L1yrZm0W5amRemkTu6iRybEE/s1600/DDN_Tillie_2-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3oL6nx6GUMfSFasoo_RUlyPySgEaiUsW6VrTQfZn3cFJXgOh4X9Uh1nKGvma0V2wHsE20KY6mrVj13a_M5yE2-5hTSDUT7pDoq5gh-rioCksbOFLqj1L1yrZm0W5amRemkTu6iRybEE/s1600/DDN_Tillie_2-12.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nilan and Tillie in Nevada</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
most of her stuff to
purchase a 27’motorhome to enable her to chronicle homelessness among millions
of children, youth and families nationwide. Nilan put on 183,000 miles as she
filmed several award-winning documentaries and conducted countless
presentations to raise awareness of kids and parents with nowhere to go.<br />
<div class="Body">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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The time came to sell “Tillie the Turtle,”<span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span>her
9-year-old motorhome, and only home, but Nilan could find no buyers. Maloney,
starting a program to provide medical care to uninsured residents and homeless
persons in the western suburbs, needed a motorhome, but her nonprofit <a href="http://careinconnections.com/">Carein' Connections</a> lacked the funds to
buy one. Nilan happened to mention she was trying to sell Tillie. Serendipity?
Perhaps. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
On Monday, Nilan will hand over Tillie’s keys to her
doc-friend, knowing that the legacy of this roadworthy motorhome will continue.
Maloney will adapt the inside space to provide medical care and other services
to those who lack resources for basic human needs, especially medical care. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
Wednesday, after an early morning prayer breakfast presentation
in Joliet, Nilan will point her rental van to Austin, TX where her new set of
wheels await. She’s downsizing, making it possible for
her to pursue stories of homeless children and youth in far off places in a
more economically and ecofriendly fashion. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
Her first Tillie2 trip will be with her “<a href="http://www.hearus.us/projects/babestour.html">Babes of Wrath</a>”
pal Pat LaMarche on a trip to Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. The intrepid
travelers have dubbed their trip “Homeless on the Range,”<span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;"> </span>designed
to call attention to homelessness, even on a Native American reservation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
Maloney and her colleagues need to quickly shape and stock Tillie
into the medical miracle van that will serve hundreds of uninsured, desperate
adults and kids.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
These two nonprofits, and their unique founders, will carry on
their essential missions, knowing that their paths will inevitably cross, and
that lots of people will be better for it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="Body" style="text-align: center;">
# # #<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-81258210093048258402014-05-01T09:08:00.000-05:002014-05-01T09:08:48.015-05:00Peter Yarrow Headlines 20 Year Celebration of Homeless Children's Education Rights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrDLBTBG0ee5fdV1wGcO58Q8vC9caaFRtSBfpS1mkz-MGvPoT4jQaDCWZywy_58ZXnhqWqSVNWsYWfwCtH0NrcEVwYyqt4oBhUTZGHKF_MCKbh0xKtDH0oZmUBzWYNGJurhTWAYdd3sU/s1600/20_PeterYarrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrDLBTBG0ee5fdV1wGcO58Q8vC9caaFRtSBfpS1mkz-MGvPoT4jQaDCWZywy_58ZXnhqWqSVNWsYWfwCtH0NrcEVwYyqt4oBhUTZGHKF_MCKbh0xKtDH0oZmUBzWYNGJurhTWAYdd3sU/s1600/20_PeterYarrow.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
[May 1, 2014, Naperville, IL] Michael’s the engineer. Shantrice is the doctor. Justin’s a
chef. Twenty years ago they, along with their mother Tyeast Boatwright, were
homeless. On May 8 at Copley Theater in Aurora,
just up the road from Hesed House, the former incinerator turned center for
ministry where they lived, a celebration will take place.<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="http://www.hearus.us/compassion-epidemic/20th/20may8.html" target="_blank">HEAR US Inc. is gathering hundreds of supporters for the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act.</a> The event features Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and
Mary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Back in August 1993, Ms. Boatwright’s three children were <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-09-04/news/9309040075_1_homeless-shelter-end-homelessness-district-s-boundaries" target="_blank">denied their right to stay in Indian Prairie District 204 schools they attended before becoming homeless</a>. That conflict, settled against the family in court, led to
1994 passage of the <b><a href="http://www.hearus.us/understanding-homelessness/charlie-ehca.html" target="_blank">Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act</a></b>, the first
state legislation in the nation to clarify the civil rights of homeless
students. During months of court appearances and legislative hearings, Ms.
Boatwright spoke up for her children, keeping them out of the massive media coverage.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.hearus.us/pdf/Bio.pdf" target="_blank">Diane Nilan</a>, president and founder of the national
Naperville-based nonprofit <a href="http://hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEAR US</a>, hoped to reconnect with this family for
years as she traversed the country in her small motorhome raising awareness of
homeless children and youth. On the road since 2005, the former shelter
director at Hesed House has made several acclaimed documentaries used to
enlighten and inspire audiences about the plight and promise of homeless
families and youth. </div>
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After failing to locate Ms. Boatwright, she turned to the
HEAR US board for help, and they succeeded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> In several conversations with her last month, the two got caught up on the past 20 years. Among other topics, the success of Boatwright's three children delighted Nilan. Sadly, the family will not be able to attend the May 8 event.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The Illinois law, nicknamed “Charlie’s Bill” for the bill’s
poster child, 4-year-old Charles depicted in<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeiW_UyOcGH_leOFBw6EsF1ea73Gon7BN0n6eASy-BZR_hU0WNfhGnHmaXsUQbYEnlNUc2UA5wiXZ2dBs3a4HMQoJtg4Eu4YgdHrVWqrKiOC0qb1iX8taS8h-F_EUBoEDIgcu83rUBbPg/s1600/Charlie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeiW_UyOcGH_leOFBw6EsF1ea73Gon7BN0n6eASy-BZR_hU0WNfhGnHmaXsUQbYEnlNUc2UA5wiXZ2dBs3a4HMQoJtg4Eu4YgdHrVWqrKiOC0qb1iX8taS8h-F_EUBoEDIgcu83rUBbPg/s1600/Charlie.jpg" height="320" width="132" /></a></div>
photojournalist Pat Van Doren’s
compelling photo, provided the major substance for enhancing the federal
legislation, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act of 2001. Now-retired
Congresswoman Judy Biggert (IL-13, R) championed the legislation in Washington.
She is co-chair of the May 8 event. <br />
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Nilan hopes that families staying at Hesed House in 1993 and beyond will attend
the event. The camaraderie during the court fight and subsequent legislative
advocacy campaign provided an empowering undercurrent for their shelter stay. “These
families benefited by the courageous action of Ms. Boatwright and her children,
and by the enlightened action of the Illinois legislature,” Nilan said. She
points out that millions of homeless students have also benefited by this
little-heralded civil rights legislation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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HEAR US will honor <a href="http://www.chicagohomeless.org/programs-campaigns/legal-aid/law-project/" target="_blank">The Law Project</a> of the Chicago Coalition
for the Homeless and Professor <a href="http://www.niu.edu/lvazquez/" target="_blank">Laura Vazquez,</a> Northern Illinois University
documentary maker, for their efforts on behalf of homeless children/youth
educational rights.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The event begins at 6:30 and is open to the public. Suggested
donation is $10 to benefit HEAR US. Area chefs Francois and Betsy Sanchez,
longtime supporters of Nilan’s efforts, are providing substantial hors d
oeuvres for the event. A cash bar will be available. HEAR US books and videos
will be available for purchase. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More
information available at <a href="http://www.hearus.us/">www.hearus.us</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-69357460303495383242014-04-22T13:28:00.001-05:002014-04-22T13:31:40.723-05:00Forget Me Not: Reminder To Illinois Legislators Not to Forget Homeless Children <div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXFOJwBHlHCJx66XF_UpfmWwxmQJdXzAMcYFWQjGzbYlItWwEZvkhtpwQZDds3YbQ9sWqL3DT4VvsCH6OR2NxknlW6ndnGlCBOldy3Nc7gFjeB-VPMekGVZnpmN51yJOlMPRBtM3QhFuo/s1600/FMN-children.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXFOJwBHlHCJx66XF_UpfmWwxmQJdXzAMcYFWQjGzbYlItWwEZvkhtpwQZDds3YbQ9sWqL3DT4VvsCH6OR2NxknlW6ndnGlCBOldy3Nc7gFjeB-VPMekGVZnpmN51yJOlMPRBtM3QhFuo/s1600/FMN-children.jpg" height="152" width="200" /></a><b></b></div>
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<b><i>Good News: </i></b><br />
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<i>Strong Homeless Students’ Educational Rights. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><b>Bad News:</b> </i></div>
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<i>Record Number of Homeless Students and Scant
Resources.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDC24ecTPPs61VM2zHUOQfERBspfLsn-nbvXlMYo83-jKXObYhe-Xlu4Tn6LKsh3oX7TcBXrdwZ3mgl6py66nhth5D2wRTkU0J70NQXFqqgmfQLKHsthAqqfnn2JEba4plk1LxUotFbeI/s1600/Gov_proclamation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDC24ecTPPs61VM2zHUOQfERBspfLsn-nbvXlMYo83-jKXObYhe-Xlu4Tn6LKsh3oX7TcBXrdwZ3mgl6py66nhth5D2wRTkU0J70NQXFqqgmfQLKHsthAqqfnn2JEba4plk1LxUotFbeI/s1600/Gov_proclamation.jpg" height="320" width="226" /></a></div>
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The official parchment scroll proclaims May 2014 as
<b><i>Homeless Students’ Educational Rights Month</i></b>, signed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.
Advocates and supporters will gather on <b>May 8 </b>in Aurora to commemorate the 20<sup>th</sup>
anniversary of hallmark civil rights legislation, the <a href="http://www.hearus.us/understanding-homelessness/charlie-ehca.html" target="_blank">Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act,</a> and urge <b>restoration of $3 million of state funds to
help homeless kids. </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsKcEJoZ09q6l6sO5VydMtAIyl6-qQqwQ5XvjcJI3p_XIisUJ9KgMGDc1afy_uwNOEbmxd9XRX_67LRC40bW_Bv0xjDsn4xbu8XGlF-EsR4hHF8vbhPaTRFJfqd-CADkofuNHYtrX9peU/s1600/CHARLIE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsKcEJoZ09q6l6sO5VydMtAIyl6-qQqwQ5XvjcJI3p_XIisUJ9KgMGDc1afy_uwNOEbmxd9XRX_67LRC40bW_Bv0xjDsn4xbu8XGlF-EsR4hHF8vbhPaTRFJfqd-CADkofuNHYtrX9peU/s1600/CHARLIE.jpg" height="320" width="169" /></a>Twenty years ago, Illinois legislators established strong educational
rights for homeless students, passing <b><i>Charlie’s Bill</i></b>, named for Pat Van
Doren’s image of a captivating 4-year-old boy that adorned every piece of
literature promoting the bill. The law removed barriers commonly experienced by
homeless students and guided schools to help the students succeed. In 2001,
federal legislation based on the Illinois law passed, ensuring access to school
for homeless students nationwide.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Advocates will utilize momentum from this 20<sup>th</sup> anniversary
commemoration to push for more resources to help homeless students. Illinois
lawmakers removed $3 million to help homeless families and youth from the
budget following the 2008-09 school year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Since then, schools have identified almost 55,000 students without
homes, more than double the census in 2009.</i></b></span></blockquote>
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“It doesn’t do any good to have a proclamation if we don’t
have the resources to back it up,” declared Diane Nilan, founder and president
of <a href="http://hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEAR US</a>, a Naperville-based national nonprofit advocacy organization. Nilan
ran the shelter at Hesed House in Aurora and was part of the effort to pass the
state and federal legislation to remove barriers for homeless students. HEAR US
is the sponsor of the May 8 event featuring <b>Peter Yarrow</b> of <b><i>Peter, Paul and
Mary</i></b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 11.0pt;">The <b><a href="http://www.chicagohomeless.org/programs-campaigns/legal-aid/law-project/" target="_blank">Law Project of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless </a></b>is spearheading the campaign
to restore the $3 million. They point to the “</span><span class="A7"><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>109% increase in identified
homeless students statewide since 2008-09 when $3 million in homeless education
funding was last included in the state budget.</b>” Funding will help ensure
immediate enrollment of homeless students, reduce truancy, provide academic
support, including transportation, and augment local services to help students
and their families.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6__VeggOtgDMop8uTirX1sFHSABV7znkD-C6BKH3c1fQFlXbpG8FqX5G3KNLjyjqvKu3ZFSCmCrrAVqqvIuN7T1uCu5mdFCbtXKVhfzWRFqeXHjJmRIfid7wjmU3Jzwl5eYxFiepnRQ/s1600/FMN3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6__VeggOtgDMop8uTirX1sFHSABV7znkD-C6BKH3c1fQFlXbpG8FqX5G3KNLjyjqvKu3ZFSCmCrrAVqqvIuN7T1uCu5mdFCbtXKVhfzWRFqeXHjJmRIfid7wjmU3Jzwl5eYxFiepnRQ/s1600/FMN3.jpg" /></a><span class="A7"><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 11.0pt;">Nilan
has worked with the Law Project for decades. She created the<b><i> <a href="http://www.hearus.us/compassion-epidemic/20th/20fmn.html" target="_blank">Forget Me Not</a></i></b><a href="http://www.hearus.us/compassion-epidemic/20th/20fmn.html" target="_blank"> campaign </a>to restore the $3 million. HEAR US will recognize the Law Project at
the<b> </b><a href="http://www.hearus.us/compassion-epidemic/20th/20may8.html" target="_blank"><b>May 8 event, which features a performance by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary.</b> </a>They will invite the audience to contact their lawmakers and urge
restoration of the funding. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="A7"><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 11.0pt;">The May 8 event is open to the public, with a suggested donation of $10 for the 6:30
reception and concert at <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Paramount+Theatre/@41.757784,-88.314474,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x880efaa557ef37a9:0x10926463070d3f6e" target="_blank">Copley Theater, 8 E. Galena Blvd.</a>, Aurora. More
information available at <a href="http://hearus.us/" target="_blank">www.hearus.us. </a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Default">
<span class="A7"><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="A7"><span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 11.0pt;"># # #</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 11.0pt;"># # #<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-12708783599167080002014-04-01T13:32:00.000-05:002014-04-01T13:59:55.315-05:00Peter Yarrow to Perform At HEAR US Event for Homeless Children<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8sIk14ATD6ZAn-uHUzNGcxjH3WpxfZAXgeRAenf-HXIs90J7uSfKI-BAy2BD5unP8c6wZIQsLM1wHtwPHK1vLxtNlK_rgqnzsbBy2hLkG1EfOWY8ifgWbnREQROPef3LELKWXVYlIdQ/s3200/Peter_Yarrow_DDN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW8sIk14ATD6ZAn-uHUzNGcxjH3WpxfZAXgeRAenf-HXIs90J7uSfKI-BAy2BD5unP8c6wZIQsLM1wHtwPHK1vLxtNlK_rgqnzsbBy2hLkG1EfOWY8ifgWbnREQROPef3LELKWXVYlIdQ/s3200/Peter_Yarrow_DDN.jpg" height="247" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peter Yarrow greets Diane. (photo courtesy HEAR US Inc.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
[Naperville, IL, April 2, 2014] Peter Yarrow, of the legendary folk trio<b><a href="http://www.peterpaulandmary.com/" target="_blank"> Peter, Paul and Mary</a></b>, will perform in Aurora, IL on <a href="http://www.hearus.us/compassion-epidemic/20th/20may8.html" target="_blank">May 8 for a civil rights gathering</a>, the 20<sup>th</sup>
Anniversary of <b><i><a href="http://www.hearus.us/understanding-homelessness/charlie-ehca.html" target="_blank">Charlie’s Bill</a></i></b>, the <b>Illinois Education for Homeless Children
Act.</b></div>
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Diane Nilan, president of<a href="http://hearus.us/" target="_blank"> HEAR US Inc.</a>, the national
nonprofit sponsoring the May 8 event, describes the importance of that law, “The
one sentiment emphatically echoed over the past twenty years: ‘I am so glad I (my
children) can go to school.’ For homeless students, that universal experience
is not to be taken for granted.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Passage
of the law was the result of a courageous mother from Aurora who fought when
her three children were denied school because of homelessness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A small group of activists 20 years ago
successfully led Illinois to be first state to guarantee educational rights to
homeless students. The law has been expanded on a federal level, applying to
all public schools.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“How did you get Peter Yarrow to agree to come?” is a
question Nilan hears often. This lifetime Peter, Paul and Mary devotee, has met
Yarrow on a number of occasions. “I suspected that few beyond our circle would
grasp the importance of the milestone of millions of homeless kids being able
to attend school,” she observed. “So I asked and he agreed.” His presence is
the spark needed to highlight the issue of soaring poverty and homelessness
among families and youth.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VpHwZS4yZM2ByjiGaaoBJ5Kh1eF9OsTvOQymgzl7kTjYyR2gupP4iYKbwhHlxI-kjHFeKB2hwzMSLdfnT3A4o-l_b5EQiJTPAJ-Dpef9eFdax3kVNBupGZBcygHc3cdRaR-mPayGa6Q/s3200/CHARLIE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1VpHwZS4yZM2ByjiGaaoBJ5Kh1eF9OsTvOQymgzl7kTjYyR2gupP4iYKbwhHlxI-kjHFeKB2hwzMSLdfnT3A4o-l_b5EQiJTPAJ-Dpef9eFdax3kVNBupGZBcygHc3cdRaR-mPayGa6Q/s3200/CHARLIE.jpg" height="320" width="169" /></a>Using the image of Charlie, a small homeless boy whose
iconic image was captured by photojournalist Pat Van Doren, the group lobbied
to remove common barriers experienced by homeless students. The bill passed in
May 1994 and became the model for national legislation.</div>
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The latest <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/10/24/record-number-of-homeless-children-enrolled-in-public-schools-new-data-show/" target="_blank">U.S. Department of Education data </a>illustrates the
drastic increase in homelessness identified in public schools. A record 1.2
million students were identified as homeless, a 72% increase since 2007. That
doesn’t include babies, toddlers, teens not attending school, or parents. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The May 8 event will be a combination songfest and inspiration
for attendees. Organizers will pay tribute to those who have steadfastly upheld
rights for homeless students to attend school. And they will issue the
challenge to increase advocacy efforts on behalf of homeless families and
youth, many of whom are not considered “homeless enough” to merit assistance,
Nilan said. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The public is invited to attend the gathering which begins
at 6:30 with substantial hors d’ oeuvres by noted area chefs Francois and Betsy
Sanchez. Suggested donation is $10, proceeds will benefit HEAR US Inc. More
information, <a href="http://hearus.us/">http://hearus.us</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-68362047194139787022014-03-07T10:27:00.001-06:002014-03-07T10:27:48.065-06:00Plea Issued for Supplies for Joliet-area Homeless Families, Students<b>[Naperville, IL, March 7] </b><div>
<b><br /></b><div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM_6LyiMeqyPAopBswFsHm5vFjy7o7CoGxtYKd0L1ABCnFg2HofjxKsOrVHZbph_eilXESX5blu7zvbdFNyWB6q1bT4rbW6ZPbAW2Ui0Q_ca5q2IpmB5g7Qv4gm1ikTHO-BMShiM2N6Ro/s1600/DDN-OTE2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="nilan" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM_6LyiMeqyPAopBswFsHm5vFjy7o7CoGxtYKd0L1ABCnFg2HofjxKsOrVHZbph_eilXESX5blu7zvbdFNyWB6q1bT4rbW6ZPbAW2Ui0Q_ca5q2IpmB5g7Qv4gm1ikTHO-BMShiM2N6Ro/s1600/DDN-OTE2.jpg" height="200" title="Diane Nilan, HEAR US founder and president" width="141" /></a><b><a href="http://www.hearus.us/pdf/Bio.pdf" target="_blank">Diane Nilan</a></b>, founder of Will County’s first homeless <span style="text-align: center;">shelter
(Will County PADS), returns to Joliet early next week to be honored by her alma
mater, University of St. Francis, on Wednesday evening, 7:00 at the Sue Turk
Theater. Nilan has been chosen for the </span><b style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.stfrancis.edu/mission-and-ministry/st-clare-award/#.Uxnm2NxaSGd" target="_blank">Sister Clare Award,</a></b><span style="text-align: center;"> given to honor “</span><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><i>…
</i></span><span style="color: #262626; text-align: center;"><i>women
of vision who have transformed the world in their time…who make a positive,
transformative impact in the community; inspire and serve as role models for other
women; and are committed to …society.</i>”</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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When asked how the University of St. Francis could help
her nonprofit organization, Nilan suggested a collection of items for both
Daybreak shelter and District 86’s homeless student program. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Items needed include</b>: <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "˝%â \00271";">diapers, deodorant, shampoo,
conditioner, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hairbrushes, shower gel, razors,
underwear, socks, and sweatpants. Additionally, District 86 needs school
supplies and packs of kids’ underwear, kids’ socks, and gift cards. Drop-off: 1433
Essington Road, Joliet or bring to Wednesday evening’s event.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "˝%â \00271";">In
September, before leaving on her latest trip, she visited with Courtney Suchor,
Daybreak shelter director. “I was delightfully impressed with the scope of
their program,” Nilan observed. “But I shudder to think of all the families
they must turn away.” While in New York City at a conference in January, Diane
also connected with Alice Manning-Dowd, District 86’s homeless liaison. They
knew each other when Nilan was working with Chicago area districts on
implementing the federal homeless education law.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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“These 2
essential programs serve a hidden population in the community,” Nilan pointed
out. Her work with <b>HEAR US Inc.</b>, the organization she founded in 2005, takes
her across the country chronicling the plight and promise of invisible homeless
children and youth. “It takes a lot to shock me, but I’m astounded and appalled
at how widespread family and youth homelessness is nationwide,” Nilan lamented.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
Marilyn
McGowan, an Associate with the Joliet Franciscans and HEAR US board member
who’s known Diane since they were in college, nominated her. “I have been inspired by what this
one person is trying to do through her work,” McGowan said. She is encouraging
people to donate to a <b><a href="http://www.razoo.com/story/Sister-Clare-Award-Matching-Grant" target="_blank">matching fund created in honor of Nilan’s Sister Clare Award </a></b>that will support HEAR US’s unique and essential work. Donations up to
$10,000 will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000. Information, including
the article and donation link, may be found on <a href="http://www.hearus.us/">www.hearus.us</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
Sister Clare Award will be presented at 7 pm followed by a reception. Nilan,
returning from months filming and speaking across the country, looks forward to reconnecting with
families and friends she knew in her 20 years living in Joliet. She’ll stay her
motorhome on the USF campus Tuesday through Thursday so she can speak to
students on the topic of family/youth homelessness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Her
dream for her return to Joliet? A generous community response to the collection
of items for homeless families. “May the pile be as high as the piles of snow
that afflict the area!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-66545099811580763712014-02-28T09:10:00.000-06:002014-02-28T09:12:03.073-06:00Sister Clare Award for Rolling Activist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4SsXuIr-wIRbaWP5DkyNL3BLQH1HdDjY5ZiTrrxsXw-fFk-EEHrqa7w1bhosrTyyU9DBtpSRyArfw6pxX8EHQMOLJ3LlwYcqU0sZqRRtXqdtlIsSMDwpeTVMfCRKqdBB11aRhUY1v7Y/s1600/DDN_TIllie_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB4SsXuIr-wIRbaWP5DkyNL3BLQH1HdDjY5ZiTrrxsXw-fFk-EEHrqa7w1bhosrTyyU9DBtpSRyArfw6pxX8EHQMOLJ3LlwYcqU0sZqRRtXqdtlIsSMDwpeTVMfCRKqdBB11aRhUY1v7Y/s1600/DDN_TIllie_sm.jpg" height="202" width="320" /></a></div>
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[Naperville, IL, 2/28/14] Diane Nilan, selected for the <b><a href="http://www.stfrancis.edu/mission-and-ministry/st-clare-award/#.UxCgo9xaSGc" target="_blank">University of St. Francis Sister Clare Award</a></b>, is in some ways the least likely choice. The bumper sticker
displayed inside her road-weary motorhome gives a clue:<b><i> Well-behaved women
seldom make history.</i></b> Despite the
contrast, for her unconventional and unrelenting efforts as an activist for homeless
families, Nilan will receive her recognition in Joliet on March 12 at USF, 7 p.m. in Sue Turk Hall.</div>
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40 years after graduating from the College of St. Francis,
23 years after leaving this city where she spent the first segment of her adult
life, Nilan (<a href="http://www.hearus.us/pdf/Bio.pdf" target="_blank">bio</a>, PDF) will roll into town following a 6-month stint of mostly solo
cross-country travel where she filmed and produced a new documentary, <b><i><a href="http://www.hearus.us/projects/wowmtx.html" target="_blank">Worn Out Welcome Mat</a></i></b>, and addressed a variety of audiences on the issue of invisible
homelessness, particularly families and youth. Nilan sold her townhome in 2005
to take to the nation’s backroads, living in <b><i>Tillie</i></b>, her small motorhome.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This award has generated a considerable opportunity for
Nilan’s nonprofit organization, <a href="http://hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEAR US Inc.</a>, thanks to the generosity of an
anonymous donor who will match every dollar, up to $10,000, raised in honor of
the Sister Clare Award. Board member Marilyn McGowan, who nominated Nilan for
this honor, stresses that her frugal one-woman operation makes a major impact
on a national level. “Diane can quietly sit and listen to a mother’s
devastating story of homelessness and convert those stories into powerful
advocacy and awareness tools,” points out McGowan.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I’ve never totally left Joliet,” Nilan admits. She’s still
in contact with former students and even some people she once assisted at the
Will County PADS program, the precursor to Catholic Charities’ Daybreak Shelter
she started while she worked at Catholic Charities in the mid-‘80s. When
notified of the USF honors and asked what people could bring to the award
ceremony to help her work, Nilan demurred, offering to generate <a href="http://www.hearus.us/pdf/Staying_Connected_HU.pdf" target="_blank">needed supplies for Daybreak</a> and local homeless students instead. Those attending the award
ceremony are asked to bring nonperishable food items for Daybreak or school
supplies for Joliet District 86’s homeless students.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Nilan chuckles when she reflects on her activism, incubated
during her CSF days. “We created a ruckus over the quality of food the
cafeteria served,” but also focused on other weighty issues, including the Viet
Nam war. She provided leadership for humanitarian causes, almost flunking out
of college in the process. “I give a lot of credit to the Joliet Franciscans,”
Nilan admits. “They managed to hone my leadership skills in such a way to not
discourage my efforts to seek justice on behalf of the oppressed.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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After leaving Joliet in 1990, she directed the PADS shelter
at Hesed House in Aurora for 13 years, simultaneously working on <b><i><a href="http://www.hearus.us/understanding-homelessness/charlie-ehca.html" target="_blank">Charlie’s Bill</a></i></b>, a successful venture to guarantee access to education for the state’s
homeless students. The bill passed 20 years ago and served as model legislation
for the nation, thanks in part to a partnership between Nilan and (Ret.)
Congresswoman Judy Biggert (R-IL). <o:p></o:p></div>
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Implementing that legislation, the <b><a href="http://www.hearus.us/understanding-homelessness/homeless-education.html" target="_blank">McKinney-Vento HomelessEducation Assistance Act of 2001</a></b>, has been Nilan’s focus since it passed. She
oversaw 305 Chicagoland school districts’ compliance with the law, and in 2005,
when that project shifted, she took to the backroads of the U.S. to film a
documentary of what students thought about their experiences of homelessness
and what school meant to them to help educators and other audiences better
understand the plight of millions of children and youth. <o:p></o:p></div>
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[Naperville, 8/28/13] If she could, <a href="http://www.hearus.us/pdf/bio.pdf" target="_blank">Diane Nilan</a> would amass 3,000 children outside
the Janesville <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd91wWYJF506SVQQA52wBBvVFCRIYbwie700RBGfCrQuWS82TCycZQvoMAb5oVv52iUoM_eOmBCksOyNBXeBLbnCKjr42No2SLuiwZxpaFJUgUm1wlccqd2HpHxrtFjHsQPtDwYxvsWHs/s1600/DDN_TIllie_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd91wWYJF506SVQQA52wBBvVFCRIYbwie700RBGfCrQuWS82TCycZQvoMAb5oVv52iUoM_eOmBCksOyNBXeBLbnCKjr42No2SLuiwZxpaFJUgUm1wlccqd2HpHxrtFjHsQPtDwYxvsWHs/s1600/DDN_TIllie_sm.jpg" height="202" width="320" /></a></div>
district office of Mr. Paul Ryan, the powerful chair of the
House Ways and Means committee. But she’ll only have about a dozen with her
early Friday morning, Aug. 30. <br />
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This silver-haired advocate, with decades of experience
working with homeless families nationwide, will park her unmistakable motorhome <b><i>Tillie</i></b>—
her living quarters, office and vehicle—outside his office at 20 S. Main Street
to represent not only the 3,000 homeless students in Ryan’s District 1, but
also the 1 million+ homeless students in the U.S. She’ll deliver hundreds
of petitions signed by people across the country urging Ryan to listen to what
kids say about their homelessness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“These kids are the tip of the iceberg, the canaries in the
mine shaft, embodying the soaring poverty and homelessness among families and
youth in our country,” lamented Nilan. “I can’t let him propose such draconian
cuts in ignorance.” Billions would be slashed from vital programs that feed,
house and heal homeless families if Ryan’s budget passes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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To make her point, Nilan will present Ryan, or his staff,
with <b><i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbSgzEQJXs8" target="_blank">My Own Four Walls,</a> </i></b>an award-winning, poignant documentary she made
featuring kids talking about their experiences of homelessness and what school
means. She’ll also deliver the recently released <b><i><a href="http://www.icphusa.org/Publications/AmericanAlmanac/" target="_blank">American Almanac of Family Homelessness</a></i></b> and<a href="http://hearus-media-center.blogspot.com/2013/08/homeless-kydz-and-nilan-to-make.html" target="_blank"> hundreds of petitions </a>signed by voters across the country.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Frustrated by the lack of hopeful signs at the hearing Ryan
held a month ago, <a href="http://billmoyers.com/2013/08/02/this-week-in-poverty-chairman-ryan-and-the-real-world/#.Uf0tZCmL0P4.facebook" target="_blank">“War On Poverty: A Progress Report,”</a> Nilan started planning.
The hearing’s only credible witness, according to Nilan, was Sister Simone
Campbell, the head of NETWORK, who has worked with people in poverty. She was
given little time to make the case against offsetting the cost of war and tax
cuts by ravaging the nation’s poorest and most vulnerable citizens. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Since Janesville isn’t far from the western suburbs of
Chicago where she parks in between her filming and speaking engagements, Nilan
decided to make the trip. She invited the Congressman to ride with her for a
tour of his district’s poverty and homelessness, but realizes his schedule
might not permit. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For the past 8 years, this intrepid activist has traveled
over 167,000 miles of mostly backroads, filming kids and families sharing what
it was like to be homeless. She started <a href="http://hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEAR US Inc.,</a> her nonprofit, in 2005 following
a long stint of running shelters and working with schools to make sure homeless
students were properly enrolled, fighting on their behalf if they were not.
Nilan worked hand-in-hand with Republican (retired) Congresswoman Judy Biggert
to enact the<b><a href="http://www.hearus.us/understanding-homelessness/homeless-education.html" target="_blank"> McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act.</a></b> So it’s not partisan, she’s
quick to emphasize.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To fuel her fire, Nilan will spend Thursday evening with
homeless families in Madison, filming their stories. “These kids and parents
have a lot to say about their plight and promise, but lack the opportunity to
share their wisdom,” she pointed out. “I’m their instrument.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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# # #<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> Contact <a href="mailto:diane@hearus.us" target="_blank">Diane Nilan</a> for more information: 630.267.5424</o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-77443595046829318232013-08-26T12:09:00.000-05:002013-08-26T12:11:17.671-05:00Ryan Says Obama's Out of Touch With Poverty; National Advocate Agrees and Offers to Take Congressman For Homelessness Tour<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Pai-T9NGynI1YIs4g1sxcYwv2ASWM5ui_RVPvdrBpNovZAYu91r3pUE-LwmIXBA47o40GBLye2IYoE7AWxLUYIIpn5regMnMKIwFYAuFBRGnDlTZ7HrkMV-JmB0ANzdkPD-EWWSYWUQ/s1600/Baby_girl_FL_3-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Pai-T9NGynI1YIs4g1sxcYwv2ASWM5ui_RVPvdrBpNovZAYu91r3pUE-LwmIXBA47o40GBLye2IYoE7AWxLUYIIpn5regMnMKIwFYAuFBRGnDlTZ7HrkMV-JmB0ANzdkPD-EWWSYWUQ/s1600/Baby_girl_FL_3-12.jpg" height="280" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><u>For Immediate Release:</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>HEAR US Implores Congressman Ryan to Consider Homeless <span style="text-align: center;">Families/Youth </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="text-align: center;">in Budget Decisions; Will Deliver Stacks of Petitions </span></b><b>and Compelling Testimony to </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="text-align: center;">Janesville Office Friday. </span></b></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
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[Naperville, IL, 8/26/13] <span style="text-align: center;">The faces and voices of homeless children and youth not seen
or heard in the Beltway will be quite visible in the Janesville district office
of Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Friday, August 30 as Diane Nilan, a national
advocate for this invisible population, delivers hundreds of petitions and provides compelling testimony from homeless parents and kids nationwide.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvLN2RJptfG3oVGPut5BbQVCuuTDEy_6lhkE38EwA_1-M_WWtSgLy8Y9tXxO-pyKYsCcd8DP_iIPW9dxFsQ9LAVK9URbO-q7KEnL2rYogiBtls58SoDJreYGF20cAIOQZADX-nIyDOaE/s1600/DDN_TIllie_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvLN2RJptfG3oVGPut5BbQVCuuTDEy_6lhkE38EwA_1-M_WWtSgLy8Y9tXxO-pyKYsCcd8DP_iIPW9dxFsQ9LAVK9URbO-q7KEnL2rYogiBtls58SoDJreYGF20cAIOQZADX-nIyDOaE/s1600/DDN_TIllie_sm.jpg" height="126" title="Diane Nilan and her motorhome "Tillie"" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nilan and her motorhome</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitvLN2RJptfG3oVGPut5BbQVCuuTDEy_6lhkE38EwA_1-M_WWtSgLy8Y9tXxO-pyKYsCcd8DP_iIPW9dxFsQ9LAVK9URbO-q7KEnL2rYogiBtls58SoDJreYGF20cAIOQZADX-nIyDOaE/s1600/DDN_TIllie_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>Nilan, under the banner of <a href="http://hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEAR US Inc.</a>, her national
nonprofit created<b><i> to give voice and visibility </i></b><b><i>to </i></b><b style="text-align: center;"><i>homeless children and
youth,</i></b><span style="text-align: center;"> has chronicled homeless families and youth for the past 8 years. She </span><b style="text-align: center;"><i></i></b><span style="text-align: center;">travels in, works from, and lives in a small motorhome, dubbed </span><b style="text-align: center;"><i>Tillie the
Turtle</i></b><span style="text-align: center;">, and has amassed over 167,000 miles since she first set out in 2005.
Following 15 years running homeless shelters and 2 years working with Chicago
area school districts to ensure homeless students’ access to school, she’s
taken to the highways to raise this largely invisible issue to a more visible
level.</span></div>
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“Maybe Congressman Ryan does not know that at least <a href="http://homeless.dpi.wi.gov/hmls_data" target="_blank">3,000 students in his district</a> have no place to call home,” Nilan pointed
out. “Wisconsin has a huge homelessness and poverty crisis, and I want to urge
him to address it.” Her concern, however, is the Congressman is poised to slash
programs that provide survival level services for the most vulnerable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Since Friday, Nilan has asked her widespread network to
<a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/paul-ryan-hear-from-your" target="_blank">petition Mr. Ryan’s office</a>, urging him to at least meet with her, if not take a
ride to witness poverty and homelessness in his district. Participation in her
petition drive indicates she’ll have hundreds to deliver. She’ll speak with WI
families, and film stories of their homelessness prior to her Friday meeting.
“Sadly, homeless families and youth in Wisconsin reflect what I’ve seen
everywhere I’ve been,” she lamented. “The most tragic part of this is how
Congress, both parties, has seen fit to inflict more pain instead of addressing
the causes of this skyrocketing crisis.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This determined woman points to national statistics that
support her claim. The U.S. Department of Education reported over <a href="http://www.nlchp.org/view_release.cfm?PRID=148" target="_blank">1 million homeless students </a>identified in 2011-12, a steadily increasing number,
especially during the nation’s economic meltdown. Foreclosures, medically related
bankruptcies and unemployment statistics add fuel to her fire. “I’ve seen more
shuttered businesses, for sale signs, and desperate people in my 8 years than I
would have ever imagined possible,” she stated. “For Congress to continue to
ignore hundreds of millions of Americans, including millions of people without
homes, in lieu of tax cuts for the richest households is unconscionable.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In addition to the pile of petitions and heartbreaking stories
from across the land, she’s counting on the faces of children that accompany
her, both on her motorhome and as life-sized cardboard cutouts. <a href="http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/news/sherman-NAP-08252013:article" target="_blank">This respected advocate </a>will do everything in her power to bring those faces and voices to the
decision makers who hold the power to make things better, or worse. “I will
‘afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted’ as much as possible,” she
promised. And on Friday, she will deliver. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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# # #<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Contact Diane Nilan, 630.267.5424</div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-63947824805864745712013-04-29T10:28:00.002-05:002013-04-29T10:33:08.357-05:00Homeless Mother’s Day Tribute: Suffer In Silence No More<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Seven women share their stories of homelessness
that resound nationwide and throughout <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMR4VxM0BQ4G2OloUk0fi_NtAvj9TdJM6GvpTPNAC1z2AZFkDG5bMiZvEZlnUL6XKz2NhWwVQNss_Z-Dykfz1Yvh7F0V31XRcQ99ohULjrpV1ryFxH2Lp-nPCxQKzg74r18XR0hvgmYxM/s1600/melissa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMR4VxM0BQ4G2OloUk0fi_NtAvj9TdJM6GvpTPNAC1z2AZFkDG5bMiZvEZlnUL6XKz2NhWwVQNss_Z-Dykfz1Yvh7F0V31XRcQ99ohULjrpV1ryFxH2Lp-nPCxQKzg74r18XR0hvgmYxM/s1600/melissa.jpg" height="200" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Melissa, one of the OTE women</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
affluent DuPage County.</i></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
[Naperville, IL, April 29, 2013] The award-winning
documentary, <b><i>on the edge: Family Homelessness in America,</i></b> riveting stories
of seven women’s experiences of homelessness, returns to Naperville Friday, May
10, 7 pm, the monthly feature of DuPage Peace With Justice Coalition’s <i>Just Views</i> film night.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“This is a timely event, on Mother’s Day weekend, because of
millions of invisible mothers who experience homelessness,” points out Diane
Nilan, founder and president of HEAR US Inc., a Naperville-based national
nonprofit to give voice and visibility to homeless families. Nilan and
Professor Laura Vazquez filmed and produced the documentary, which has won
several honors and has aired on PBS.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Listening to mothers speak of their path to and through
homelessness gives a perspective not often considered, according to Nilan, a
national authority on this issue. “The audience response to this film continues
to be quite gratifying," she pointed out. She’s screened OTE to a variety
of audiences from Congress to corrections’ facilities to colleges as she’s
traveled for the past 8 years in her small motorhome on her mission to incite a
“compassion epidemic” to address homelessness. “Audiences hear the stories of
experts, women who capably articulate the challenges of homelessness from their
day-to-day struggles. As sad as their stories are, they are also inspiring.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The film has relevance here in DuPage, one of the wealthiest
counties in the country. Many families experiencing homelessness in the area
are invisible, not staying at shelters. With over 17,000 in the county living
in deep poverty, half the poverty level, thousand of families and individuals
fall into and face a steep climb out of homelessness, with shelter beds full
and subsidized housing unavailable. The sequester
and continuing economic unrest will add to these numbers. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nilan will lead a discussion following the film screening.
The event, held at the DuPage Unitarian Universalist church, 1828 Old
Naperville Rd., Naperville<b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">,</span></b> is open to the public, no
charge. Copies of the <b><i><a href="http://www.hearus.us/projects/ote.html" target="_blank">on the edge</a></i></b> DVDs will be available for sale at the event, $30. Info <a href="http://jv.dupagepeacethroughjustice.org/">http://jv.dupagepeacethroughjustice.org</a>
or <a href="http://hearus.us/">http://hearus.us</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
# # #<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-1045063255549395902013-01-17T14:25:00.000-06:002013-01-17T14:25:01.725-06:00‘Bring It On!’ Kick-off of Cross-Country Tour on Behalf of Homeless Kids and Families<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMlq_T0zZ_8R_tHSmVEeLJCrKezSUophVLBoVYMWG6ARdDkkjdyLB7bX_AXgUEUjUKWbwO7aIJ09rL48JcmIUsOpkk9Kkf-MbGmx9ccGoheNjWzsn_ZPRESmbzURJYYDD5gspXHRyCVmM/s1600/dust-storm-sep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMlq_T0zZ_8R_tHSmVEeLJCrKezSUophVLBoVYMWG6ARdDkkjdyLB7bX_AXgUEUjUKWbwO7aIJ09rL48JcmIUsOpkk9Kkf-MbGmx9ccGoheNjWzsn_ZPRESmbzURJYYDD5gspXHRyCVmM/s1600/dust-storm-sep.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo (c) Diane Nilan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
[Naperville, IL, 1/17/13] Winter weather at its worst. Blinding dust storms. Scorn
from unenlightened community members. Seemingly endless, stark drives wrapped
around arduous events. “Bring it on!” two determined women (Pat LaMarche and
Diane Nilan) dare Mother Nature. Traveling as the <b>Babes of Wrath</b> on behalf of homeless children, families and youth, these
two women are about to embark on a grueling month-long, 5,000-mile
awareness-raising tour of the southwest part of this country.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This tour, of their own free will under the banner of <a href="http://hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEARUS Inc</a>., Nilan’s Naperville-based nonprofit organization, begins Tuesday, 1/22 in Little Rock, AR. Beleaguered local service providers along the route are eager for the
Babes to land in their cities and towns. “We’re so glad SOMEONE is doing
advocacy,” one shelter director told Nilan. She bemoaned HUD’s ineffective
“structure” supposedly addressing homelessness on a local level, known as the
“continuum of care,” local agency representatives charged with translating inadequate U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) resources into services for homeless
persons.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One critical issue in discussions with concerned local leaders
is a dreadful one—how families with babies and toddlers are ignored, part of
the pattern of abuse and neglect perpetuated at the federal level. The consensus:
families have never been a priority. In fact, they are very low on HUD's homeless subpopulations served (and funded). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
HUD says they’re allowing the
local community to set priorities as they point out that there's enough federal money to go around. In this imperfect world, the “Littles” lose.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the <b><i><a href="http://hearus.us/projects/littlenomads.html" target="_blank">Littlest Nomads</a></i></b> (babies and toddlers, with parents)
are ignored, it creates a feeder program of homeless adults. Little kids, in
their prime growth stage, miss out on nurturing, nutrition, developmental
opportunities, and they absorb the toxic influences—emotional and
environmental. They’re ill-prepared for school and they often struggle and
fail. Chances are their family’s housing situation remains precarious. Poverty
follows them everywhere. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When these kids end up as homeless adults, no one should be
surprised. But everyone with the power to do something should be ashamed. The
feds get left off the hook when local communities try to do things on their
own. For every local community able to step up to the daunting
challenge of providing housing and other essential services to impoverished
families, hundreds—or thousands—cannot, or will not, do the job.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pat (L) and Diane<br />on their 2011 <br />Southern Discomfort tour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pat and Diane, <b><a href="http://hearus.us/calendar11-12/babestour.html" target="_blank">Babes of Wrath</a></b>, will listen, learn and
challenge communities large and small to bolster their local efforts and to let
their elected officials know that this is very much like the Great Depression,
with millions of people—babies, toddlers, kids, parents, and single adults—in
need of life-saving shelter, food, heath care and other vital services. LaMarche will blog on <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pat-lamarche/" target="_blank">Huffington Post</a>, Nilan on <a href="http://www.alternet.org/speakeasy/diane-nilan/count" target="_blank">Alternet</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Their message will make them as popular as the great
dust clouds that continue to batter the southwestern part of the country. But,
as history teaches, eventually Depression era officials caught on and
implemented common sense dust-reduction strategies. With homeless people small
and large rolling like tumbleweed across the land, this nation’s approach
toward homelessness needs rethinking. Sooner rather than later, they hope. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
# # #</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-28888069412575390082013-01-17T13:39:00.000-06:002013-01-17T13:39:27.898-06:00Most Important News of the Day<br />
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</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
PRESS RELEASE <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
For Immediate Release<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Contact: Pat LaMarche <a href="mailto:epicjourney10@gmail.com">epicjourney10@gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Diane Nilan <a href="mailto:diane@hearus.us">diane@hearus.us</a>, 630-267-5424<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Mary Ann Parks <a href="mailto:maryannparks@gmail.com">maryannparks@gmail.com</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">This Is the Most Important News of the Day<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Homeless People Around the Nation Would Beg You to
Cover It: </span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">If they weren’t busy begging for a home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Long time homeless
advocates, Diane Nilan and Pat LaMarche, begin a 4600 mile trek across the
lower half of the wealthiest nation in the world on Monday. But with the inaugural, Martin Luther King,
Jr. Day, and the National Rifle Associations’s Gun Appreciation day, the cause
of homelessness is at risk of receiving little no coverage at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvj_d25phrJ5h9MBRIbXUUjjJPLn9_ZwzORQMnfHqXBZ9FzSlqOyZ1J6BJu6Xh3t0FKM_vDUd7iRgJxzUtzN0omEtzqCqRHdEThD1d51vNN1TZIVlUFNUb70XnW93nWHttgEK6KAG2Vo/s1600/PLM_DDN_al.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuvj_d25phrJ5h9MBRIbXUUjjJPLn9_ZwzORQMnfHqXBZ9FzSlqOyZ1J6BJu6Xh3t0FKM_vDUd7iRgJxzUtzN0omEtzqCqRHdEThD1d51vNN1TZIVlUFNUb70XnW93nWHttgEK6KAG2Vo/s1600/PLM_DDN_al.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pat LaMarche (L) and<br />
Diane Nilan at a screening<br />
of "on the edge: Family<br />
Homelessness in America,"<br />
in Mobile, AL 2/11</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
“Not one of these 'bigger stories' is independent of the issue of homelessness. President Obama’s re-election and consequent 2nd inaugural came about in no small part because his opponent, Gov. Mitt Romney, maligned the needy in his infamous 47% quote,” explained LaMarche. “One of our greatest civil rights advocates who we honor this week spoke of the economic and social ills which plagued our nation and subjugated its people,” continued LaMarche. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
“And then there’s domestic violence – which cannot be separated from the other issues of gun violence in this nation – which is a leading cause of homelessness. We predict that not a single sound bite will be devoted to this national scourge. How can anyone wave a flag in patriotism knowing that millions of their countrymen languish in poverty?” queried Nilan, founder and director of HEAR US, a national advocacy group for homeless children, youth and their families. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
So these two women – who have both authored books about their experiences living with, working with, and living as homeless people – will set out across the nation to share the experience of a new year’s homeless population. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
“Some places we go we’ll talk about what we’ve learned in our years working with the poor and disenfranchised, but more often we’ll listen,” explained LaMarche who will be gathering new material for her writing. “And Diane will screen her award winning documentaries about the homeless folks she’s encountered.” </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
“Most of all,” Nilan added, “we hope to help the advocates on the ground in local America, USA, to tell their stories to their local media. Once you get to know people experiencing homelessness, you realize it’s not an us/them issue: it’s an all of us issue.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">
Links to LaMarche and Nilan’s books as well as Nilan’s documentaries are available at <a href="http://www.hearus.us/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.hearus.us</a> The map of their journey as well as itinerary <span class="">are</span> available there as well as at the EPIC Journey <span class="">facebook</span> page. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EPICJourney2010" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">https://www.facebook.com/EPICJourney2010</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">
#####</div>
Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-89245459423160976192012-10-18T14:24:00.000-05:002012-10-18T14:24:35.025-05:00Nilan Chosen for Top National Honor<br />
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">[October 18, 2012, Naperville, IL, by Kathy Millen] The<a href="http://www.naehcy.org/" target="_blank"> National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth</a> will award Diane Nilan its prestigious Sandra Neese Lifetime Achievement Award.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Nilan is founder and president of<a href="http://hearus.us/" target="_blank"> HEAR US</a>, a national non-profit organization based in Naperville, Il that gives voice and visibility to homeless children and youth and has played a pivotal role in landmark legislation protecting the educational rights of homeless children.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpgQn0CnPhYTOaP6ESHL2IrBSDDbpSJTDPnvjULLVv3l80I3B-GfoIVBPSG_Pmedwv08p4Rd2-Vy-GCgicMiHZ52-Ue0G2mOWFqGFjEFzY3LuA6BxpAnEPF5VdLOGKnKS1x059We0Ajg/s1600/DDN_Tillie_2-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpgQn0CnPhYTOaP6ESHL2IrBSDDbpSJTDPnvjULLVv3l80I3B-GfoIVBPSG_Pmedwv08p4Rd2-Vy-GCgicMiHZ52-Ue0G2mOWFqGFjEFzY3LuA6BxpAnEPF5VdLOGKnKS1x059We0Ajg/s1600/DDN_Tillie_2-12.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />For the last seven years Nilan has traveled more than 150,000 miles across the United States in her motor home chronicling the plight of homeless children and their families. The result includes two award-winning documentaries: <b><i><a href="http://hearus.us/projects/my-own-four-walls-video.html" target="_blank">My Own Four Walls</a></i></b> and <b><i><a href="http://hearus.us/projects/ote.html" target="_blank">on the edge: Family Homelessness in America</a>,</i></b> made in partnership with Laura Vazquez, a media professor at Northern Illinois University.<br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Vazquez, will be the<a href="http://shar.es/c0StM" target="_blank"> recipient of NAEHCY's Distinguished Service and Leadership Award</a>. Both women will be among those honored at an awards presentation Oct. 29 at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Nilan, who has worked on behalf of homeless people for more than 25 years, said the award reflects the strong support she has received during that time.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />"My life has been immeasurably enriched by my years of working with homeless families and youth," she said. "Little did I know what I was getting into. In my wildest dreams, seven years ago when I whittled down my stuff to fit into <b><i>Tillie the Turtle</i></b>, my motor home, I had no idea of how this journey would unfold. I've met countless quiet champions, going far beyond what is reasonable to help families and kids survive. I've met scads of incredibly courageous kids willing to risk bullying and worse to speak out about not having a home. This award goes to them."</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Nilan's accomplishments include launching a homeless shelter in Joliet, Il and later directing the shelter that is part of Hesed House/PADS Ministries in Aurora, IL. For 13 years, she expanded shelter programs and supervised more than 5,000 volunteers who served more than 150 adults and children each night.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Nilan has addressed the U.S. Congress on homeless issues. One of her biggest supporters is Illinois <b><a href="http://biggert.house.gov/" target="_blank">Congresswoman Judy Biggert</a></b> (R-13). In a letter to the NAEHCY board of directors, Biggert praised Nilan for spearheading the Illinois Education for Homeless Children act, also known as Charlie's Bill, and, on the federal level, the McKinney-Vento education provisions signed into law in 2001 as part of No Child Left Behind. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />"Diane's work in and out of the field has touched lives across the country," Biggert said. "She has been a truly remarkable source of expertise and inspiration for policy-makers who have sought to improve the educational opportunities available to homeless children."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Nilan is the author of <b><i><a href="http://hearus.us/understanding-homelessness/books/crossing-the-line.html" target="_blank">Crossing the Line: Taking Steps to End Homelessness.</a></i></b> She also created and directed Project REACH in Illinois, the lead McKinney-Vento liaison for 305 school districts in eight counties surrounding Chicago. She has successfully stood up for the rights of homeless children, including a confrontation with a powerful law firm that had been blocking homeless enrollments in residency hearings. She has collaborated with journalists to help uncover rights violations which resulted in a prison sentence for one school superintendent.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Nilan's latest film is <b><i><a href="http://hearus.us/projects/littlenomads.html" target="_blank">Littlest Nomads</a></i></b> which focuses on the unmet needs of homeless babies and toddlers. The film was made in partnership with Vazquez and Sarah Benjamin, a NAEHCY-recognized advocate for young children.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Nilan said her goal is to continue working to generate compassion and reduce causes of homelessness among children and families.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />"We've seemed to have lost our way in this country," she said. "I've witnessed decades of deterioration of support we used to provide for families. Shockingly to most, way over 1.6 million kids are homeless in our great nation. We should be ashamed to the point of demanding that our elected officials and our communities prioritize the well-being of our vulnerable young people."</span></div>
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Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-18652712131215759542012-10-15T13:32:00.001-05:002012-10-15T13:34:21.642-05:00Vazquez, NIU Professor, To Be Honored for Documentaries on Homeless Kids<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLzTeEdYIrPtC2jh6NTIDRqyK3y1RHMC9pNs3VVVVOlPAwcHKw8KUNp_C1VrM019fq3gm1jk7sL2BVxh1a9l46ubqsZ8XpStS2_CPOb0sHNugcnsO40TJkB0uOBU6-vm0E7ZrFYRdo-E/s1600/OTE-V-N-scott-niu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLzTeEdYIrPtC2jh6NTIDRqyK3y1RHMC9pNs3VVVVOlPAwcHKw8KUNp_C1VrM019fq3gm1jk7sL2BVxh1a9l46ubqsZ8XpStS2_CPOb0sHNugcnsO40TJkB0uOBU6-vm0E7ZrFYRdo-E/s1600/OTE-V-N-scott-niu.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laura Vazquez (r) and Diane Nilan spent countless hours<br />
in the NIU Avid Film Lab. (Photo courtesy NIU)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">[Albuquerque, NM, Oct. 15, 2012] Laura Vazquez, Media Studies professor at Northern Illinois University, will receive the prestigious <b><i>Distinguished Service and Leadership Award</i></b> for her years of film work from the <a href="http://naehcy.org/" target="_blank">National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth</a> at their national conference in Albuquerque on Oct. 29.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Since 2006, <a href="http://ontheedge.niu.edu/filmmakers.html" target="_blank">Vazquez</a>, an accomplished documentary filmmaker, has collaborated on stories of homeless women, children and youth with Diane Nilan, president of <a href="http://hearus.us/" target="_blank">HEAR US Inc.</a>, a Naperville, IL based national nonprofit "giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth." The 2 women, relentless social justice activists in their own fields, were connected by a friend/colleague Tom Parisi, Media Relations Specialist at NIU, a former beat reporter for the Aurora Beacon News where Nilan ran a shelter for many years.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">I’ve spent hundreds of hours
sitting next to Laura at NIU’s film lab with eyes glued to the editing screens.
She’s put me at ease—me, the former shelter director with no film experience—and
she’s given me the opportunity to shape our video tools in a mutually
respectful process," stated Nilan. "She’s encouraged my fledgling documentary making efforts,
and has willingly helped in ways far beyond what I’d feel I could ask. And
she’s worked hard to learn about homelessness."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Among Vazquez's accomplishments, her efforts led to the PBS airing <i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://ontheedge.niu.edu/" target="_blank">on the edge: Family Homelessness in America,</a> </i>a powerful documentary featuring stories of seven women from across the country sharing their gripping accounts of homelessness. The film took top honors in the prestigious <a href="http://today.niu.edu/2011/02/21/documentary-by-niu%E2%80%99s-laura-vazquez-wins-top-honors-from-broadcast-education-association/" target="_blank">Broadcast Education Association's 2011 Festival of Media Arts competition. </a> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Nilan, who nominated her colleague for this award, points to the rare legislative success for homeless students, passage of the <b>FAFSA Fix for Homeless Kids Act,</b> sponsored by <a href="http://biggert.house.gov/" target="_blank">Congresswoman Judy Biggert (R-IL-13)</a>. Vazquez traveled to DC to <a href="http://hearus.us/video/fafsa.mov" target="_blank">film homeless youth </a>lobbying their legislators to remove barriers to their attending college. Tom Parisi suggested they meet after Nilan returned from her maiden backroads voyage filming homeless kids in 2006. Vazquez and her students took Nilan's footage and compiled it into an acclaimed heart-breaker, <b><i><a href="http://hearus.us/projects/my-own-four-walls-video.html" target="_blank">My Own Four Walls</a></i></b>. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Anti-poverty activist and journalist <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pat-lamarche/" target="_blank">Pat LaMarche </a>offered an observation about the impact of Vazquez's work, "</span><span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-size: 11pt;">Laura’s
body of work gives the average American a chance to witness the lives of folks
without having to leave the comfort of their homes, churches or civic
organizations." Her films are available through HEAR US, <a href="http://hearus.us/">http://hearus.us</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">"The biggest obstacle to ending homelessness in this country," Nilan stated, "is ignorance. Laura's </span><span style="font-size: 15px;">incalculable</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> contributions to eradicating ignorance and creating compassion have done more than any of us will ever know." </span></span><br />
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Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-888129857550310709.post-26858295453804861182012-09-11T15:17:00.002-05:002012-09-11T15:17:52.345-05:00Gas Prize Opens New Doors for Homelessness Awareness[Naperville, IL, Sept. 12, 2012] Last December, outside the Naperville Citgo station on Hillside and Washington, HEAR US president Diane Nilan gassed up her motor home and sped to a Congressional hearing on child homelessness organized by Congresswoman Judy Biggert in Washington.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7xHRaixkmqWboU-FV7KlG3CKwmy_cmM5LOQzg5_OXaoFbdHPAwzSaCgIKFf0jSLyfC6pEDOKanbdbjgDkSNa5juUrVqBTtUBkczk6PgCrivxz96m9Bj7-brgwRkXK8PW1uzQ21kOH5w/s1600/WeWON-small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7xHRaixkmqWboU-FV7KlG3CKwmy_cmM5LOQzg5_OXaoFbdHPAwzSaCgIKFf0jSLyfC6pEDOKanbdbjgDkSNa5juUrVqBTtUBkczk6PgCrivxz96m9Bj7-brgwRkXK8PW1uzQ21kOH5w/s320/WeWON-small.jpg" width="320" /></a>Nilan's gas was sort of on the house. Her one-woman nonprofit organization, with its small board, pulled off the improbable victory in <a href="http://www.fuelinggood.com/" target="_blank">Citgo's Fueling Good contest,</a> winning $5,000 in gas cards, among a dozen winners out of over 700 agencies nationwide. On 9/20 she heads to Houston, Citgo's national headquarters, to personally thank them, sharing her videos and message about invisible homeless families and youth with Citgo employees.<br />
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This is Nilan's 8th year of backroads cross-country travel, "giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth." Her 150,000 mostly backroads miles have given her opportunity to film documentaries and conduct presentations to a variety of audiences from Congress to California. The film she produced, <b style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://ontheedge.niu.edu/" target="_blank">on the edge: Family Homelessness in America, </a> </b>aired on PBS. <b><i><a href="http://hearus.us/projects/my-own-four-walls-video.html" target="_blank">My Own Four Walls</a></i></b>, her first film, continues to inspire educators, agency staff and the public about invisible homeless kids.<br />
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In December's race to DC, she stopped and picked up an 11-year-old boy, Rumi, and his mother at the Safe Harbour shelter in Carlisle, PA. This articulate child testified to Mrs. Biggert's committee, earning <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKYDUXNIvpk&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">2 appearances on CNN</a> with Nilan. He shared the heartache he and his mother experienced as they've tumbled from one place to another following an outburst of violence from his father.<br />
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Citgo is promoting their Fall 2012 Fueling Good contest. On their website is a <a href="http://www.fuelinggood.com/" target="_blank">90-second promo video</a> featuring HEAR US. "This company has grasped the somewhat illusive concept of ripple effect," observes Nilan. "They've connected the dots between supporting the work of a nonprofit organization like HEAR US, which rarely gets grant funding, and the work that we do on awareness-raising."<br />
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Validated, she'll use the remaining gas cards to continue her mission of making sure homeless kids are not forgotten. Funding her unconventional effort continues to be a challenge. To donate on the secure HEAR US website, <a href="http://hearus.us/about-us/donate.html">http://hearus.us/about-us/donate.html</a>.<br />
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<br />Diane Nilanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03886329898369901405noreply@blogger.com0