Inside Look at Family/Youth Homelessness: Local Filmmaker, Former Shelter Director, Offers Insights and Solutions

Scholarly endeavors. Photo by Diane Nilan

[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. Twenty-five years after Illinois became the first state to remove barriers for homeless students, the work begun in the Fox Valley 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.

Diane Nilan, president of HEAR US Inc., a Naperville-based nonprofit, will share 2 of her short documentaries, a coast-to-coast look at 

Diane Nilan

homelessness—Washington State and New Hampshire—for the monthly Just Views film screening at DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church. 

Nilan, former shelter director at Hesed House in Aurora, and a small group of activists, worked with Fox Valley area legislators to spearhead the Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act which passed 25 years ago. Her film subjects frequently refer to the significance of the federal law that grew from the Illinois statute. 

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. 

A quiet place to do school work just doesn't exist
for kids without homes.
Photo by Diane Nilan

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: The Homeless Children and Youth Act -- legislation being considered by U.S. House Finance Committee.  Two Naperville area congresspersons, Bill Foster and Sean Casten, sit on this committee.

The audience will also learn about the HEAR US 2020 VisionQuest journey, launching from Naperville on July 20th. HEAR US VisionQuest 2020, a 9,000-mile, 25-state journey will call attention to invisible family and youth homelessness. 

EVENT DETAILS

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 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.

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HEAR US: Homing In On Homelessness Causes & Cures

       [Naperville, IL, June 21, 2019] Filmmaker Diane Nilan probably knows as much as anyone in the USA about

the trials and tribulations of homeless persons. On July 12, Nilan will return to Just Views, a free monthly film screening event sponsored by the DuPage Peace through Justice Coalition, to screen two of her recent short documentaries featuring homeless families and youth. A short discussion will follow. 

In 2005, Nilan founded a nonprofit organization, HEAR US Inc., 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 remove barriers to education encountered by students without homes.

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. Her work has earned recognition from a variety of organizations. 

    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: The Homeless Children and Youth Act -- legislation being considered by U.S. House Finance Committee. Two Naperville area congresspersons, Bill Foster and Sean Casten, sit on this committee.

        The audience will also learn about Nilan’s most ambitious journey, the HEAR US 2020 VisionQuest journey, launching from Naperville on July 20th. 

https://www.hearus.us/projects/awareness/2020.html

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 630/961-0106.

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Homeless Little Boy With Cat Takes On Powerful Political Figures

[Naperville, IL, 10/17/16] The bedraggled little boy clutching a cat that almost matches him in size faces strong competition, but it’s

Charlie
© Pat Van Doren

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. 

HEAR US, a Naperville-based national nonprofit organization giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth, is launching The Charlie Book: 60 Ways to Help Homeless Kids, a 24-page guide to anyone wanting to make life a little better for the millions of mostly-invisible homeless kids in every community. 

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 successful 1994 “Charlie’s Bill” campaign, 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.

The Charlie Book, 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. 

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. 

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).

Information and ordering instructions are on the HEAR US website, www.hearus.us. Proceeds from the book support the continuing work of this well-regarded organization. 

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. 

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. 

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George and Charlie to Help Homeless Kids in Naperville and Beyond

Press Release
For Immediate Release
October 3, 2016


[Naperville, IL] Launching The Charlie Book: 60 Ways to Help Homeless Kids 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. Mr. Winston will play at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Naperville.

HEAR US Inc., 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.

The Charlie Book: 60 Ways to Help Homeless Kids, 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.

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.”

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.

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, Yay Babies! 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 Yay Babies! public service video calls attention to this little population.

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. 

Information about ticket and book sales: www.hearus.us  

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By George! George Winston To Return for HEAR US Benefit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 30, 2016

For information: 

Diane Nilan, 630/267-5424

[Naperville, IL] Homeless babies, toddlers, kids of all ages are counting on fans of George Winston, the popular musician whose piano and guitar music has delighted fans for decades. His benefit concert for the Naperville-based national nonprofit HEAR US Inc. on Oct. 13 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Naperville will support the organization’s newest project, Yay Babies! Yay Kids!

“George is incredibly supportive of programs serving homeless and hungry people,” states Diane Nilan, president and founder of HEAR US, a unique effort giving voice and visibility to millions of homeless children and youth in the U.S. 

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.

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.

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, Yay Babies! Yay Kids!, creates ways to help babies, toddlers and kids in local communities. Nilan’s latest video production is a 2-minute public service announcement film, Yay Babies! 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 www.hearus.us.

Charlie
© Pat Van Doren

Another exciting HEAR US effort is underway—the publishing of “The Charlie Book” 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. 

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, The Education of Homeless Children and Youth Act which protects the educational rights of over 1.3 million students without homes. 

Information about the concert and ticket sales can be found at www.hearus.us.  

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SaveSave

HEAR US Wins National Award For Kansas Doubled-Up Film Project

[Naperville, IL 11-7-15] 

Kansas tornadoes, wind, rain, heat and cold. Heartbreaking stories of domestic violence, house fires, abject poverty and abuse. Diane Nilan blended these adversities into “Worn Out Welcome Mat - Kansas,” her latest documentary about the invisible crisis of doubled-up homelessness. Her efforts earned the Best Targeted Campaign Award from the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY), to be presented at the organization’s national conference Nov. 15-17 in Phoenix. 

Nilan, president and founder of HEAR US Inc., 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. 

The Kansas State Department of Education homeless education 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.” 

Worn Out Welcome Mat - KS 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. 

“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.”

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Homelessness Activist Selected For Top Joliet Franciscan Honors

Press Release......................................................................................................For Immediate Release

[Naperville, IL] Despite all the trouble Diane Nilan caused the Joliet Franciscan Sisters, they will present her with the Mother Alfred Moes Award, their highest honor, for her decades of work with homeless children and adults. The presentation will be made during the Franciscan Autumn Fest, Oct. 25, at the Patrick C. Haley Mansion in Joliet. 

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 HEAR US Inc., a national nonprofit giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth.

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.

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. 

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.

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.”

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 (www.hearus.us). She’s made several documentaries and short videos of those experiencing homelessness sharing their stories. Her latest was just released, Worn out Welcome Mat - Kansas. 

Nilan 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. 

“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.” 

For reservations or more information about the event, 815-725-8735, x116.

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NIU Students To Rally for Homeless Children and Youth; Launching HEAR US 10th Year

HEAR US founder Diane Nilan stands alongside
her new motorhome, which serves as her home,
office and vehicle.

[Naperville and DeKalb, IL, Nov. 15, 2014]  Nomadic activist Diane Nilan will enlist students at Northern Illinois University in a grass-roots campaign to increase awareness of homeless families and youth as she screens her latest documentary, Worn Out Welcome Mat, on Nov. 18 for National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week. 

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. She sold her townhouse and purchased a small motorhome which she's lived in since then. Nilan started her nonprofit HEAR US Inc. 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. 

Worn Out Welcome Mat 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.

HEAR US Inc. has actively solicited support for the Homeless Children and Youth Act, 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.

“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 Take Action page of the website www.helphomelesskidsnow.org. 

The National Coalition for the Homeless created National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week 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.

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.

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Plea Issued for Supplies for Joliet-area Homeless Families, Students

[Naperville, IL, March 7] 

Diane Nilan, founder of Will County’s first homeless 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 Sister Clare Award, given to honor “… 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.”

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. Items needed include: 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.

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.

“These 2 essential programs serve a hidden population in the community,” Nilan pointed out. Her work with HEAR US Inc., 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.

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 matching fund created in honor of Nilan’s Sister Clare Award 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 www.hearus.us.

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.

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!”

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Sister Clare Award for Rolling Activist

[Naperville, IL, 2/28/14] Diane Nilan, selected for the University of St. Francis Sister Clare Award, is in some ways the least likely choice. The bumper sticker displayed inside her road-weary motorhome gives a clue: Well-behaved women seldom make history.  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.

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 (bio, PDF) will roll into town following a 6-month stint of mostly solo cross-country travel where she filmed and produced a new documentary, Worn Out Welcome Mat, 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 Tillie, her small motorhome.

This award has generated a considerable opportunity for Nilan’s nonprofit organization, HEAR US Inc., 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.

“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 needed supplies for Daybreak 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.

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.”

After leaving Joliet in 1990, she directed the PADS shelter at Hesed House in Aurora for 13 years, simultaneously working on Charlie’s Bill, 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).

Implementing that legislation, the McKinney-Vento HomelessEducation Assistance Act of 2001, 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.

And now she’s come full circle, returning to her roots to accept this honor, but not standing still for long. She’s scheduled for a trip to New York in April.

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