Shining a Light on Invisible Homeless Teens in Johnson Coun(IN)ty

[Sept. 7, 2009] The last thing “Kevin” wanted was for someone to notice him. His star athlete looks, top academic record from sophomore year, and long list of friends belies his current situation—he’s homeless. He bailed on his parents after the last brutal beating from his alcohol-impaired dad. Now he’s faced with the night-to-night challenge of finding a safe place to sleep.

Kevin and area teens like him are the reason concerned individuals will gather this Wednesday, 9/9/09, in Greenwood (10:00 a.m., Community Church of Greenwood) and Franklin (4:00 p.m., High School Auditorium) with Johnson County’s Displaced Youth Task Force. They will explore this issue with Diane Nilan, president of HEAR US Inc., a national expert on homeless youth.

Task force members, knowing dozens of teens in similar plights to Kevin, are examining local solutions. With 25 years working with communities addressing homelessness, Nilan provides a spark for whatever local effort may evolve. She offers, “When concerned people in the local community gather, what seems insurmountable becomes possible.” She urges the curious and naysayers alike to attend.

Nilan, author, filmmaker and former shelter director, sold her suburban Chicago townhouse 4 years ago, and has logged over 76,000 backroads miles in her spartan RV to call attention to the plight and promise of over 1.5 million invisible homeless children and youth. Her nonprofit organization, HEAR US Inc., gives voice and visibility to homeless kids, and offers resources to help schools and communities understand and address homelessness. A clip from “My Own Four Walls,” Nilan’s award-winning documentary, will be shown.

Her 2-day visit will also provide an opportunity to film the Franklin/Johnson County area for her new HEAR US project, “Learning Curve Express,” which aims to connect invisible homeless kids with their Member of Congress. This unique venture will officially be launched in October, but her central Indiana event provides the opportunity for a preview. “Most legislators don’t understand homeless kids,” Nilan points out, “and the Learning Curve Express will bridge that gap.”

These presentations are free and open to the public. For more information contact Angie Freeman, freemana@fcsc.k12.in.us, 317-524-9335, or Keri Lyn Powers, associate@youthconnections.org,

317-738-3273 ext. 106.

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California Dreaming for Homeless Kids

[Naperville, IL, July 24, 2009] Scattered across America in backwater towns, nondescript cities and dusty rural communities are 75 young people who have had an astounding impact on millions of people nationwide. "My Own Four Walls," the acclaimed documentary chronicling these courageous homeless children and youth filmed and produced by HEAR US Inc., will be screened this fall at the prestigious Paso Robles Digital Film Festival

"This festival provides a tremendous opportunity to let faces of children and youth without homes be seen and their voices heard," exclaims Diane Nilan, whose unconventional approach to making this documentary began with selling her home and possessions in 2005. Nilan's Naperville-based nonprofit organization, HEAR US Inc., is devoted to giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth. She's made 4 solo cross-country trips in her road-weary RV to find, film and empower invisible homeless families and teens.

As many families prepare to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, participants of the Paso Robles festival will join with organizers who created an event that is in Paso Robles, CA.

"...deeply dedicated to shedding light in the darkness of the millions of homeless, runaway and missing children and youth in these

United States of America..."

Festival producer Benford Standley contacted Nilan, HEAR US president, with the invitation for My Own Four Walls, a 20-minute glimpse of the plight and promise of children and teens who, along with more than 1.5 million other young people in America, experienced homelessness.

Nilan ponders the November event and offers her thoughts, "My dream would be to bring the stars of this show to this festival, to honor the young people who resolutely stood up to share their poignant stories with the rest of the nation and world, and let them serve as the powerful reminder that our nation's commitment to children, the hope of our future, needs rekindling."

This intrepid RVer is making preparations for her most ambitious cross-country journey ever, an endeavor called, appropriately enough, Learning Curve Express, to inform and inspire lawmakers and the general public about invisible homelessness.

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Contact Diane Nilan, 630-267-5424