Vazquez, NIU Professor, To Be Honored for Documentaries on Homeless Kids

Laura Vazquez (r) and Diane Nilan spent countless hours
in the NIU Avid Film Lab. (Photo courtesy NIU)

[Albuquerque, NM, Oct. 15, 2012] Laura Vazquez, Media Studies professor at Northern Illinois University, will receive the prestigious Distinguished Service and Leadership Award for her years of film work from the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth at their national conference in Albuquerque on Oct. 29.

Since 2006, Vazquez, an accomplished documentary filmmaker, has collaborated on stories of homeless women, children and youth with Diane Nilan, president of HEAR US Inc., 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.

"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."

Among Vazquez's accomplishments, her efforts led to the PBS airing on the edge: Family Homelessness in America, 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 Broadcast Education Association's 2011 Festival of Media Arts competition.  

Nilan, who nominated her colleague for this award, points to the rare legislative success for homeless students, passage of the FAFSA Fix for Homeless Kids Act, sponsored by Congresswoman Judy Biggert (R-IL-13). Vazquez traveled to DC to film homeless youth 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, My Own Four Walls. 

Anti-poverty activist and journalist Pat LaMarche offered an observation about the impact of Vazquez's work, "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, http://hearus.us.

"The biggest obstacle to ending homelessness in this country," Nilan stated, "is ignorance. Laura's incalculable contributions to eradicating ignorance and creating compassion have done more than any of us will ever know." 

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Gas 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.

Nilan's gas was sort of on the house. Her one-woman nonprofit organization, with its small board, pulled off the improbable victory in Citgo's Fueling Good contest, 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.

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, on the edge: Family Homelessness in America,  aired on PBS. My Own Four Walls, her first film, continues to inspire educators, agency staff and the public about invisible homeless kids.

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 2 appearances on CNN 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.

Citgo is promoting their Fall 2012 Fueling Good contest. On their website is a 90-second promo video 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."

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, http://hearus.us/about-us/donate.html.

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Better Than an Oscar!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Focus on Desperate Situations for Invisible DuPage Homeless Families

CONTACT:

Diane Nilan, HEAR US                                  Jennie Gates, Bridge Event Manager         

630/267-5424                                                  630/545-0610, ext. 19            

diane@hearus.us                                                          Jennie.Gates@BridgeCommunities.org



MEDIA PACKET  download PDF

Sitting on the corner of a sagging mattress in a “no-tell-motel” between two DuPage County towns, Diane Nilan listened to the logistical nightmare spelled out by parents of the 5 children crammed in this too-small room. No stranger to the plight of homeless families, she now shares these stories on the big screen, proud to be part of the 4th Annual Naperville Independent Film Festival.

On Monday night, Sept. 19, the award-winning documentary on the edge, which Nilan and Professor Laura Vazquez of Northern Illinois University filmed and produced, will fill the screen at Ogden Theaters, one of the official festival entries. This documentary focuses on seven women who share their stories of homelessness, much like the stories Nilan has heard over her past 25 years working with homeless adults and children, including those in DuPage County.

Nilan is the former director of the PADS shelter at Hesed House in Aurora and key influence for both the Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act and the federal McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Act. She has traveled over 126,000 mostly backroads miles in America for the last 6 years giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth under the banner of her nonprofit organization, HEAR US Inc. (www.hearus.us).

She explains the daunting statistics, “Way over 1.5 million children and youth are homeless, and the numbers are skyrocketing! Schools have identified a million students, but experience teaches that probably at least that many are unidentified.” Nilan worked for 2 years with 305 Chicago area school districts to help them comply with the McKinney-Vento Act, legislation sponsored by Congresswoman Judy Biggert (13-IL,R). From that experience emerged My Own Four Walls, Nilan’s first documentary featuring kids talking about their homelessness and what school means to them. HEAR US sells these DVDs and other awareness-raising items to organizations and the public.

The respected human service agency, Bridge Communities, Inc., a dynamic, grassroots, nonprofit organization committed to transforming the lives of homeless families in DuPage, is encouraging existing and potential volunteers and supporter to see on the edge so they better understand the stories behind the term “homeless.”  

Jennie Gates, event manager at Bridge Communities, adds, “The movie screening is a great kick-off for Sleep Out Saturday, Bridge’s flagship event that provides an opportunity for individuals, families, and community and church groups to actually do something about homelessness.  By sleeping out in tents, cars and boxes on November 5, participants will raise awareness of the plight of homeless families while raising much-needed funds to support the families in the Bridge program.”  More information about Sleep Out Saturday can be found at www.sleepoutsaturday.org.

All those attending this screening of on the edge will receive a memento from HEAR US to remind people of the need to assist this invisible population of families in DuPage and across the nation. 

The 60-minute film will be screened 8:20 pm at the Ogden 6Theaters, 1227 E Ogden Ave., $5. Both organizations will be on hand to answer questions. Nilan, the film’s producer, Vazquez, the director, and will do a brief Q&A following the film. For information, www.hearus.us, 630/225-5012, or diane@hearus.us. 

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HEAR US Issues Invitation to Students and the Public: Hear Homeless Women

HEAR US, a national nonprofit organization based in Naperville, is issuing an invitation: Explore the reality of homelessness as experienced by millions of invisible women and children who comprise the bulk of this nation’s homeless population. HEAR US Inc. will screen a new in-depth, powerful documentary film, “on the edge,” on October 29 at North Central College. 

Knowing that college and high school students struggle to find comprehensive information about homelessness, HEAR US president and founder Diane Nilan (pdf) decided to invite Fox Valley area students to this special premiere screening of this new film. Nilan, former director of the shelter at Hesed House, has spent the past 5 years traveling backroads of America chronicling the plight and promise of homeless families and youth. She created HEAR US, her nonprofit organization, and sold her home, car and most possessions to buy a small RV which has served as her home/office, and started her unlikely mission to give voice and visibility to homeless kids. 

Nilan teamed up with a documentary professor at Northern Illinois University, Laura Vazquez, who provided technical expertise to produce Nilan’s first film, “My Own Four Walls,” a 20-minute documentary of kids talking about their experiences of homelessness. The duo then set out for a more ambitious film, the story of family and youth homelessness told by women. For the past 4 years, they have pursued this goal, and proudly announce the release of “on the edge,” a 60-min. film, scheduled to be screened at the Oct. 29th Tribute to Mary Lou Cowlishaw at North Central.

The film will be shown at NCC’s Madden Theater. HEAR US asks for free will donations. Nilan and Vazquez will answer questions at the end of the 7:15 and 9:00 screenings. Because of limited seating, HEAR US asks that a representative of the school email or call with an approximate number of students planning to attend and the screening time desired. 

Nilan’s book, “Crossing the Line: Taking Steps to End Homelessness,” and the film “My Own Four Walls” will be available for purchase at this event. More information may be found at http://hearus.us, or by emailing Diane at diane@hearus.us.

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2nd Emmy Nomination for HEAR US Story

Mark Saxenmeyer of Chicago Fox TV should just hang out with Diane Nilan of HEAR US. His reporting on Diane's maiden voyage earned an Emmy back in 2006. His story about HEAR US that ran in Nov. 2009 has just been nominated for an Emmy. That story was picked up by Huffington Post, generating a range of comments. It also ran in several cities on Fox affiliates.

"Mark can do a story about HEAR US and the problem of homeless kids anytime," responded Diane Nilan. "He gets it." Nilan has spent over 5 years on  mostly backroads across all 48 states in the continental US chronicling homelessness and poverty.


Nilan has spent the past 5 year lives in her modest RV, "Tillie," focusing on homeless families and youth. "My Own Four Walls," her first documentary, won national recognition. She and video partner Dr. Laura Vazquez, professor at Northern Illinois University, collaborated on My Own Four Walls, and will soon be releasing a feature length documentary, "on the edge," seven women's stories about their homelessness.

HEAR US and North Central College have scheduled a tribute for recently deceased Mary Lou Cowlishaw, longtime legislator from Naperville and the "mother of homeless kids" for her role in improving homeless kids' access to education in Illinois and nationwide. The event, Oct. 29, will be held at North Central's Wentz Concert Hall, Madden Theater, beginning at 6:00 pm. A special preview screening of "on the edge" will be offered two times that evening. The 9:00 screening will hopefully be attended by high school and college students.

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Award Winning Film Maker to Show As yet Unreleased Film at Dickinson College

Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Pat LaMarche
717.249.2200 Cell 207.671.0190

Award Winning Film Maker to Show As yet Unreleased Film at Dickinson College

Documentary Highlighting the Lives of Homeless Families to Debut in Carlisle, PA

Award winning filmmaker, author and homeless advocate, Diane Nilan will be visiting Cumberland County Pennsylvania this week as part of her nationwide tour promoting the needs of homeless children and their families. Nilan is also the founder and director of HEAR US, a national advocacy group for homeless kids. Learn more at www.hearus.us.

Five years ago Nilan ventured out of suburban Chicago on what she thought would be a six month cross country trip to gather film footage of our nation’s homeless youth in order to produce her now critically acclaimed documentary, My Own Four Walls. Five years later she is still traveling the 48 contiguous United States, testifying before Congress, and working to end homelessness among the nation’s most precious and vulnerable population, homeless kids. Her film is a tool used by schools and agencies across the U.S. to acquaint communities and educators with what life is like for so many who live below the poverty line and below the radar.

The DVD film jacket reminds us that “More than 1.5 million children, families and youth are homeless in America today. Not since the great depression have we seen so many homeless families on the streets of communities of all sizes and compositions.”

And for kids with parents in jail, the film also includes a training video for incarcerated parents, their children’s caregivers, law enforcement personnel, human service providers and educators to help navigate the sketchy world in which these children live.

Nilan’s book, Crossing the Line: Taking Steps to End Homelessness, is an autobiographical expose giving vividly detailed accounts of the lives of the homeless folks that Nilan encountered in her nearly 20 years as a homeless shelter director and homeless advocate.

Wendell Hollinger, President of Safe Harbour, Cumberland County’s largest homeless shelter and host to Nilan’s visit commented after reading Nilan’s book, “If concerned folks don’t read another word of another book, they must read pages 32 and 33 of Diane’s book. She has detailed the most concise and accurate listing I’ve ever seen of the causes of homelessness in our country. We are very excited that Diane has come to Carlisle to give us a sneak preview of her newest documentary.”

Susannah Bartlow, Director of Women’s Studies at Dickinson College said, “We are honored but not surprised that Nilan has chosen Cumberland County as a place to stop along her journey to eradicate homelessness and lead a community wide discussion. The communities of Cumberland County have long supported the needs of the disadvantaged here among us.” Bartlow continued, “Dickinson is proud to provide the necessary space for this discussion. Dickinson hosts the ‘Night Without a Home’ every November during national hunger and homelessness week: a sleep out featuring area grade school children which raises money to benefit Safe Harbour. We are excited to be a part of bringing this courageous woman to our community.”

Nilan’s new documentary, On The Edge, will be shown Monday April 12th at 6:30 pm in Dickinson’s Denny Hall. Denny Hall is located at the corner of High and West streets. The community is invited to attend and invited to stay after the 68 minute documentary to join in a discussion of the film as well as a discussion of the issues of homelessness and poverty.

Diane Nilan will be joined by area homelessness advocates as well as Carlisle High School Senior, TJ Rivera, a homeless youth who has lived many years homeless and spent nearly a year living in a store room using boxes for furniture and trying to finish school.

TJ will discuss the difficult road he traveled getting him where he is today, enrolled as he is now at Carlisle High School within months of graduating. TJ hopes his next step is College. A current resident of Safe Harbour, TJ is thriving. “I doubted I’d be this close many times over the last few years, but I never stopped hoping I’d make it. It says on one of my blogs ‘you are the architect of your destiny’ and I kept that in mind and just didn’t give up.”

It will be an emotional moment when he meets Nilan this week. Among the many accomplishments Nilan has to her credit, co-writing the landmark legislation that mandated schools accept homeless children is one of her greatest. And TJ’s excited to meet the woman who put his educational needs ahead of her own comfort.

Diane Nilan is available for interviews prior to the event on Monday the 12th. Members of the press who would like to meet with her and see or travel with her in the RV she has called home during her five year struggle to help the nation’s poorest children is asked to contact Safe Harbour’s Pat LaMarche who will be handling her schedule while she’s in town.

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Contact: Pat LaMarche 207.671.0190 717.249.2200 work

George Winston to Play to Help Homeless Kids

Venue Contact: Diane Nilan, 630/267-5424

Artist Contact:  Jennifer Gallacher 831/429-5085 x 215

GEORGE WINSTON to Perform SOLO GUITAR at a Benefit Concert for HEAR US
 on March 28, 2010 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Naperville

Tickets Information: 630/225-5012

February 23, 2010—George Winston, best known for his solo piano performances, has announced that he will perform a SOLO GUITAR CONCERT (no piano played during this concert) to benefit the Naperville-based nonprofit organization HEAR US Inc., a national organization that helps homeless children, youth and families.

A food drive to benefit will be held in conjunction with this concert.  The audience is encouraged to bring non-perishable food donations to the show in support of People’s Resource Center in Wheaton.

For many years, George has been studying and recording the masters of the Hawaiian Slack Key guitar, the solo finger-style guitar tradition unique to Hawai’i, which dates back to the early 1800s (and predates the steel guitar by about 60 years).  “I experience such beauty and inspiration in the music of these masters,” says George, producer or co-producer of 36 slack key albums on the Dancing Cat record label.  “When I first heard some of the great Hawaiian slack key guitarists in the early 1970s, such as Keola Beamer, Led Kaapana, Ray Kane, Leonard Kwan, the late Gabby Pahinui, the late Sonny Chillingworth, the late Atta Isaacs and others, I realized right away that my priority was to help make this tradition better known, and ultimately more available to people.”

George’s performance will feature Hawaiian Slack Key as well as traditional American music, including Appalachian fiddle tunes, ragtime, popular standards and more.

So far he has two recordings with solo guitar:

1. First, the soundtrack for the Japanese story Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. The story was originally produced as a half-hour film directed by George Levenson for his non-profit media organization, Informed Democracy.  He also recorded the solo guitar, piano, and harmonica soundtracks for the Informed Democracy children’s videos Pumpkin Circle, about the cycle of the seasons unfolding in a backyard pumpkin patch, and Bread Comes to Life.

2. Second, REMEMBRANCE – A MEMORIAL BENEFIT, a 6-song CD of piano, guitar, and harmonica solos.  All artist proceeds from this CD are being donated to benefit those affected by 9/11.

This will be the second concert George has performed for HEAR US. His support enabled this organization to become an influential force helping homeless children and youth across the country. Materials—videos and books—developed and marketed by HEAR US, and Diane Nilan’s presentations, have given homeless children and youth voice and visibility, enabling educators, college students, and the public to hear directly from those affected by homelessness. Greater awareness means increased access to school, according to Nilan, instrumental in improving Illinois and federal legislation to remove barriers to education for the over 1.5 million homeless children in America.

The HEAR US award-winning documentary, My Own Four Walls, (on DVD) has been seen by thousands of adults and children across the country. “Audience reaction is tremendous,” states Diane Nilan, the former director of the PADS homeless shelter at Hesed House in Aurora. “My Own Four Walls and our other videos and books have created more awareness than we can ever calculate. I’m humbled by the courageous kids who agreed to participate in this project, and so deeply grateful for George Winston’s generous support.”

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