Invisible Homeless Families and Youth in Kansas: New Documentary Tells Their Stories

Press Release

For Immediate Release

Contact: Diane Nilan, diane@hearus.us, 630-267-5424

“Worn Out Welcome Mat — Kansas,” a documentary providing the first in-depth look at invisible homeless families and youth in Kansas, will be released Friday, Sept. 4 on the HEAR US Inc. website.

PREVIEW FILM Worn Out Welcome Mat

Commissioned by the Kansas State Department of Education’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Education program, this 21-minute film takes viewers across Kansas to hear from parents and youth who lost housing and had nowhere to go. Diane Nilan, HEAR US president and founder, began filming this documentary in February 2015. 

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.

Nilan, who ran shelters in Illinois for many years, has been on the road for the past 10 years, living in a 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.

This film project is the second in the Worn Out Welcome Mat 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.

Schools in Kansas have identified over 10,000 homeless students last year. 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!”

“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!”

Nilan will screen Worn Out Welcome Mat - KS at the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth  annual conference in Phoenix this November.

The documentary will be available for individual viewing on the HEAR US website (www.hearus.us) and on DVDs for larger audiences. DVDs will be available for $15 (includes shipping/handling). Contact diane@hearus.us.

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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