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



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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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Family Featured in Homelessness Documentary Again At Risk of Homelessness

[Milton, FL, 2/25/11] Melissa (photo) swore she wouldn't let homelessness ravage their family again, but despite her best efforts, this scourge is knocking on the door of their humble former FEMA trailer with an eviction notice for nonpayment of lot rental of $795.

The producer of the documentary, Diane Nilan, has set up an emergency benefit for the family on Feb. 28, 7:00 p.m., at Ferris Hill Baptist Church in Milton, where she will screen the film and take up a love donation to help the family. "I heard about Melissa's plight Thursday afternoon," said Nilan. "...and immediately made plans for this event." Nilan was in northwest Georgia advocating for homeless persons in Calhoun, GA, but pointed her road-weary RV, her home and office for the past 5+ years, toward the Panhandle.

Melissa Nason, a feisty single mom living in Milton, FL, just outside Pensacola, is one of the seven women featured in the award-winning (BEA Film Festival) documentary about homelessness, on the edge, which was filmed in a 4-year period by a national homelessness activist, Diane Nilan, president/founder of HEAR US Inc., and documentary maker/professor Laura Vazquez, Northern Illinois University.

Job loss and family crises pushed this family to the edge again. Melissa, who graduated cum laude from University of West Florida, needs a job and a reliable car to get back and forth to work. She also struggles with finding adequate care for her son with autism. But she won't quit, and is willing to speak up about their circumstances at the benefit. "The number of homeless families is growing astronomically," pointed out Nilan, who has worked in this field for over 25 years, including as a director of shelter in Illinois.

For more information, contact Diane Nilan, 630/267-5424.

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National-Local Campaign Launched to Ease Homelessness in Calhoun, GA and Beyond

 

Homelessness happens in many ways, points out Diane Nilan, president and founder of HEAR US Inc., a national advocacy organization. Calhoun, GA, a small town off Interstate 75 in northwest Georgia, provided a textbook example of homelessness creation: a nondescript motel on the edge of town that had turned into "housing" for about 80 people, including 6 families, was shuttered due to nonpayment of utility bills.

After spending the weekend in Calhoun witnessing the agony caused by this sudden and unexpected closure, HEAR US launched a national campaign to urge the property's owners to do right by the people displaced by the motel's closing. Nilan, a prolific blogger and social media maven, posted a blog on Change.org, along with a petition directed to the 2 legislators (GA Senator Chip Rogers and US Congressman Tom Graves) who purchased the Oglethorpe in 2007, taking out a $2.2 million dollar loan from Bartow County Bank.

"Many questions remain about ownership and responsibility," states Nilan, who spent the weekend chronicling the trauma of homelessness at the motel. "In this age of 'personal responsibility' I'd like to see justice done. Folks here were shell-shocked at their upheaval." She is calling on the legislators to contribute money to the relocation expenses and to push for affordable housing solutions so people don't need to turn to motels or the streets. Homeless families and adults, by the millions, struggle to survive nationwide.

Nilan witnessed the painstaking process to relocate the Inn's 80 residents. Three women (who wish to remain anonymous) worked with each person to assess their resources (slim to next to none) and to explore options (also slim to next to none). Local motels and restaurants came forth to help. Individual donors and church groups chipped in money and motor-power, helping to pack up and move people to alternative lodging.

"What most people don't realize," Nilan points out, "is every community has hidden homelessness like this--people who've desperately turned to motels as a shelter, often because many communities lack shelters or other emergency resources." Nilan has decried the federal government's "bogus" count of 656,129, the latest so-called census of homelessness.

Puzzling, to Nilan and others, is the way the motel ownership (along with a $2.2 million loan) seems to have been transferred to someone (John Edens) who, by his own admission, lacked the ability to handle the task. "How can you just dump your fiscal responsibility and walk away from it? I think these legislators owe something to this community and to homeless people everywhere," she suggests. 

Nilan will present at the Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness conference next week before leaving the Peach State on a national homelessness awareness tour promoting her new film, "on the edge," seven women's stories about homelessness.

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photo by Diane Nilan (C)2011, yard sale items at the Oglethorpe Inn

NIU documentary maker Laura Vazquez shines light on the faces of homelessness in America

NIU documentary maker Laura Vazquez shines light on the faces of homelessness in America

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