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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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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