The Junior League of Tacoma will be holding a free screening of Anna De Mare’s and Kirsten Kelly’s film “The Homestretch” at Stadium High School on Jan. 31. “The Homestretch” is a documentary that chronicles the lives of three of the 1.6 million youth experiencing homelessness in America as they fight to stay in school, graduate and build a future. The film highlights the larger issues of poverty, race, juvenile justice, immigration, foster care and LGBTQ rights.
“When most people think about homeless youth, they think about the ones they see – kids sleeping under the bridge or asking for help on the streets – but most homeless youth are hidden in plain sight. For the past four years, we’ve been working to capture and convey this unseen experience in a powerful cinematic language,” De Mare and Kelly said in a joint release on the film’s Kickstarter page.
Following the showing of the film at 10 a.m., there will be a panel with filmmaker de Mare and local community leaders including Senator Jeannie Darneille about the issues discussed in the film. Light refreshments will be available.
“We’re really trying to bring awareness to this topic that doesn’t seem to be a common topic when talking about issues. There doesn’t seem to be much focus on how to encourage this population of individuals who are experiencing youth homelessness,” Junior League member Vanessa Herzog said.
The Junior League of Tacoma is focusing its efforts to help develop a center to help youth experiencing homelessness, and the film screening is intended to serve the important purpose of highlighting just how important this issue has become.
“We need to start really engaging and getting a shelter built. We put forth a lot of effort to what we thought our skills were perfect for in bringing light and awareness to this situation. We’re making strides by just bringing this here and screening it,” Herzog said.
Junior League of Tacoma is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. When searching for a project for the 2015 year, the issue of youth experiencing homelessness inspired them due to a lack of resources for the age group in Pierce County.
“I think that one of the big issues for every youth experiencing homelessness in Pierce County is that there is currently no existing shelter specifically for them. Youth experiencing homelessness is classified as ages 12-24; that’s the age of what is considered youth and the young adults age is when people step out on their own after college if they’re lucky enough. Right now in Pierce County, everything seems to cut off at 18. There is a big contingent of people in that 18-24 range. How do we keep people covered so they are not just put out on the street the day they turn 18 without any support whatsoever?” Junior League of Tacoma President Christy Caoili said.
The Junior League of Tacoma has been a force for the community since 1921 and an event like this free screening is just one of many the organization perform throughout the year. For more information visit www.jltacoma.org. The League is also partnering with Tacoma Public schools, United Way of Pierce County, Communities in Schools and Camp Fire to put on the event.
"The Homestretch"
Stadium High School
Jan. 31 - 10 a.m.