The impact of the film continues to expand

Greetings from A Bigger Vision Films!

If we learned one thing from our 14-month journey around the nation shooting BEYOND THE BRIDGE, it would be this: The United States is a big, big country. Coast to coast, the mainstream categorizes people into two basic groups: winners – and those who just get by. But harsh systems and misinformed attitudes marginalize people out of the mainstream into a third group. In every city, some people lack the necessary combination of resources, physical health, mental health and energy to fight their way out of the margins into stability, without help.

Tim and I have always viewed those on the front lines of homeless services and advocacy as heroes. It is even more inspiring to watch advocates and service providers fight against the current hostile environment that seeks to throw unhoused individuals into immigrant-style detention centers, instead of providing affordable housing opportunities with supportive services. We will continue to do our part as well: engaging communities with the proven blueprint that transforms homeless response systems into homelessness reduction machines!

CSH California invited us to Sacramento for an Impact Campaign screening. They teamed up with Cal Budget Center, Steinberg Institute and United Ways of California to attract an audience that included state legislators and staff. Earlier in the day Tim and I attended a hearing on funding for statewide homeless services. We watched lawmakers in the world’s fourth-largest economy do their work; it was fascinating. Two lawmakers from that morning’s hearing also sat on the panel at the evening’s BTB screening event, and one of the testifying experts was also on the evening panel—a long day for them!

The Cooper Housing Institute invited us to the National Conference of Mayors in Washington, DC to preview BEYOND THE BRIDGE for a room of 56 people, including mayors and staffers of mayors. Several mayors and staff members have reached out to plan impact events in their cities. It was a great time. Here’s a short video recapping these two events:

We’ve also observed a growing desire among churches to become more than food pantries and shelter providers. So far this year BEYOND THE BRIDGE has been shown in four churches with more in the planning stage. We know many people who never believed the faith community could move beyond paternalism, but we’ve seen quite a few churches willing to learn, commit resources to evidence-based solutions, and work side-by-side with secular organizations that don’t prioritize proselytization. I know I’m kind of steppin’ in it, but we see this trend as immensely positive. I’m peacefully backing away from this one now…

Another group we didn’t know anything about is the American Planning Association – city planners! What a key voice missing in the arena of advocacy and planning of homeless solutions! The Massachusetts chapter held a screening event in Arlington where Tim and I Zoomed in for the panel discussion afterward. What an exchange of ideas! We hope to find more American Planning Association chapters across the country to host or participate in events.

Coming up we’ll be joining the EMPath Disrupting Poverty Conference on March 24th at Boston University. The film screening is open to the public and is free to attend – register here.

We have several other events in development, including San Francisco, Portland, Atlanta, Chicago and Seattle, that we’ll announce once the dates are set. We hope one will be near you. And if you are interested in bringing the film to your community, please fill out our screening request form.

Thanks for looking in on us from time to time!

Be well,
Don and Tim
A Bigger Vision Films