In July, the Fledgling Fund committed $15,000 to help The Homestretch team facilitate ten regional screenings and roundtable discussions, bringing together government agencies around the issue of youth homelessness. These agencies include the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Education and others, all of which have an impact on the lives of youth experiencing homelessness. These regional events will take place in November 2015, and funds are still being raised to execute this innovative outreach.

In April, 2015, The Homestretch Impact Campaign received a $15,000 grant from Fledgling Fund to leverage the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s American Graduate Initiative program with educators in 7 mid-size cities across the U.S. These cities were selected because they (1) show a significant increase in youth homelessness over the past five years; (2) their school district has a strong relationship with the National Association for The Education of Homeless Children and Youth; and (3) the local PBS affiliate has a strong American Graduate Initiative program.

This May, three rural communities in West Michigan created powerful events and actions to build local awareness and understanding of homeless youth and foster care in their own areas. Tammy Carey, the Executive Director of the Foundation for Oceana County, remarked that people often think of youth homelessness as an urban crisis, and that she watched as audience members were shocked to learn that this was an issue facing rural communities as well. The Homestretch team was deeply inspired by how each of these rural communities used the film as a catalyst for opening meaningful discussions, and for taking action for local homeless youth.

We are extremely disappointed that the US Senate failed to pass The Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act (RHTPYA) by four votes yesterday despite the majority of the Senate voting in favor of this legislation in a 56 to 43 vote.  

The Homestretch's Broadcast Premiere On PBS

On April 13th, The Homestretch, a documentary that follows three homeless youth in Chicago, broadcast nationally on PBS's award winning series: Independent Lens. Take a look back at the flurry of press, social media, and grass roots activity that accompanied The Homestretch's broadcast premiere. Featuring an article from the Los Angeles Times, promotion from GLAAD, and heartfelt comments from viewers across the nation.

This past weekend in Chicago there were three meaningful events surrounding the film that reinforced the essential connection between public media and independent voices.  First, we taped a special 30-minute episode of Chicago Tonight, the flagship program on WTTW, the local PBS affiliate. Next, The Homestretch was presented in a special free screening event as part of the nationwide ITVS Community Cinema program, where the film was was followed by talkbacks, live performances by youth, and a resource fair.  Finally, the film's subjects Anthony, Kasey and Maria interviewed one another about their experiences participating in the film for NPR's amazing StoryCorps.

Last week, policy makers and officials from the five top Federal Agencies whose work intersects with homeless youth gathered together to watch The Homestretch and talk about what they saw.  Being able to facilitate meaningful, forward-moving dialogue about the homeless youth crisis is at the center of our impact campaign, and this candid, in-depth conversation at the Federal level demonstrated the powerful impact this film is already having in Washington, DC. 

To further the momentum our outreach campaign is gaining nationwide, The Homestretch teamed up with the National Clearinghouse on Family and Youth for a Twitter Chat on February 19, 2015. Using the hashtag #NCFYtalk, we engaged with current and future screening hosts, sharing tips on how to maximize the impact of Homestretch events. This discussion comes at a pivotal moment, with 100+ community screenings on the calendar and our national PBS broadcast on April 13 expected to have 1 million viewers.

The FIFDH Paris has, for the last 10 years, been the most important cultural manifestation on the theme of Human Rights in France. Each year, they offer directors from all over the world the opportunity to present their work and to meet the public. From over 500 films that are watched each year, they select only about 20 works to be shown, and we are deeply honored to be among them.