Homeless Videos - The Documentary Network

The Conditioned

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 06:00:28 +0000

Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho was homeless in São Paulo, Brazil, for nearly 35 years, and became locally known for sitting in the same spot and writing every day. In April 2011, he was befriended by a young woman named Shalla Monteiro. Impressed by his poetry and wanting to help him with his dream of publishing a book, she created a Facebook Page to feature Raimundo’s writing. Neither could have expected what happened next.

Britain’s Mean Streets

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 15:42:34 +0000

With a third of London's homeless now coming from eastern Europe, the film reports on the increasing social problems and tension on Britain's streets. Homeless people have long been a sad but familiar sight in London, but the opening up of Europe’s borders is creating a new wave of poverty on the streets. It’s estimated that a third of the city’s homeless are now from eastern European countries like Romania… lured by the prospects of a better life, but often exploited and left penniless without the documents needed to find work. Evan Williams reports from London, and finds a startling contrast between the high-class boutiques and luxury car showrooms of the city’s West End, and the destitute living in their doorways. Elsewhere in the UK, migrants are crammed into unsafe accommodation, even concealed garden sheds, with the authorities using sophisticated thermal imaging technology to find them. As in Australia, migration is a hot topic in politics too with eastern Europeans being blamed for an increase in crime and economic problems. And Evan explores how the open door policy is also creating an anti-European Union backlash across the UK. So what’s the answer to Britain’s migrant misery?

In This Room

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:40:56 +0000

The economic downturn that hit the US economy has left many families struggling. For those who were already living on the edge of economic security the impact of the downturn has been a devastating tipping point.

The first day being in a homeless shelter, I couldn't imagine being there. And to actually being there I was just mad. Its like prison, you can't bring food up to your room, you can't talk to nobody ... it's just all wrong , its hard. Lamont, a 17-year-old high school student

In This Room is a personal look at how one Chicago family, forced into living in a homeless shelter, is navigating through this turmoil. We see this journey through Derrell Gray, a father of four, trying to find a job and restore his family's dignity. He says: "We became homeless when we were evicted from our apartment, the sheriff knocks on the door on the day, and I am very grateful that it was not as traumatic as evictions can be. Not one piece of our belonging was out out on the street. As man and as a father, as a husband to have to say to my wife: We now have nowhere to live." We will also go through this experience with 17-year-old Lamont, who is striving to be seen as just another kid in high school despite his family's homelessness. "I really don't know how we ended up here, the sheriff came to our apartment and we had to pack our bags and leave. The first day being in a homeless shelter, I couldn't imagine being there. And to actually being there I was just mad. It's like prison, you can't bring food up to your room, you can't talk to nobody ... it's just all wrong, its hard," Lamont says. Moreover, we look at the issue of homelessness and evictions from the perspective of young Malachi, who is caught up in the chaos with little grasp of why this happening to the people he loves. He says: "Sometimes I just feel uncomfortable like a whole world full of people, but I feel safe here because there is no shooting, nothing. Where I used to live was a sad place with bad things going all around ... like shooting, then we came to this place, the shelter."

Shelter: A Look at Manchester’s Homeless

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 14:33:35 +0000

With homelessness on the rise in the UK and with more people sleeping rough on the streets than ever, filmmaker Mike Staniforth decided to speak to the homeless people of Manchester to see just how bad it is. With the council only providing a 'snap shot' of the true statistics of how bad the situation really is, we go on a journey with some of the people that the council are refusing to acknowledge. It is Mike's debut documentary starring some unforgettable characters who all have their own personal, and sometimes sad, stories to tell. You can get more very detailed infos about the production and how to support the people at his blog: mikestaniforth.tumblr.com

Street Vets – Homeless Veteran – PBS Documentary Film

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:26:54 +0000

Over 100,000 United States Veterans are homeless every year. In this one-hour documentary, filmmaker Issac Goeckeritz takes viewers into the largely invisible world of homeless veterans and the difficult, but hopeful, pathways home. DVD available at www.igfilms.com.

Carts of Darkness

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 06:25:07 +0000

Murray Siple's feature-length documentary follows a group of homeless men who have combined bottle picking with the extreme sport of racing shopping carts down the steep hills of North Vancouver. This subculture shows that street life is much more than the stereotypes portrayed in mainstream media. The film takes a deep look into the lives of the men who race carts, the adversity they face and the appeal of cart racing despite the risk. Shot in high-definition and featuring tracks from Black Mountain, Ladyhawk, Vetiver, Bison, and Alan Boyd of Little Sparta.