Direction Home, a film by Hilary Silver on issues surrounding homelessness, premieres this week on PBS. The film follows seven homeless people living in Rhode Island over seven years as they search for a permanent home.
Direction Home follows seven homeless people over seven years until they have a home. They were Initially living in Welcome Arnold shelter in Cranston, RI until 2007 when Governor Carcieri decided to demolish the building to make way for a new State Police Headquarters that was ultimately never built on the site. The film tracks and periodically re-interviews the characters about where and how they are living. The film also chronicles the efforts of housing activists, tent city residents, and service providers. It reveals some of the reasons why people become chronically homeless, why Housing First and permanent supportive housing policies are ultimately effective in ending homelessness, and why rights for the homeless are so important. The film was made with the support of RI Council for the Humanities and Brown University and the assistance of Brown University students.
The restricted data of the report “creates a city within a city” and makes the East Side “a privileged island,” Bloch said. If the report had included crime statistics from the West Side of Providence, overall crime would appear to be much higher, he said, adding that the East Side is much safer than other areas of the city.
Recipients of the second round of Global Experiential Learning and Teaching grants have been announced. The GELT program, unveiled in the summer of 2014, provides support for faculty to embed an education abroad component into an on-campus course.