About
The influence of art and literature allows us to gain empathy for unhoused communities and people experiencing homelessness. The videos and films below are helpful for gaining a better understanding of homelessness and the issues surrounding it. Video/film descriptions have been taken directly from the streaming platform or Wikipedia.
Videos
Being Flynn
Being Flynn is a 2012 American drama film written and directed by Paul Weitz, and starring Robert De Niro, Julianne Moore, and Paul Dano. It is based on Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, the 2004 memoir by Nick Flynn. This film is available to stream on various platforms.
The Clinician Who Makes House Calls for the Homeless
Brett Feldman chose an unlikely route in medicine—serving his city's homeless population. The concept of Feldman's street medicine program comes from the idea that everybody matters. As program director, Feldman travels the streets of Allentown, Pennsylvania to provide free on-site care where patients feel comfortable.
Close to Home: Street Medicine
The Close to Home series is designed to bring hope to people who are suffering. Close to Home: Street Medicine features people struggling with homelessness and follows a Street Medicine team as they administer health care services. The program provides viewers with a glimpse of the complexities the homeless population faces. This moving film gives voice to various service providers and patients.
Dark Days
Dark Days is a American documentary film directed, produced, and photographed by the English documentarian Marc Singer that was released in 2000. Shot during the mid-1990s, it follows New Yorkers who lived in the Freedom Tunnel section of the Amtrak system. Dark Days is available to stream on various platform services, including free services like Pluto TV and Tubi.
Doctor Hotspot
New Yorker writer and FRONTLINE correspondent Atul Gawande reports on a doctor in Camden, N.J., who actually seeks out the community's sickest — and most expensive — patients. Dr. Jeffrey Brenner is a local physician who some believe might have the model to solve one of America's most intractable problems: lowering the cost of health care. While analyzing medical billing data in Camden, N.J., he mapped out "hot spots" of the impoverished city's high-cost patients. By targeting unique care -- including home visits and social workers -- at the city's most costly patients, he developed a program that he argues has both lowered health care costs and provided better care in Camden. But can his model work for the rest of the nation?
Homeless at the End
Homeless at the End, a KUED original film produced by Sally Shaum and Nancy Green, puts a much-needed human face on the challenges faced by Utah’s homeless who find themselves confronted with their mortality. The film follows one man in particular, James Adams, through his final journey at the INN Between after his diagnosis with cancer. The film paints a touching portrait of the relationships he forms with caregivers, the other residents, and eventually with the daughter he had not seen in years.
One Bridge to the Next
One Bridge to the Next, a documentary created by the Because Foundation, on caring for the street homeless population in Pittsburgh by Operation Safety Net, a program of the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System.
The Public
The Public is a 2018 American drama film written and directed by Emilio Estevez, and starring Estevez, Michael K. Williams, and Gabriel Union. It depicts relationships between the unhoused population and staff at a public library branch in Cincinnati. This film is available to stream on various platforms, including free services like Pluto TV.