Student documentary puts face on homelessness
by Allison McNeill
Carrboro Commons Writer
Originally, Hunger and Homelessness Outreach Project, a UNC-Chapel Hill Campus Y committee, wanted to hold a 5K to raise money and awareness. Instead, the members decided to produce an eye-opening documentary about homelessness and poverty in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
Photo by Allison McNeill
On Feb. 5, about 30 people sat in chairs and on the floor and leaned against the walls of the back room at Open Eye Cafe in Carrboro for a screening of “Faces of Franklin.”
Meghan Prichard, a first-year student from Cary majoring in journalism and mass communication and American studies, says she learned of the event via an Internet social-network invitation.
Hannah Frederick, a sophomore history major from Raleigh and member of HOPE, said the documentary started last semester. She said that although the documentary is only 20 minutes, the creators plan to eventually make it a full-length feature.
“Faces of Franklin” focuses on six homeless men in the community. Maggie West, a sophomore double majoring in public policy and Latin America studies from Raleigh and a member of the documentary team, said she and other members spoke to homeless individuals — without a video camera.
They went to Franklin Street and the Inter-Faith Council of Chapel Hill at dinner and spoke to people at each table. Those interested came back the next day to start the interviews. The team also left a sign-up sheet at the IFC.
When the interviews started, West said they asked each person to tell his story. West said that occasionally members of the documentary team would guide questions but that they did not try to pry. One man on Franklin Street and five men at the IFC told their stories.
Finances
The documentary opens with a man with a long, white beard, playing his guitar while sitting on a bench on Franklin Street. His name is Ron. He claims he once worked at UNC hospitals for 17 years before circumstances at work led him to leave. He got involved in Internet businesses, but because they did not succeed, he now lives on “the streets.” Ron says he lives on the streets because the IFC caps its residency at 50 people. Because of the cap, Ron was not allowed to stay, and he said, “They turned their back on me, so I turned my back on them.”
West said the IFC did not become aware of the situation with Ron until it viewed the documentary. The new Residential Services Director of the IFC, Laurie Tucker, believes miscommunication is the reason for Ron’s feelings toward the IFC, said West.
War
The second man featured is Curtis White. White says he is homeless because of “problems of the past.” He entered the army out of high school in 1966 and was sent to Vietnam; as a result, he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. West said one in four of the homeless population is a veteran.
Addiction
Phillip Holloway has battled addictions. “My addiction, since I’m poor, it crushes me. It puts you even deeper into desperation,” Holloway said, but he looks at his arrival at the IFC as a “new beginning.” Holloway talks about the struggle to get a job because of peer competition and unfair treatment by employers.
Car accident
Phillip Personette, an antiques dealer and art restorer, was badly hurt in a car accident and now has a prosthetic leg. Because of his injuries and complications, he is no longer able to fulfill the duties of his job. Personette said his position in life makes him feel like a “leech on the tax tit,” and he laments that he cannot do much physical work.
Fire
Dave Grafton is a veteran with a computer science degree. He moved to Raleigh from New York. Grafton started a new job at Research Triangle Park, but before he got his first paycheck, his newly built house burnt down. Grafton said his situation is the result of “unfortunate circumstances.”
Health
Earl Williams was a UNC-CH employee at Lenoir Dining Hall. As he grew older, his arthritis became so bad that he had trouble standing for long periods of time and he was unable to do his job.
All of the men tell their stories and how they feel about their circumstances.
“Once you’re on the bottom, society doesn’t care,” Holloway said.
Personette said, “I see this as the bottom, as far as you can go,” but White provided some optimism and said, “Coming from the bottom, you can only look up.”
West said the documentary team hopes to expand the video. The team “plans to interview women to show a bigger picture of who is homeless,” West said. She said it will also interview Carrboro’s Hispanic community, people at risk for homelessness at a local crisis center, the director of the IFC and Chapel Hill Town Council members.
Although the team initially focused on the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area, it hopes to broaden the focus to homelessness itself so that it can be distributed to other universities and communities.
