Documentary amplifies voices of people facing homelessness
The film, which was made in Dayton, was directed by David Barnhart of Counter Stories Productions, which is part of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, who was a co-producer with Katherine Rowell.
“The documentary focuses on the eviction, the right to counsel and the affordable housing crisis (one of the major reasons being outside investors) with a special focus on children and racial inequality,” Rowell said. “We know homelessness is increasing, and the affordable housing gap continues to grow.”
The documentary “amplifies the voices and stories of children and families confronting eviction and homelessness...This film explores the root causes and systemic issues that perpetuate this epidemic and ways in which it is preventable,” according to the film’s description. This is done through interviews with pediatric psychologists, social workers, tenant rights organizations, housing authority officials and eviction lawyers.
“The voices amplified in this documentary bring up a fundamental question for all of us: Why do we continue to develop and support systems in this country that do not prioritize our children?” Barnhart said when the documentary first came out in March. “Recent statistics have shown that a record number of children face homelessness in the U.S., and we hope that Presbyterians can join these voices to speak out, engage locally in their communities and be a part of the movement for change.”
Advocates propose changes in eviction processes
Brooke Wagner, director of the Clark County Department of Reentry, said the discussions and panel were “engaged, honest and focused on solutions,” with participants sharing frustration over the lack of affordable housing, raising questions about rental ownership in the community and interest in using county data to better understand who owns local properties.
“The strongest takeaway was clear support for making eviction sealing a local and statewide priority, since eviction records remain a major barrier to stable housing long after a case ends,” she said. “The overall discussion reflected a strong desire for transparency, better data and collaborative problem-solving around housing stability.”
One thing Rowell discussed is the need to examine court processes and procedures around eviction. For example, she said, many courts are now offering right to counsel, looking at sealing eviction records, requiring landlords to keep ledgers and give receipts, etc.
When asked about ways to do something about housing challenges, Rowell spoke about things communities can do to reduce and prevent evictions.
“I think there are some very easy policies and steps that can be changed to reduce eviction,” she said.
While different eviction policies aren’t going to solve the affordable housing crisis, it can help reduce homelessness, Rowell said.
Some communities are also looking at source of income protections, Rowell said. These protections would prohibit landlords from discriminating against potential tenants based on legal sources of income. In addition to earned wages, it could mean Section 8 housing vouchers, Social Security, veterans’ benefits or other public assistance.
In 2023, the city of Dayton implemented source of income protections, prohibiting landlords and property owners from refusing to rent or lease housing to prospective tenants based on how they pay for the housing units.
A background in housing justice
Rowell recently retired after 28 years from Sinclair Community College as a professor of sociology, and she also taught a class on poverty at Wittenberg University for over 14 years during that time.
Over the last 40 years, her teaching and research has looked at homelessness and housing justice issues, and she’s been a volunteer and community advocate for those issues.
Rowell brought the idea of making the film to Barnhart in 2017 after they got to know each other through the Dayton Film Forum, which featured some of his prior documentaries.
During the pandemic, Rowell said she started a research project examining children who were homeless during it. In 2021, she received an American Council of Learned Communities Fellowship to do some public sociology work around evictions, which resulted in two exhibits on eviction, a conference, a book and some seed money for the documentary.
The film is streaming on Amazon Prime at www.amazon.com/Evicting-American-Dream-David-Barnhart/dp/B0FSKZFKDT.
For more information about the film, visit pcusa.org/evicting-american-dream and https://tinyurl.com/yy6p95yd.
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