Brock hosts screening of homelessness film
Brock University sociology students will host a screening of the 2016 Canadian-made documentary on homelessness Us and Them Friday night.
Filmed over the course of a decade in Victoria, BC by director/coproducer Krista Loughton, it will be shown at Brock’s David S. Howes Theatre at 7 p.m.
The film follows Loughton and her experience with four chronically homeless people in Victoria, and the misconceptions surrounding them. It’s revealed that one woman has been banned from multiple shelters because of violent night terrors, stemming from the death of her son.
Sociology professor Mary-Beth Raddon says Loughton will likely attend Friday’s screening.
“When I contacted the filmmaker about getting a screening license, she said she would be coming to Ontario in February, so we decided to host a public event.”
Fourth-year honours students Julie Doctor, Sarah Morningstar, Kaitlyn Northcott, Carleigh Shadwell and Lillian Wood coorganized the event, which is run in collaboration with the St. Catharines and District United Way and the Ontario Public Interest Research Group at Brock.
“Krista is really mentoring the students on the process of event planning,” says Raddon.
Brock is the first university to screen the film.
“At a time when Canada is in the midst of both a housing and opiod crisis, this documentary has never been more relevant.”
The screening is free, with donations accepted at the door.