Everybody Has A Story is a project of My Road Leads Home dedicated to giving a voice to those experiencing homelessness by allowing them to tell their own story in their own words. It’s how we humanize homelessness and those experiencing it.
Meet Joseph Sampson. We Filmed this interview in January of 2021 at the City Church Warming Shelter in Spokane. As you will hear, at the time of this interview Joseph had been homeless for 10 years. The good news is that he now has a job and is making progress on bringing his ten-year homeless journey to a successful conclusion.
Meet Dennis Mooney. After retiring his small business due to health reasons, Dennis has been in and out of homelessness for several years. His most recent journey has lasted nearly a year. Filmed at the City Church Warming Shelter in January of 2021.
Meet Suki Goldman. Homeless for two years, Suki Goldman is an articulate example of someone who never expected to be homeless, and how has a good grasp of the reasons for her journey through homelessness. Suki was a guest at the City Church Spokane warming shelter in late 2020 and early 2021 where we interviewed her in January of 2021.
Meet Brandon Bridges. Brandon’s journey through homelessness began when he was 14 years old. Discover how a 14-year-old becomes homeless. Filmed at the City Church Warming Shelter in January of 2021.
Meet William Christopher Debois. We filmed this interview at the Westminster Warming Center in Spokane, Washington on Thursday, October 29, 2020. William’s story illustrates the consequences of 1) a broken foster care system that dumps kids into homelessness when they age out of the system at 18, and 2) our City’s lack of adequate planning for an “adult youth” shelter where adult youth like William can avoid life on the street and have the help they need to transition to a stable environment.
Meet Cynthia Sarvis. I met Cynthia at the Westminster Warming Center where I was filming our next documentary, “Pop-Up Warming Centers,” (above on this page) which will have its public Broadcast Premiere soon on Community-Minded Television (CMTV-14) in Spokane. Everybody Has A Story also means that every story is different. While Cynthia’s story is different from Brooke’s, it is no less compelling, just for different reasons. Every person experiencing homelessness has a story. This is Cynthia’s story. POSTSCRIPT: After Cynthia left the Warming Center on the day it closed, she sat across the street with her belongings (which is what you see at the end of her interview). After filming that clip, I walked across the street, knelt down, held her hand, and said, “I promise you that your story will make a difference.” Cynthia shared her story with me, and I’ve shared it with you. Whether or not it makes a difference is now up to you.
Meet Brooke Dombrowik. I first encountered Brooke at the Cannon Street Warming Center in early 2020. I lost track of Brooke when Cannon (under Jewels Helping Hands) closed. Our paths crossed again recently at the Westminster Warming Center where I filmed a soon-to-be-released documentary on the need for “pop-up” warming centers. On Friday, October 30th, I asked Brooke to consider sitting down with me for an on-camera interview. She agreed, and on Saturday the 31st we sat down together and she told me her story. Every person experiencing homelessness has a story. This is Brooke’s story.
KREM2 Story About Homeless Camps Documentary
KREM 2 (the local CBS affiliate) contacted me about the documentary short on Homeless Camps (which you'll find on this page) and asked for an interview.
Fig Tree Article On “The Dignity of A Shower”
I honestly didn't see this one coming. I got an email saying, "Here's the link to your story." It's a story about "The Dignity of A Shower," our documentary short on the need for showers in the homeless community. My thanks to Mary Stamp (Editor) and the staff at The Fig Tree Newspaper for following our documentaries on homelessness in Spokane.
It’s Always Nice To Get Noticed!
Shawn Vestal and The Spokesman-Review paid us a visit as we were filming "Give Me Shelter." We genuinely appreciated the very positive exposure they gave us for what we're trying to accomplish, showing a better optic, telling a better story, and setting a better tone. Click to read the whole article.
Our Thanks to SpIFF For Selecting Our Film!
We were approached in late 2019 by the directors of the Spokane International Film Festival (SpIFF) and asked if we had a version of "The Hidden Homeless" that we could submit to the Festival. Their board had decided that they wanted to do something relevant to the issue of homelessness and had heard about our work. We agreed and Nathan Slabaugh (Slabaugh Media) worked to chop down our Director's Cut to a shorter film festival version which we submitted to great reviews. Many thanks!