A nice article in today’s Now Magazine about the power of photography in the hands of people. The writer dedicates a few inches to our STREET HEALTH STORIES project. The issue is in honour of the commencement of North America’s largest month long photography fest in Toronto, CONTACT.
Add comment May 2nd, 2008
I’ve only just recovered from it, and it happened over a week ago!
As promised, here are pics from our people-mash-up.
For one day, we brought together over 100 people from all walks of life to watch and discuss participatory media around young parents of no fixed address. The main room was set up in a “circle of circles” to help our smorgasborg mix of politicians, service-providers, academics, people with first lived experience of homelessness and media-makers to get to know each other, and share ideas and solutions. We had reps from all levels of government, and a great quorum from many advocacy groups, hospitals and other participatory media groups.
Hosted and designed by the brilliant Misha Glouberman — with advice and support from the “professor of open,” Mark Surman (who kindly blogged about the day here).
The day got off to an electrifying start with the world premiere screening of “UNEXPECTED” a new 17 minute documentary which follows a video bridge project between health-care professionals and young mothers who have experienced homelessness. Here’s Jess, one of the I WAS HERE videobloggers in the film.
Toronto Mayor David Miller dropped by to show his support and to meet the baby star of UNEXPECTED, our new short video documentary.
Participants propose subjects for breakout sessions. Above, an I WAS HERE photoblogger, Nicole, the doctor guy, Mike Evans, and documentary maker and visionary Peter Wintonick all give breakout-session-subjects a kick at the can.
So many good sessions, so little time.
Looks like boardrooms, but its really participant-led breakout sessions.
We’re meeting again on May 7th to unveil a document of KEY RECOMMENDATIONS. The wise policy expert Margot Lettner will be “translating the poetry from the day into policy recommendations”. If you have any comments for her, feel free to leave one here. And please get in touch if you want to come! Space will be limited to the first 50, so please contact us soon.
1 comment March 30th, 2008
“Yippee… There are over a 100 people here and the film is a hit! The “using media as an advocacy tool” topic is a real win here. As in Montreal, people are saying our experience is ‘inspiring’! I’m very excited!”
That’s the news, just in moments ago, presumably off his blackberry. It’s from Dr. Ian Dawe, head of Emergency Psychiatry at SMH, who has travelled to Australia to present our film THE INTERVENTIONISTS at the World Psychiatry Congress.
And tomorrow, our partners at Street Health are on their way to an interesting event in Kitchener, to present their findings in the Street Health Report, and to screen our film STREET HEALTH STORIES.
Add comment November 30th, 2007
Our STREET HEALTH STORIES [photo+sound installation] has its Ottawa premiere today, (Thursday, November 22), National Housing Day, at 2007 Community Forum on Homelessness: Linking National Research with Ottawa Action and Policy
Where: University of Ottawa, Tabaret Hall, Room 112, 550 Cumberland Street
Time: 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
From November 23 to 29, Street Health Stories will be presented at the Royal Ottawa Heath Care Group (1145 Carling Ave., Ottawa).
And Filmmaker-in-Residence makes its Youtube debut with STREET HEALTH STORIES [a short film].
We already have a 4 out of 5 star rating from “hidethespider.” Excellent.
1 comment November 22nd, 2007
Catch the television premiere of Street Health Stories [the film]
on Sunday, September 23 on CBC News: Sunday
CBC: 10am – noon (local time)
CBC Newsworld: 9am – 11am (ET)
For repeat screenings check your local listings
1 comment September 21st, 2007
The phenomenal turnout today at the REPORT LAUNCH and EXHIBIT OPENING made me fall in love with Toronto all over again. Even though the subject was grim, the news tragic.
Over 250 of us gathered at the Church of the Holy Trinity: media, politicians, advocates and members of the homeless community to hear the STREET HEALTH REPORt statistics, to discuss 13 policy recommendations and to view and listen to STREET HEALTH STORIES photo + sound exhibit.
The full report is now available on-line at www.streethealth.ca
And the 8.5 minute film, STREET HEALTH STORIES, will premiere on CBC News: Sunday this weekend (check local listings).
Also check out the Toronto Star front page story that kick-started the day today.
A massive turn-out at historic Church of the Holy Trinity.
A moving thank you to our heroes, the Street Health nurses.
Susan.
Nancy.
Jess, one of the four artists.
Ontario Minister of Health, George Smitherman, listening to Rook.
NDP Party Leader Jack Layton and Adrienne and Meghan, 2 of the artists.
Erika, Meghan, Xzavior, Calysta, Jess and Kate.
The I WAS HERE team. (with a few of our colleagues missing! I think I saw Dawn behind video camera at this moment, and where was Alice!!?)
And a big shout out to Orla, Michael, Branden, Jenn, Jane, Donna, Jacques who all spent long hours to get this up and running. And a big thanks to Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital for sponoring the build of three beautiful light-boxes. And great pix from Jag. so thanks all!
2 comments September 20th, 2007
Very excited to announce the launch of THE STREET HEALTH REPORT 2007 along with the opening of our STREET HEALTH STORIES, a photo + sound installation, of work collected by the I WAS HERE Photobloggers.
Sept 19, runs through to Sept 27, at the Church of the Holy Trinity, with more venues to come soon.
The deets at www.nfb.ca/streethealthstories
Add comment September 6th, 2007
Fall at Filmmaker-in-Residence is taking shape.
We have two new films launching (I am about to officially hand-off one rough cut to the animators this morning). We’re building a big photo/sound installation - launching alongside the much anticipated Street Health Report. We’ll be announcing a contest soon featuring The Bicycle and some of Canada’s hottest music artists. We have invites to Montreal, Boston, Yellowknife, Sweden, Venice and Down Under. And… we’ll be updating our website with two new chapters. Woo hoo.
Add comment August 9th, 2007
Very sad news to hear. I was just editing her image, her words.
I learned today that one of our Street Health Stories participants died last month. Heather was 48, and had been on the streets 9 years, she told us during our beautiful interview and photo session in January.
Heather bravely agreed to be interviewed and photographed by the I WAS HERE photobloggers, to give a human face to the Street Health Survey, an important research study, documenting the health of people living in the streets of Toronto.
Kate, of Street Health wrote me this morning: “I’m so glad Heather got to participate in your project; that her story and voice won’t just disappear, as it sometimes feels around here…”
Last January, as we began the interview, Heather smiled as she confessed to Adrienne and me that she was nervous. But she warmed up fast, as she told us about her life, her impressions, her hopes.
“I will not live on a parkbench anymore,” she said, “Or in a tent, like I was doing.”
I also remember vividly her deep appreciation for Street Health, and all the important work that the Street Nurses have done for the homeless — especially during Tent City, of which Heather was a part. “There was never a dull moment when the nurses come around,” she said.
Listen to an excerpt of Heather’s story, in her own voice:
[display_podcast]
Her funeral is this Thursday. May she rest in peace.
4 comments June 13th, 2007
“When I went without my glasses for two weeks, I nearly got beat-up and run over by cars simply because I couldn’t make-out what was coming at me,” Tony told us yesterday, in a new media project we’ve started up with our photoblogging group (see chapter 5 of the FIR website).
This week, we’ve joined forces with Street Health to find out what “health-care” means when you’re homeless in the streets of Toronto. We’re documenting the state of health and access to health-care amongst the homeless in our city.
It’s an update to a study Street Health did in 1992 (the first of its kind in North America) when they surveyed 450 homeless people about their health. Back then, Street Health came up with some harrowing stats. Take this one: 4.5% of the sample reported head injuries, and 20% reported seizures. Or this one: One in five of the women interviewed had been raped in the past year (21.2%). And access to health care stats were no better: 40% of those sampled had no health card at the time of the survey, and 6.7% had been refused health-care because they had no card.
So 14 years later, what’s changed and what hasn’t? Street Health, with St. Mike’s doc Stephen Hwang, have hired 15 peer researchers (people who’ve had experience with homelessness) to conduct the quantitative survey with 350 people who are currently homeless. The survey will yield the statistics so crucial to advocacy around improving health in the streets.
Meanwhile, we’ve hired four women in our photoblogging project as photographers and interviewers to put “human faces” to the study. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be asking about 20 people from the survey to have their portraits taken (we’re offering a polaroid pic as a keepsake), and to tell us their stories and their experiences about their health.
The portrait sittings are a blast. We’ve transformed the basement at Street Health into a professional photography studio (see pic above, Jess photographing Stephen and Brenda), thanks to our mentor Davida.
But during the interviews, we’ve been close to tears a few times already. One woman told us how she gave birth in an alleyway a few months ago. Another woman showed us her scarred forehead from a recent attack with a broken beer bottle.
“The shelters have become warehouses for the mentally ill,” says one man, “Since the massive de-institutionalization of the psychiatric wards during the Harris government.”
“It’s a constant threat,” says one woman, “because you never know when they will have an episode and get violent.”
Our joint report and a special chapter (featuring the portraits and audio interviews) in the FIR website will come out this spring.
Add comment December 18th, 2006
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