Posts Tagged Documentary
How it Started with a Pair of Socks
Posted by Administrator in Land of Liberty on January 17, 2010
The local homeless population is growing. Families living in cars and garages are just some of the newest ones we have found out about this past week. We now have a great core of volunteers. People are cooking hot food, making sleeping bags (St. Bernadette’s church is making more sleeping bags in a day than we gave away in all of last year!); working on the streets, in the woods, and helping people find homes and jobs.
How did it all start? Well one day as I was visiting my mother. I asked her to give me a couple of pairs of men’s socks and gloves. She told her friends at church about the need, and right away I had a trunk load of gloves hats and socks. I took them into the field and gave them away. What a difference! It didn’t cost anyone a lot of money, and it gave me the ability to keep my homeless friends warm.
I was invited to speak at The House of the Lord, a small church in Martinsburg. This church donated a load of clothes. Wow, now I can hand out pants, shirts, and coats! They didn’t stop there. They gave me (rent-free) two offices in the church. Then a refrigerator, then can food, then hot food and then they fielded a team of volunteers and the list goes on. Harvest Church put a team in the field. Father Bill started working in the field and on the phone. Mr. Applegate, an attorney, stepped up and started working for a way to address this issue through the state and federal channels. Pastor Karen is still working in the field and teaching groups how to make sleeping bags. Orsini’s (a local business) gave a freezer. The kids at St. Joe’s collected blankets. The list goes on and on. And I thank all of you, but even more important than my thanks is the ten thousand “thank you’s” and “God bless you’s” that I get from the homeless. When you put that item in the hand of a homeless man, woman, or child and see that look – that look in their eyes, well you would know that your work is not in vain. You would know that YOU made a difference.
So now we have given away thousands and thousands of dollars of clothes and food at very low cost to the donors and us. If we can do this starting with a pair of socks, imagine what we could do with the money the government has for these programs. We are 100% effective.
In the beginning I was overwhelmed with this issue. Now I can see light at the end of the tunnel. If we can make this much of a difference now, imagine what will happen when the film is finished. Maybe these results can spill over into other homeless communities, other states, and even the entire nation. I know that people are compassionate – especially when the cost to help is so low. The problem is they don’t know about the problem. The dozens of volunteers we have today prove this. They didn’t know – now they do and what a difference they are making! As for the ones that still don’t know… well this film “Land Of Liberty” will change that. We already have in a small way.
Some people wonder if I’m a filmmaker or social worker. I know I have crossed the line by directly helping the homeless… I had to do it. They needed the help and at that time no one else was in the field. I’m not making excuses. A journalist is not to assist or hinder the events in front of him. But I have witnessed things that will affect me for the rest of my life. How could I not help?
I am a filmmaker and a photographer and a journalist…. with great compassion for the people in front of my lens. If I have crossed the line, so be it.
I want to make a personal appeal to you. Our visitors to this site are increasing weekly. Please spread the word of this blog. We need the traffic to help us with the film and the issue. Send a link to your friends, family, or church about this. We need your help so we can make a difference across the nation!
1.17.10
DJ McCoy
11.09.09 Update
Posted by Administrator in Land of Liberty on November 10, 2009
You would not believe everything we have been through with this picture. It’s been a rough and rocky road but we’re still here. Many great things have happened too. We now have several people that volunteer to feed and clothe the homeless. St. John’s church is preparing hot food weekly! House of the Lord church is helping with clothes and food. St. Bernadette’s (my church) has started a program for the homeless. The list goes on and on.
But I want to tell you about a life changing experience. It happened in New Your City. I met Colin Finlay. He is the greatest living documentary photographer today. I have always been impressed with his work. I was inspired and very encouraged by him. He spoke of how we with cameras are the voice of the oppressed. I explained how hard it has been and what we have been through. He told me to keep going -“it’s what we do.” I told him the story has been told before. He told me to tell it again – “It’s a story that needs to be told and retold.” He told me to send photos and stay in touch. Here is a man that has been around the world, in combat zones, has seen millions of people die from hunger and he is encouraging me! That’s when I realized that I have to always document and represent those oppressed, where ever they may be. Right now it’s here in the USA. Check out the work of a master at www.colinfinlay.com
So I work daily, or should I say struggle, daily with this, trying to change the world one person at a time. We have our new volunteers in the kitchens, in the field, and in the churches. Is it enough to end homelessness in America? No. But I guess we can make a difference in our community by just taking that first step.
Update
Posted by Administrator in Land of Liberty on September 17, 2009
Against all odds the film is still an ongoing effort. The lack of funds has certainly set us back, but the finish line is in sight. The cause certainly still has a long ways to go and will continue to be an issue for which we will remain active and passionate, long after this project is completed. There will be updates in the coming weeks as to when we will be going into post and what format/venue that you will be able to view our powerful film.
Land Of Liberty Production Notes
Posted by Administrator in Land of Liberty on October 3, 2008
10.2.08 Today was a great break through for us. I found another homeless “camp”. My host was Ron. He has been a real asset to this production because he knows his way around the world of the least, the last, and the forgotten.
I also met Amy. What a story she has to tell. It’s hard to believe that people are suffering so badly right in our backyard, yes that’s right, here in the U.S. – not India, not Africa but here. Families are homeless and near homeless. Children are being taken away from their parents, some live in cars on the run – hiding from the authorities so they aren’t taken away.
It is very draining work. My good friend Mary Gunderson told me it could be very emotional. She shared with me that sometimes she goes home and cries. I feel so tired. In the beginning it just seemed hopeless. Now I have talked with the churches, seen the homeless being fed, watched a Family Resource Network director playing with a homeless child, stood by as a ministry gave bags of food to the homeless and hungry, listened as Mary and Karen went into the “Trinity Crises Team” and saved a family from being broken up. There is hope.
Come along on this journey as we explore the issues, learn the fates and walk a mile in their shoes. We will put faces to the statistics. We will help them one at a time. We will make a difference – starting with me.
When this project was started I thought I would help the homeless. I hope in some small way I have but the truth is they have helped me. This film has changed my life. I am proud to call them my friends.
-D.J. McCoy
