THE PROJECT
Our goal is to complete a one-hour documentary film, The City That Cared, examining the success of one city's Child Poverty Reduction program. This film shows how one city, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada has developed a comprehensive multi-year community program to help mothers and children who are living in poverty learn the skills they need to improve their lives.
Our stretch goal is to take the film on tour across the US and Canada, presenting it in community forums that will encourage other communities to create similar versions of this amazingly successful program.
You can follow us on facebook or twitter or contact us directly: [email protected]
WHY ME?
The City That Cared is about my city, the city where I grew up amidst poverty, violence and suffering. I always hoped it would get better, in time, but it hasn’t really and now my city has one of the highest poverty and child poverty rates in the country. I love this city, and in a way I hate this city. I love Saint John for its generosity and caring nature. But the stubbornness of the poverty that continues to rack so many of its citizens is very troubling. It's time to do something.
WHY NOW?
Poverty and child poverty rates are increasing at alarming rates all over Canada and the United States . We are losing whole generations to poverty and all its associated problems: evictions (4 families are evicted per minute in the USA - 2.3 million per year); crime; violence; addictions and broken families. It's becoming a huge lost potential for our communities. We need more programs like Saint John's right now - so now is the time to complete this film and share it with the world. It’s an important part to the increasing problem of poverty we all face, all over America.
WHAT SAINT JOHN DID
Saint John created a non-sectarian, community-based program called First Steps. Women and children in need can apply and receive comprehensive support such as:
- a free, 2 year live-in residence, with babies
- prenatal and motherhood instruction
- professional psychological & addiction help
- literacy training
- in-house high school education (with day care)
- nutrition/food instruction
- financial/budgeting training
- co-op work internship
- plus a 1-year sponsored apartment
The film will show how this amazing program came about. Saint John is not considered a wealthy city, but the whole city pulled together to establish the program and continues to work together to fund and maintain it. The film will encourage other communities and cities to consider creating similar programs of their own.
THE FILM'S BUDGET
We have already done some work on the film and we estimate the remaining work will cost $18,000, broken down as follows:
- Admin (legal, insurance, etc.) $1430
- Shooting (including travel) $11,410
- Editing $5,160
Total Required $18,000
THE TEAM
Freda and Jon Pedersen have been a filmmaking team for quite a while - some have joked we are probably the oldest functioning filmmakers in Canada! In the last few years we have concentrated solely on nonprofit production and are especially interested in social development, health, politics, art and culture. We started our commercial business in 1982 and over the years have produced documentaries for a variety of clients including CTV, CBC, the National Film Board and many others. As well, we produced two independent features.
PushBack Poverty Inc. is a nonprofit company we established in 1984, together with several others in our community, in order to make social action films. We've made films about Haitian aid, alcoholism, suicide, affordable housing and literacy. The City That Cared is our first major film about poverty.
Freda and Jon Pedersen
Our films have received many awards and honours and have been included in leading festivals such as the American Film Institute Festival, the Paris retrospective of 100 Canadian films, the Montreal Film Festival and several others.
We hope you'll join with us to complete this powerful documentary film, The City That Cared.
WOULD THIS FILM HELP YOUR COMMUNITY?
We think it would. It’s been a very successful solution for Saint John for over 13 years and has already helped hundreds of women and children to find better lives, leaving poverty behind to become a part of their community.
The film will show exactly how this program was created, how it works and the huge difference it’s made in the lives of these young women and their children.
Their story hasn’t been told before and the world is waiting. It’s a brilliant solution, one that can become a beacon - of hope - for them, for your community, for all of us.
WOMEN WORKING HARD TO BREAK THE POVERTY CYCLE
These women have tremendous inner strength! Their will to keep going no matter what is truly impressive. They have a fierce determination to find a better life for themselves and their families and they consider themselves lucky to have found a whole city of caring people committed to help them find their way out of poverty. They seize the chance - it's a once in a lifetime opportunity and the program could become a model to change the cycle of poverty for women everywhere.
WOMEN IN A MULTI-YEAR PROGRAM FUNDED BY THE COMMUNITY
Saint John gives participants a safe home for themselves and their babies for a year or two or three. It's a permanent program created by this caring community, determined to teach them all the life skills they’ll need.
THE FILM WILL TELL THE STORY OF THIS AMAZING PROGRAM
The participants receive:
- Free, 2 year residential housing, live-in with babies
- Pre-natal & motherhood instruction
- Professional psychological & addiction help
- Literacy training
- In-house high school (with day care)
- Nutrition/food instruction
- Financial/budgeting training
- Co-op work internship, etc
- + 1 year sponsored apartment
ALREADY IT'S A 13 YEAR SUCCESS!
This program has been a very successful solution for this community for over 13 years!
It has already helped hundreds of women and families become contributing members of their community and this documentary will spread the news to other communities.
JOIN US TO TELL THIS IMPORTANT STORY NOW
Join us to see how this program was created, exactly how it works and how it could be modelled in other communities. We'll even revisit women and children who "graduated" from this program several years ago and have since been living successfully.
And we'll measure the huge difference The City That Cared has made to these young women and their children. This will be the first time this story has been told and the world is waiting. It’s a brilliant solution, one that can become a beacon - of hope - for communities everywhere.
WE HAVE TO MOVE QUICKLY to prepare for the Global Premiere in Boston November 2, 2018!
The City That Cared is scheduled for, global release on November 2, 2018 at the Disrupting the Poverty Cycle Conference in Boston Massachusetts!
So we don't have much time to complete the film!
REWARD PHOTOS
We're all in this together. We really appreciate your support and would like to reward you for joining us on this mission to help so many people. Thank you!
