User:Diane-hearus

I am an activist, author and filmmaker chronicling the plight and promise of homeless children and youth in the United States.

Since 2005, I've been on the road, living in and working out of a small motorhome. I started HEAR US Inc., a national nonprofit based in Naperville, IL, to give voice and visibility to homeless children and youth. I sold my town-home and stuff, purchased the motorhome, and started traveling in Nov. 2005.

Simultaneously with my hitting the road in Nov. 2005, my book, "Crossing the Line: Taking Steps to End HomelessnessItalic text,Crossing the Line" was published (Booklocker, 2005).

Returning to Illinois after my first 20,000 mile cross-country journey, I was introduced to Dr. Laura Vazquez, a media professor at Northern Illinois University. With her expertise, I've produced 2 major documentaries on homeless families and youth. The first, "My Own Four Walls," (http://hearus.us/projects/my-own-four-walls-video.html)a collection of interviews with kids experiencing homelessness, released in 2007, with subsequent releases in 2008 and 2009. The latest film, "on the edge," (http://ontheedge.niu.edu) is a feature length documentary exploring the stories of 7 women who've experienced homelessness.

Prior to my incredible journey, I started a homeless shelter (Will County PADS--now Daybreak) in Joliet, IL and I directed the PADS shelter at Hesed House in Aurora,IL for 13 years. In the process of my work in Aurora, a family staying at our shelter was denied access to their school of origin because they were now living in the adjacent town, not Naperville, where the school district was located. This led to creation of the first comprehensive state legislation in the country to strengthen the (then-called) McKinney Act, which made provisions, albeit weak, for homeless kids to get into school. The legislation was introduced in Spring 1994 and passed in that same legislative session.

A few years later, 1998, newly-elected Congresswoman Judy Biggert (IL-13,R) was elected to the DuPage area district, adjacent to Aurora. At the behest of State Rep. Mary Lou Cowlishaw, a Republican representing Naperville who was a co-sponsor of our IL legislation, Mrs. Biggert toured Hesed House, stunned at the implication that this former municipal incinerator was now serving thousands of people a month and that it harvested over 5,000 volunteers from area faith communities, including many from her district. Mrs. Biggert asked, "What can I do?"

I quickly, spontaneously, replied, "Get the IL Education for Homeless Children's Act, aka 'Charlie's Bill,' implemented on the national level in the McKinney-Vento Act." She nodded, and days later sent her legislative director, Jim Brown, to tour our shelter and talk about this legislative package.

To be continued....