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Parents' Guide to

Storied Streets

By Andrea Beach, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Thoughtful, moving homelessness docu shatters stereotypes.

Movie NR 2014 61 minutes
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Director Jack Robbins takes a steady, unemotional approach behind the camera to create a powerful argument for changing the way we treat homeless people and how we solve the problem of homelessness. Storied Streets balances interviews with advocates, some of them formerly homeless themselves, with the personal stories and circumstances of a wide range of people living on the streets or in shelters at the time (2014). The emphasis is on destroying stereotypes about homeless people, showing that the majority are regular people fallen on hard times.

Viewers will empathize with the many moving, sometimes horrific, stories of hardship and humiliation endured by the homeless, and at the very least be inspired to treat others better than with hostility or indifference. The movie also makes a strong case for changing the way we solve the problem, by putting our resources into helping those who are recently homeless instead those with the greatest need and who've been without homes the longest. But other than pointing out that our current solutions aren't working, the film doesn't explore any other options. Teens ready to take an unblinking look at the problem in our country and how we as a society handle it, or don't, can be encouraged to explore the issue further and find ways they can help.

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