WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.082 align:middle line:90% [INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING] 00:00:09.082 --> 00:00:10.290 align:middle line:90% 00:00:10.290 --> 00:00:10.790 align:middle line:90% Hi. 00:00:10.790 --> 00:00:11.790 align:middle line:90% Welcome, everybody. 00:00:11.790 --> 00:00:14.240 align:middle line:84% Thank you for joining us at today's program. 00:00:14.240 --> 00:00:15.500 align:middle line:90% My name is Rebecca Trawick. 00:00:15.500 --> 00:00:17.510 align:middle line:84% I'm the Director of the Wignall Museum, 00:00:17.510 --> 00:00:21.680 align:middle line:84% and I'm happy to introduce you to today's artist talk 00:00:21.680 --> 00:00:25.190 align:middle line:84% with Willie Baronet, presented as part of Collective Care: 00:00:25.190 --> 00:00:26.960 align:middle line:90% Uncovering Poverty. 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:29.120 align:middle line:84% Collective Care is a collaborative series 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:30.630 align:middle line:84% of programs developed by the Wignall 00:00:30.630 --> 00:00:33.950 align:middle line:84% Museum, The center for Culture and Social Justice, 00:00:33.950 --> 00:00:36.020 align:middle line:90% and the Panther Care Program. 00:00:36.020 --> 00:00:38.270 align:middle line:84% Impacts from the global pandemic continue 00:00:38.270 --> 00:00:40.340 align:middle line:84% to affect our students and communities 00:00:40.340 --> 00:00:43.940 align:middle line:84% at record-level rates of food and housing insecurity, 00:00:43.940 --> 00:00:47.090 align:middle line:84% affecting the basic needs of millions of Americans, 00:00:47.090 --> 00:00:51.170 align:middle line:84% many of them K-12 and higher education students. 00:00:51.170 --> 00:00:52.970 align:middle line:84% Collective Care: Uncovering Poverty 00:00:52.970 --> 00:00:56.600 align:middle line:84% invites us to connect as we examine these issues together. 00:00:56.600 --> 00:00:59.300 align:middle line:84% Be sure to save the date for future programs. 00:00:59.300 --> 00:01:01.940 align:middle line:84% We'll be sure to include those links in the chat 00:01:01.940 --> 00:01:04.700 align:middle line:90% so you can see those programs. 00:01:04.700 --> 00:01:08.210 align:middle line:84% I want to acknowledge Governing Board member Kathy Brugger, who 00:01:08.210 --> 00:01:11.540 align:middle line:84% I am told was going to join us, although I don't see her 00:01:11.540 --> 00:01:15.570 align:middle line:84% currently, so we'll give her an early shoutout for being here. 00:01:15.570 --> 00:01:18.620 align:middle line:84% I also want to give a shoutout to our Collective Care planning 00:01:18.620 --> 00:01:21.950 align:middle line:84% colleagues, Dr. Leti Romo, Director of Student Equity 00:01:21.950 --> 00:01:24.290 align:middle line:84% and Engagement, and Albert Rodriguez, 00:01:24.290 --> 00:01:26.600 align:middle line:84% Director of the Panther Care Program, 00:01:26.600 --> 00:01:29.600 align:middle line:84% Roman Stollenwerk, Assistant Curator at the Wignall Museum, 00:01:29.600 --> 00:01:32.700 align:middle line:84% and Andy Hadle, Wignall Museum Preparator. 00:01:32.700 --> 00:01:35.310 align:middle line:84% So good to see you all here today. 00:01:35.310 --> 00:01:37.310 align:middle line:84% Before we share some quick housekeeping 00:01:37.310 --> 00:01:39.170 align:middle line:84% and introduce you to Willie, I'd like 00:01:39.170 --> 00:01:44.410 align:middle line:84% to invite Dr. Romo to share our land acknowledgment. 00:01:44.410 --> 00:01:47.320 align:middle line:84% With respect and honor for the lands where 00:01:47.320 --> 00:01:51.250 align:middle line:84% Chaffey College resides and the leaders who came before us, 00:01:51.250 --> 00:01:53.290 align:middle line:84% we'd like to take a moment to acknowledge 00:01:53.290 --> 00:01:56.530 align:middle line:84% the Gabrielino-Tongva peoples, the original stewards 00:01:56.530 --> 00:01:58.780 align:middle line:84% of these sacred and unceded homelands. 00:01:58.780 --> 00:02:02.500 align:middle line:84% The Tongva people's history, languages, cultural traditions, 00:02:02.500 --> 00:02:05.110 align:middle line:84% and legacy continue to shape this region, 00:02:05.110 --> 00:02:08.650 align:middle line:84% and we recognize our continuing presence in their homelands. 00:02:08.650 --> 00:02:10.630 align:middle line:84% In the spirit of truth and equity, 00:02:10.630 --> 00:02:12.940 align:middle line:84% Chaffey College commits to uplifting 00:02:12.940 --> 00:02:15.040 align:middle line:84% the voices of Indigenous peoples, 00:02:15.040 --> 00:02:16.840 align:middle line:84% building an inclusive and equitable 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:20.930 align:middle line:84% educational environment and decolonizing the institution. 00:02:20.930 --> 00:02:23.770 align:middle line:84% We also encourage members of the Chaffey College community 00:02:23.770 --> 00:02:25.750 align:middle line:84% to learn about the land we reside on 00:02:25.750 --> 00:02:28.870 align:middle line:84% and the original caretakers and advocate for culturally 00:02:28.870 --> 00:02:31.660 align:middle line:90% responsive action. 00:02:31.660 --> 00:02:34.270 align:middle line:84% So, today, I'm so pleased to announce our special guest, 00:02:34.270 --> 00:02:35.680 align:middle line:90% Willie Baronet. 00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:39.100 align:middle line:84% Willie Baronet is a Texas-based artist and educator. 00:02:39.100 --> 00:02:40.960 align:middle line:84% Baronet received his undergraduate degree 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:43.630 align:middle line:84% from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette 00:02:43.630 --> 00:02:45.820 align:middle line:84% and his MFA in arts and technology 00:02:45.820 --> 00:02:48.700 align:middle line:84% from the University of Texas at Dallas. 00:02:48.700 --> 00:02:51.760 align:middle line:84% The Stan Richards Professor in Creative Advertising 00:02:51.760 --> 00:02:55.240 align:middle line:84% at SMU Meadows School of the Arts, Baronet 00:02:55.240 --> 00:02:57.220 align:middle line:84% has spoken at organizations and schools 00:02:57.220 --> 00:02:59.770 align:middle line:84% across the country about creativity 00:02:59.770 --> 00:03:03.550 align:middle line:84% and his long-term project We Are All Homeless, including 00:03:03.550 --> 00:03:06.340 align:middle line:84% TEDx, CreativeMornings, HOW Design 00:03:06.340 --> 00:03:08.860 align:middle line:90% Conference, among many others. 00:03:08.860 --> 00:03:12.530 align:middle line:84% We Are All Homeless includes the documentary Signs of Humanity, 00:03:12.530 --> 00:03:15.460 align:middle line:84% which is available on Amazon Prime, 00:03:15.460 --> 00:03:18.250 align:middle line:84% and that premiered at the Dallas Film Festival. 00:03:18.250 --> 00:03:21.220 align:middle line:84% The project includes signs from unhoused individuals 00:03:21.220 --> 00:03:25.810 align:middle line:84% that Baronet has paid for and collected since 1993. 00:03:25.810 --> 00:03:27.700 align:middle line:84% His advertising and design work has 00:03:27.700 --> 00:03:31.300 align:middle line:84% been featured in Communication Arts, AIG Graphic Design 00:03:31.300 --> 00:03:35.680 align:middle line:84% Annual, New York Arts Director Annual, The One Show, Print 00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:40.870 align:middle line:84% Casebooks, Annual Report Trends, The Type Directors Club Annual, 00:03:40.870 --> 00:03:45.160 align:middle line:84% and Annual Report Design: A Historical Retrospective, 00:03:45.160 --> 00:03:49.870 align:middle line:84% 1510 to 1990, organized by the Cooper Hewitt National 00:03:49.870 --> 00:03:52.550 align:middle line:90% Museum of Design. 00:03:52.550 --> 00:03:55.565 align:middle line:84% So, with that, please join me in giving Willie a warm virtual 00:03:55.565 --> 00:03:56.065 align:middle line:90% welcome. 00:03:56.065 --> 00:03:59.440 align:middle line:90% 00:03:59.440 --> 00:04:01.990 align:middle line:84% I want to say thank you to Rebecca. 00:04:01.990 --> 00:04:05.140 align:middle line:84% We've been talking for what seems like decades, 00:04:05.140 --> 00:04:10.130 align:middle line:84% although it's just a few years, about doing something together, 00:04:10.130 --> 00:04:12.400 align:middle line:84% and I'm really excited to be here 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:17.350 align:middle line:84% and to share a bit about this long-term art project, 00:04:17.350 --> 00:04:19.100 align:middle line:90% We Are All Homeless. 00:04:19.100 --> 00:04:25.000 align:middle line:84% It is a deeply personal journey that I'm going to share, 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:29.980 align:middle line:84% and I'm looking forward to questions at the end, 00:04:29.980 --> 00:04:33.040 align:middle line:84% but I realize that a lot of this is personal, 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:36.190 align:middle line:84% but it's part of my own creative journey 00:04:36.190 --> 00:04:39.610 align:middle line:84% in starting this, and then sort of hanging on 00:04:39.610 --> 00:04:44.990 align:middle line:84% to the tail of the dragon, as it has taken me where it will. 00:04:44.990 --> 00:04:48.580 align:middle line:84% So, with that, I will share a bit about the background. 00:04:48.580 --> 00:04:51.910 align:middle line:84% I have been buying and collecting signs, 00:04:51.910 --> 00:04:55.570 align:middle line:90% as Rebecca said, since 1993. 00:04:55.570 --> 00:04:58.480 align:middle line:84% She asked me a little bit earlier about how many signs 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:04.000 align:middle line:84% I have, and I think that that number is just over 2,000 now. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:07.420 align:middle line:84% This sign, which I bought in Dallas quite some time ago, 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:10.840 align:middle line:84% is, in some ways, emblematic of what 00:05:10.840 --> 00:05:16.100 align:middle line:84% I think the plight of the folks on the street are. 00:05:16.100 --> 00:05:21.160 align:middle line:84% It's really about me seeing them and allowing them to see me. 00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:24.370 align:middle line:84% Signs are sometimes quite serious, 00:05:24.370 --> 00:05:27.160 align:middle line:84% sometimes tell a bit of the story of the person 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:31.210 align:middle line:84% that I am meeting, and sometimes the signs 00:05:31.210 --> 00:05:35.260 align:middle line:84% are more humorous, "Wife and dog kidnapped by ninjas. 00:05:35.260 --> 00:05:37.120 align:middle line:90% Need money for Kung Fu lessons. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:39.700 align:middle line:90% I'd really like that dog back." 00:05:39.700 --> 00:05:42.620 align:middle line:84% This is a sign that I bought in Austin, Texas. 00:05:42.620 --> 00:05:46.300 align:middle line:84% And what I've come to realize is that even the signs that 00:05:46.300 --> 00:05:51.910 align:middle line:84% are humorous, or trying to get attention of passers-by, 00:05:51.910 --> 00:05:56.980 align:middle line:84% there's always a serious human story behind that. 00:05:56.980 --> 00:06:01.090 align:middle line:84% Some of the signs that I'll show you today are over 25 years 00:06:01.090 --> 00:06:01.900 align:middle line:90% old. 00:06:01.900 --> 00:06:05.320 align:middle line:84% Some of the signs I bought as recently as 00:06:05.320 --> 00:06:07.360 align:middle line:90% in the last week or two. 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:09.310 align:middle line:84% It is a process that I don't think 00:06:09.310 --> 00:06:13.890 align:middle line:84% I'm ever going to stop, now that it's become a part of my life. 00:06:13.890 --> 00:06:18.570 align:middle line:84% I also sometimes get signs from other people these days. 00:06:18.570 --> 00:06:20.340 align:middle line:84% This project has been around long enough 00:06:20.340 --> 00:06:23.190 align:middle line:84% that I now will get a package in the mail 00:06:23.190 --> 00:06:25.290 align:middle line:84% from somebody who bought a sign and wants 00:06:25.290 --> 00:06:27.870 align:middle line:84% to tell me the story of the encounter they 00:06:27.870 --> 00:06:29.880 align:middle line:90% had with that person. 00:06:29.880 --> 00:06:32.820 align:middle line:84% This particular sign was given to me by one of my students, 00:06:32.820 --> 00:06:35.900 align:middle line:84% who bought it from a man also in Austin, Texas. 00:06:35.900 --> 00:06:38.490 align:middle line:90% 00:06:38.490 --> 00:06:41.100 align:middle line:84% This is a sign that I bought from a man named 00:06:41.100 --> 00:06:46.230 align:middle line:84% Eddie Dunn in Philadelphia in 2014, 'Something to ponder. 00:06:46.230 --> 00:06:48.360 align:middle line:84% Would if God occasionally visits Earth 00:06:48.360 --> 00:06:51.840 align:middle line:84% disguised as a homeless guy panhandling 00:06:51.840 --> 00:06:54.000 align:middle line:90% to see how charitable we are? 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:56.700 align:middle line:84% Completely hypothetical, of course." 00:06:56.700 --> 00:06:58.500 align:middle line:84% I'm going to talk more about Eddie 00:06:58.500 --> 00:07:01.320 align:middle line:84% toward the end of this presentation. 00:07:01.320 --> 00:07:05.010 align:middle line:84% His sign stuck with me from the moment I met him, 00:07:05.010 --> 00:07:08.970 align:middle line:84% and I really want to share a little bit about the connection 00:07:08.970 --> 00:07:12.070 align:middle line:90% that he and I now have. 00:07:12.070 --> 00:07:13.710 align:middle line:84% So, I've been buying these signs, 00:07:13.710 --> 00:07:18.250 align:middle line:84% and Rebecca mentioned, I went to grad school, 00:07:18.250 --> 00:07:22.120 align:middle line:84% and it was in 2008 that I started grad school, 00:07:22.120 --> 00:07:26.170 align:middle line:84% and it was then that, you know, I had these signs, 00:07:26.170 --> 00:07:31.660 align:middle line:84% but I started to put them together as art project, 00:07:31.660 --> 00:07:34.390 align:middle line:84% and my professors were very encouraging, 00:07:34.390 --> 00:07:41.050 align:middle line:84% and, in 2009, I did my first ever show of any sort that 00:07:41.050 --> 00:07:42.640 align:middle line:90% use these signs. 00:07:42.640 --> 00:07:44.620 align:middle line:84% And, in addition, you can see there 00:07:44.620 --> 00:07:47.230 align:middle line:90% are signs attached to mirrors. 00:07:47.230 --> 00:07:49.180 align:middle line:84% I was also, at the time, starting 00:07:49.180 --> 00:07:55.330 align:middle line:84% to put digital compilations of pieces of signs together, 00:07:55.330 --> 00:07:58.900 align:middle line:84% and just really exploring what this 00:07:58.900 --> 00:08:01.330 align:middle line:84% could be as an art project, and I 00:08:01.330 --> 00:08:03.670 align:middle line:90% tried lots and lots of things. 00:08:03.670 --> 00:08:06.880 align:middle line:84% These were some of the ones that I ended up showing. 00:08:06.880 --> 00:08:11.290 align:middle line:84% At that same time, while I was in school, one of my classmates 00:08:11.290 --> 00:08:14.890 align:middle line:84% was going around and photographing places where 00:08:14.890 --> 00:08:17.530 align:middle line:90% people actually were sleeping. 00:08:17.530 --> 00:08:21.310 align:middle line:84% This is under an overpass in Dallas, Texas, 00:08:21.310 --> 00:08:23.650 align:middle line:84% under one of the busiest highways, 00:08:23.650 --> 00:08:28.450 align:middle line:84% and that was my first time to do that sort of exploration. 00:08:28.450 --> 00:08:31.870 align:middle line:84% For me, grad school was a chance to really dive deeper 00:08:31.870 --> 00:08:35.440 align:middle line:84% into this project and learn more about it. 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:39.650 align:middle line:84% I toured most of the homeless facilities in Dallas, 00:08:39.650 --> 00:08:42.730 align:middle line:84% learned a lot about what they were doing. 00:08:42.730 --> 00:08:45.670 align:middle line:84% As I continued to do art exhibits, 00:08:45.670 --> 00:08:50.880 align:middle line:84% I realized that the power of the signs was evident, 00:08:50.880 --> 00:08:54.030 align:middle line:84% and that there wasn't much I needed to do. 00:08:54.030 --> 00:08:56.880 align:middle line:84% So, the more I got into this, the more 00:08:56.880 --> 00:09:00.660 align:middle line:84% I stayed out of the way and just found an artful way 00:09:00.660 --> 00:09:03.240 align:middle line:84% to put the signs in front of people. 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:07.470 align:middle line:84% What I realized is the signs, in real life, 00:09:07.470 --> 00:09:13.440 align:middle line:84% are often in front of a person, and so people aren't always 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:17.160 align:middle line:84% comfortable making eye contact or engaging with that person, 00:09:17.160 --> 00:09:20.250 align:middle line:84% but the signs in exhibits were not, 00:09:20.250 --> 00:09:22.930 align:middle line:90% and people were able to lean in. 00:09:22.930 --> 00:09:26.520 align:middle line:84% So I just continued to do exhibits. 00:09:26.520 --> 00:09:28.230 align:middle line:90% Sometimes they were on the wall. 00:09:28.230 --> 00:09:30.390 align:middle line:90% Sometimes they were on floors. 00:09:30.390 --> 00:09:33.880 align:middle line:84% This was an abandoned house in Dallas. 00:09:33.880 --> 00:09:36.450 align:middle line:84% So this was in a gallery, and, you know, 00:09:36.450 --> 00:09:39.390 align:middle line:84% I was always finding ways to install 00:09:39.390 --> 00:09:44.340 align:middle line:84% the signs in a way that seemed to make sense in the space. 00:09:44.340 --> 00:09:49.380 align:middle line:84% This was from an exhibit in Michigan just a few years ago, 00:09:49.380 --> 00:09:53.610 align:middle line:84% and it was one of two times that I actually 00:09:53.610 --> 00:09:58.050 align:middle line:84% spelled the word "us" as part of the exhibit. 00:09:58.050 --> 00:09:59.850 align:middle line:84% Some of my favorite exhibits have 00:09:59.850 --> 00:10:02.820 align:middle line:84% been venues that allowed me to suspend 00:10:02.820 --> 00:10:09.590 align:middle line:84% the signs in the space, where they sit there and slowly spin 00:10:09.590 --> 00:10:11.930 align:middle line:84% around, and then people can experience 00:10:11.930 --> 00:10:13.820 align:middle line:90% walking among the signs. 00:10:13.820 --> 00:10:15.830 align:middle line:84% That's not always possible, but it 00:10:15.830 --> 00:10:19.780 align:middle line:84% is one of the favorite things I love 00:10:19.780 --> 00:10:22.750 align:middle line:90% about installing these signs. 00:10:22.750 --> 00:10:28.396 align:middle line:84% And the process, for me, is meditative. 00:10:28.396 --> 00:10:32.290 align:middle line:84% You know, it's physically exhausting sometimes, but, 00:10:32.290 --> 00:10:34.270 align:middle line:90% depending on the space-- 00:10:34.270 --> 00:10:36.550 align:middle line:84% This represents four installations. 00:10:36.550 --> 00:10:40.240 align:middle line:84% One is in New York, one is in Texarkana, one is in Louisiana, 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:45.400 align:middle line:84% and one was in Anchorage, Alaska, which I'll show you 00:10:45.400 --> 00:10:48.650 align:middle line:90% a little more about as well. 00:10:48.650 --> 00:10:51.070 align:middle line:84% All of these exhibits, in the beginning, 00:10:51.070 --> 00:10:55.240 align:middle line:84% led me to share about this in a few different venues. 00:10:55.240 --> 00:10:57.880 align:middle line:84% This is an image from one of the first TEDx 00:10:57.880 --> 00:10:59.890 align:middle line:90% Talks about this project. 00:10:59.890 --> 00:11:02.350 align:middle line:84% And I show this photo of my dad and I 00:11:02.350 --> 00:11:05.890 align:middle line:84% because it was the first time I was connecting 00:11:05.890 --> 00:11:10.750 align:middle line:84% my own upbringing to the idea of what is home, 00:11:10.750 --> 00:11:15.040 align:middle line:84% and what is it that home represents? 00:11:15.040 --> 00:11:18.760 align:middle line:84% I had a very tumultuous relationship 00:11:18.760 --> 00:11:21.520 align:middle line:84% with my father, who was physically abusive, 00:11:21.520 --> 00:11:26.200 align:middle line:84% and he and I didn't really start to repair that relationship 00:11:26.200 --> 00:11:29.170 align:middle line:90% until I was well into adulthood. 00:11:29.170 --> 00:11:32.980 align:middle line:84% But, for me, home was connected to safety, 00:11:32.980 --> 00:11:37.900 align:middle line:84% and that is something that started back in-- 00:11:37.900 --> 00:11:41.500 align:middle line:84% I think this was 2011, at the time I did this talk, 00:11:41.500 --> 00:11:45.670 align:middle line:84% and it has continued to evolve as I've asked a lot more people 00:11:45.670 --> 00:11:48.730 align:middle line:90% about what home means to them. 00:11:48.730 --> 00:11:50.980 align:middle line:84% What I didn't talk about at that time 00:11:50.980 --> 00:11:53.150 align:middle line:84% was my relationship with my mother, 00:11:53.150 --> 00:11:58.210 align:middle line:84% which came into play in relation to this project much later. 00:11:58.210 --> 00:12:01.870 align:middle line:84% She passed away in 2003, and never 00:12:01.870 --> 00:12:06.970 align:middle line:84% really got to see this project become the project it's become. 00:12:06.970 --> 00:12:09.160 align:middle line:84% She knew I was collecting signs, but I 00:12:09.160 --> 00:12:12.912 align:middle line:84% do lots of strange things, and I think she just kind of always 00:12:12.912 --> 00:12:14.870 align:middle line:84% looked at me, and shook her head, and was like, 00:12:14.870 --> 00:12:16.120 align:middle line:90% what's wrong with him? 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:18.490 align:middle line:90% But I'll talk more about that. 00:12:18.490 --> 00:12:21.130 align:middle line:84% It sort of ties into my discussion 00:12:21.130 --> 00:12:24.130 align:middle line:84% about Eddie Dunn, which I'll talk about toward the end 00:12:24.130 --> 00:12:25.490 align:middle line:90% as well. 00:12:25.490 --> 00:12:27.400 align:middle line:84% But it was during that first TEDx Talk 00:12:27.400 --> 00:12:31.480 align:middle line:84% that I first broached the idea of traveling across the United 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:37.720 align:middle line:84% States, buying signs along the way, and what I didn't realize 00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:39.460 align:middle line:84% was that that was going to culminate 00:12:39.460 --> 00:12:43.130 align:middle line:84% in the creation of a feature-length documentary. 00:12:43.130 --> 00:12:45.520 align:middle line:84% But it was a long process of planning, 00:12:45.520 --> 00:12:49.630 align:middle line:84% and the actual experience Itself is certainly 00:12:49.630 --> 00:12:52.330 align:middle line:84% going to go down as one of the great experiences in my life. 00:12:52.330 --> 00:12:59.417 align:middle line:84% It was 31 days of buying signs in 22 different cities. 00:12:59.417 --> 00:13:01.000 align:middle line:84% And I'm going to tell you a little bit 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:04.660 align:middle line:84% about that experience by starting with some of the signs 00:13:04.660 --> 00:13:07.060 align:middle line:90% that we bought along the way. 00:13:07.060 --> 00:13:10.360 align:middle line:84% One of the first signs was this one, 00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:12.730 align:middle line:84% "Sugar mama needed," which was in Seattle, 00:13:12.730 --> 00:13:15.280 align:middle line:90% our very first stop. 00:13:15.280 --> 00:13:19.140 align:middle line:84% This was from a young woman in San Francisco. 00:13:19.140 --> 00:13:22.590 align:middle line:90% 00:13:22.590 --> 00:13:25.160 align:middle line:84% This was one of the signs we bought in Philadelphia. 00:13:25.160 --> 00:13:27.270 align:middle line:84% It was right outside of Philadelphia, 00:13:27.270 --> 00:13:28.880 align:middle line:84% and I bought it from a man who was 00:13:28.880 --> 00:13:31.415 align:middle line:90% living in a tent with his wife. 00:13:31.415 --> 00:13:34.020 align:middle line:90% 00:13:34.020 --> 00:13:38.030 align:middle line:84% This was from a man in Chicago, who was 00:13:38.030 --> 00:13:39.920 align:middle line:90% living under Clinton Bridge. 00:13:39.920 --> 00:13:45.200 align:middle line:84% I think you will probably see a clip of him later on. 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:47.330 align:middle line:84% One of my favorite signs from Los Angeles 00:13:47.330 --> 00:13:51.260 align:middle line:84% came from this man who was, I would have guessed, 00:13:51.260 --> 00:13:56.870 align:middle line:84% in his mid-70s, and clearly had a sense of humor. 00:13:56.870 --> 00:14:03.470 align:middle line:84% And, again, even the funny signs have a not-so-funny backstory. 00:14:03.470 --> 00:14:05.300 align:middle line:84% He was not willing to be interviewed 00:14:05.300 --> 00:14:10.170 align:middle line:84% for our documentary, but we did chat for a few minutes. 00:14:10.170 --> 00:14:12.830 align:middle line:84% One of my favorite scenes from the trip across the country 00:14:12.830 --> 00:14:14.130 align:middle line:90% was this simple sign. 00:14:14.130 --> 00:14:17.240 align:middle line:90% It simply says, "Spare change." 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:24.410 align:middle line:84% Part of what stands out to me is that the actual lettering 00:14:24.410 --> 00:14:26.990 align:middle line:84% is done with a ballpoint pen, and I can almost 00:14:26.990 --> 00:14:30.410 align:middle line:84% feel the angst and pain in that lettering. 00:14:30.410 --> 00:14:33.050 align:middle line:84% I'm going to show you a photo of the man I bought this from, 00:14:33.050 --> 00:14:35.690 align:middle line:84% whose name was Michael, and he was in Las Vegas, 00:14:35.690 --> 00:14:38.300 align:middle line:84% and I'll show you his image in a little while. 00:14:38.300 --> 00:14:43.190 align:middle line:84% And, for me, it's the disparity between him 00:14:43.190 --> 00:14:47.810 align:middle line:84% and this sign that really stood out. 00:14:47.810 --> 00:14:52.160 align:middle line:84% Some of the people we met traveling across the country, 00:14:52.160 --> 00:14:56.810 align:middle line:84% in Portland, I met this man named Owen, who 00:14:56.810 --> 00:14:59.510 align:middle line:90% had very, very creative signs. 00:14:59.510 --> 00:15:01.370 align:middle line:84% He told me he arrived in Portland 00:15:01.370 --> 00:15:05.540 align:middle line:84% with over 60 different colored sharpies, which he'd given away 00:15:05.540 --> 00:15:08.840 align:middle line:84% to a lot of his friends on the street, 00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:14.630 align:middle line:84% and he was taking care of this man, whose name is Paulie. 00:15:14.630 --> 00:15:17.840 align:middle line:84% Paulie, like many of the people on the streets-- 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:21.140 align:middle line:84% I've come to learn it's over a third 00:15:21.140 --> 00:15:22.640 align:middle line:84% of the people on the street suffer 00:15:22.640 --> 00:15:25.800 align:middle line:84% from various types of mental illness. 00:15:25.800 --> 00:15:29.570 align:middle line:84% I think, in some communities, that percentage is much higher. 00:15:29.570 --> 00:15:34.450 align:middle line:84% Paulie would just start screaming randomly, and Owen 00:15:34.450 --> 00:15:36.410 align:middle line:84% and told me that, no matter what he 00:15:36.410 --> 00:15:40.290 align:middle line:84% was given, whether it was money, pizza, cigarettes, 00:15:40.290 --> 00:15:42.410 align:middle line:84% whatever, he would share it with Paulie, 00:15:42.410 --> 00:15:46.130 align:middle line:84% and I often wonder what the plight would 00:15:46.130 --> 00:15:47.840 align:middle line:84% be of some of the folks on the streets 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:52.840 align:middle line:84% if it wasn't for the people looking out for them. 00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:56.050 align:middle line:84% This was a man I met in San Francisco whose name was Neal. 00:15:56.050 --> 00:16:00.730 align:middle line:84% His homeless sign was written on an envelope from the VA. 00:16:00.730 --> 00:16:02.450 align:middle line:90% He was a veteran. 00:16:02.450 --> 00:16:05.680 align:middle line:84% His wife had recently passed away. 00:16:05.680 --> 00:16:08.390 align:middle line:84% When I asked if I could take a photo of him, 00:16:08.390 --> 00:16:13.420 align:middle line:84% he wanted me to show him holding this booklet he had of music. 00:16:13.420 --> 00:16:17.830 align:middle line:84% Apparently, he was writing, I think it was an opera, 00:16:17.830 --> 00:16:19.510 align:middle line:84% and I don't know anything about music, 00:16:19.510 --> 00:16:21.190 align:middle line:90% so I couldn't evaluate it. 00:16:21.190 --> 00:16:26.680 align:middle line:84% But he and I walked together probably for 20 minutes or so. 00:16:26.680 --> 00:16:29.830 align:middle line:84% He was toting an oxygen tank with him. 00:16:29.830 --> 00:16:35.260 align:middle line:84% And, yeah, I'll just never forget that cool San Francisco 00:16:35.260 --> 00:16:38.080 align:middle line:90% evening, walking with him. 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:39.940 align:middle line:84% This was a young man I met in Denver 00:16:39.940 --> 00:16:42.460 align:middle line:90% whose name was Chaz Kyle. 00:16:42.460 --> 00:16:44.710 align:middle line:84% He was hanging out with a friend of his, 00:16:44.710 --> 00:16:48.820 align:middle line:84% who you will see later in a clip as well. 00:16:48.820 --> 00:16:53.590 align:middle line:84% And they did not want much of the interview 00:16:53.590 --> 00:16:55.780 align:middle line:84% to be on camera, because they were telling us 00:16:55.780 --> 00:16:58.030 align:middle line:84% about life hopping trains, which was 00:16:58.030 --> 00:17:01.270 align:middle line:84% another subculture that I've come to learn a little bit 00:17:01.270 --> 00:17:03.490 align:middle line:90% about. 00:17:03.490 --> 00:17:07.450 align:middle line:84% Dinell, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I think, 00:17:07.450 --> 00:17:10.300 align:middle line:84% was the oldest person I bought a sign from. 00:17:10.300 --> 00:17:13.480 align:middle line:84% At the time, she was 78 years old. 00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:15.849 align:middle line:84% She was living in a park with her son 00:17:15.849 --> 00:17:19.000 align:middle line:84% and two, cats and the main reason 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:22.359 align:middle line:84% she said she was living outdoors was 00:17:22.359 --> 00:17:26.170 align:middle line:84% there were no shelters in Albuquerque that 00:17:26.170 --> 00:17:28.480 align:middle line:90% allowed for pets. 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:31.240 align:middle line:84% And in the documentary, she talks 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:35.110 align:middle line:84% about wanting to start her own organization, 00:17:35.110 --> 00:17:38.860 align:middle line:84% called "Pets with People," that would allow people with pets 00:17:38.860 --> 00:17:43.800 align:middle line:84% to have a place to stay who are on the streets. 00:17:43.800 --> 00:17:48.300 align:middle line:84% I met Michael in Omaha, probably one of the people 00:17:48.300 --> 00:17:51.210 align:middle line:84% who had the biggest emotional impact on me. 00:17:51.210 --> 00:17:54.220 align:middle line:90% Part of it was he had one leg. 00:17:54.220 --> 00:17:56.670 align:middle line:84% He was a veteran, a Vietnam veteran. 00:17:56.670 --> 00:18:00.220 align:middle line:84% He told me a little bit about that experience. 00:18:00.220 --> 00:18:02.250 align:middle line:84% He also was on the street with a group 00:18:02.250 --> 00:18:07.660 align:middle line:84% of people who were sharing resources with each other. 00:18:07.660 --> 00:18:09.330 align:middle line:84% And while we were filming, he had 00:18:09.330 --> 00:18:13.770 align:middle line:84% to adjust his prosthetic leg, and there 00:18:13.770 --> 00:18:16.620 align:middle line:84% was something about just the connection I had with him 00:18:16.620 --> 00:18:20.290 align:middle line:90% that really stirred me up. 00:18:20.290 --> 00:18:22.280 align:middle line:84% My wife passed away of breast cancer. 00:18:22.280 --> 00:18:23.665 align:middle line:90% I had no insurance. 00:18:23.665 --> 00:18:26.080 align:middle line:84% i couldn't keep the mortgage up, and it was just 00:18:26.080 --> 00:18:26.853 align:middle line:90% a matter of time. 00:18:26.853 --> 00:18:28.270 align:middle line:84% You know, you wake up one morning, 00:18:28.270 --> 00:18:31.000 align:middle line:84% and you've got the sheriff putting the tape on your door, 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:32.800 align:middle line:90% saying you have to leave today. 00:18:32.800 --> 00:18:35.440 align:middle line:84% I'm just so thankful my children are grown, because, you know, 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:38.590 align:middle line:84% what would I do out here if I had my three boys 00:18:38.590 --> 00:18:41.230 align:middle line:84% and they were still eight, nine, and 10 years old. 00:18:41.230 --> 00:18:42.010 align:middle line:90% What would I do? 00:18:42.010 --> 00:18:42.830 align:middle line:90% 00:18:42.830 --> 00:18:44.240 align:middle line:84% Yeah, I feel like there's no end. 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:45.400 align:middle line:90% I mean, I know there is. 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:47.620 align:middle line:84% Some days you feel hopeless, some days you don't. 00:18:47.620 --> 00:18:49.990 align:middle line:84% My philosophy on life is, if you wake up, 00:18:49.990 --> 00:18:52.792 align:middle line:84% that should be the hardest part of your day, when you wake up. 00:18:52.792 --> 00:18:54.250 align:middle line:84% The rest of the day should be easy, 00:18:54.250 --> 00:18:57.730 align:middle line:84% because the good Lord is giving you another day to do whatever. 00:18:57.730 --> 00:18:58.270 align:middle line:90% 00:18:58.270 --> 00:19:00.700 align:middle line:84% Yeah, there's days you feel hopeless and trapped, 00:19:00.700 --> 00:19:02.980 align:middle line:84% but then there's days you feel hope, 00:19:02.980 --> 00:19:05.380 align:middle line:84% and you think that maybe you're going to turn the corner. 00:19:05.380 --> 00:19:07.170 align:middle line:90% 00:19:07.170 --> 00:19:09.450 align:middle line:84% I like to show that clip of Robert 00:19:09.450 --> 00:19:12.390 align:middle line:84% because, in a lot of ways, he represented 00:19:12.390 --> 00:19:15.840 align:middle line:84% a pretty typical encounter with older men 00:19:15.840 --> 00:19:18.930 align:middle line:90% that I met on the street. 00:19:18.930 --> 00:19:20.040 align:middle line:90% This is Cheryl. 00:19:20.040 --> 00:19:25.230 align:middle line:84% I met Cheryl in Detroit, and when I drove up to her, 00:19:25.230 --> 00:19:28.215 align:middle line:84% she was sitting on a milk crate, holding her sign. 00:19:28.215 --> 00:19:31.080 align:middle line:90% 00:19:31.080 --> 00:19:34.170 align:middle line:84% When I asked if I could buy her sign, like a lot of people, 00:19:34.170 --> 00:19:36.360 align:middle line:84% she was a little skeptical at first, 00:19:36.360 --> 00:19:38.430 align:middle line:84% like, why do you want my sign, and I told her 00:19:38.430 --> 00:19:40.140 align:middle line:90% it was for an art project. 00:19:40.140 --> 00:19:42.120 align:middle line:90% She asked how much. 00:19:42.120 --> 00:19:44.010 align:middle line:84% I said, "How much would you sell it for?" 00:19:44.010 --> 00:19:48.420 align:middle line:84% She kind of eyed me up and down and said, "$15." 00:19:48.420 --> 00:19:52.560 align:middle line:84% And when I said, "Sure," and I handed her the $15, 00:19:52.560 --> 00:19:56.280 align:middle line:84% she reached into the car and hugged my neck. 00:19:56.280 --> 00:19:58.680 align:middle line:84% And to this day, its the first and only person 00:19:58.680 --> 00:20:00.886 align:middle line:90% who has ever done that. 00:20:00.886 --> 00:20:03.060 align:middle line:84% I was grateful we got to interview her 00:20:03.060 --> 00:20:04.080 align:middle line:90% for the documentary. 00:20:04.080 --> 00:20:09.750 align:middle line:84% She was very authentic, and she talked about the hustle 00:20:09.750 --> 00:20:12.640 align:middle line:90% of being on the street. 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:16.450 align:middle line:84% This is the man, Michael, whose sign I was mentioning earlier, 00:20:16.450 --> 00:20:17.950 align:middle line:90% from Las Vegas. 00:20:17.950 --> 00:20:22.210 align:middle line:84% Michael struck me as somebody who could be a movie star. 00:20:22.210 --> 00:20:24.770 align:middle line:84% He just had a beautiful presence about him. 00:20:24.770 --> 00:20:28.900 align:middle line:84% He was very soft-spoken, very, very dirty. 00:20:28.900 --> 00:20:33.940 align:middle line:84% Clearly, hadn't been able to clean himself in a long time, 00:20:33.940 --> 00:20:38.800 align:middle line:84% but very thoughtful, and I was really grateful 00:20:38.800 --> 00:20:43.510 align:middle line:84% that he was willing to talk to us on camera for this. 00:20:43.510 --> 00:20:47.710 align:middle line:84% The youngest person that we met on this trip with a sign 00:20:47.710 --> 00:20:50.770 align:middle line:84% was Elli, who is in the front here. 00:20:50.770 --> 00:20:52.810 align:middle line:90% She's Romanian. 00:20:52.810 --> 00:20:55.100 align:middle line:84% She was a refugee with her family. 00:20:55.100 --> 00:20:57.190 align:middle line:84% They were trying to get asylum, so that she 00:20:57.190 --> 00:20:59.890 align:middle line:90% can stay here and go to school. 00:20:59.890 --> 00:21:01.930 align:middle line:84% Unfortunately, that didn't work out, 00:21:01.930 --> 00:21:06.520 align:middle line:84% and she since has had to go back to Romania, 00:21:06.520 --> 00:21:08.110 align:middle line:90% now has two children. 00:21:08.110 --> 00:21:12.490 align:middle line:84% I am in touch with her every so often, through Facebook, 00:21:12.490 --> 00:21:13.600 align:middle line:90% mostly. 00:21:13.600 --> 00:21:17.710 align:middle line:84% And the last time I heard from her, 00:21:17.710 --> 00:21:20.920 align:middle line:84% she was back in the United States, in Florida, 00:21:20.920 --> 00:21:26.500 align:middle line:84% and is still trying to find a way to get an education. 00:21:26.500 --> 00:21:28.640 align:middle line:84% At this time, she was in Baltimore, 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:31.810 align:middle line:84% and we spent quite a bit of time talking to her, 00:21:31.810 --> 00:21:36.370 align:middle line:84% and the woman to her left was sort of looking out 00:21:36.370 --> 00:21:38.590 align:middle line:90% for her on the streets. 00:21:38.590 --> 00:21:43.810 align:middle line:84% But Ellli spoke five languages, just blew me away 00:21:43.810 --> 00:21:48.910 align:middle line:84% at how intelligent and how full of promise that she was. 00:21:48.910 --> 00:21:53.440 align:middle line:84% The last person that I'll show you from this trip was Nigel. 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:57.130 align:middle line:84% We met him on the very last day of our trip in New York City. 00:21:57.130 --> 00:21:58.930 align:middle line:84% He had been displaced to New York 00:21:58.930 --> 00:22:03.340 align:middle line:84% from Louisiana because of Hurricane Katrina. 00:22:03.340 --> 00:22:06.670 align:middle line:90% He wants to be a journalist. 00:22:06.670 --> 00:22:08.890 align:middle line:84% And just a really sweet young man. 00:22:08.890 --> 00:22:13.510 align:middle line:84% He's another person who I've stayed a little bit in touch 00:22:13.510 --> 00:22:16.450 align:middle line:90% with, you know, in a spotty way. 00:22:16.450 --> 00:22:18.940 align:middle line:84% I will get an email from him every so often. 00:22:18.940 --> 00:22:21.670 align:middle line:84% He was in Philadelphia a couple of years ago, 00:22:21.670 --> 00:22:25.660 align:middle line:84% and the last time I heard from him, he was back in New York. 00:22:25.660 --> 00:22:29.020 align:middle line:84% I've tried to arrange to meet him in New York, 00:22:29.020 --> 00:22:31.480 align:middle line:84% but that hadn't happened again since I 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:35.140 align:middle line:90% bought his sign in 2014. 00:22:35.140 --> 00:22:39.040 align:middle line:84% The part of the project that I want to talk about the most 00:22:39.040 --> 00:22:41.290 align:middle line:84% was the part that has surprised me, 00:22:41.290 --> 00:22:43.600 align:middle line:84% and that's the ripples, the impact, 00:22:43.600 --> 00:22:48.130 align:middle line:84% the effect that it has had not just on me, but on people 00:22:48.130 --> 00:22:51.190 align:middle line:84% that I've encountered, and that's showed up 00:22:51.190 --> 00:22:54.400 align:middle line:84% in lots of different ways, large and small. 00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:59.170 align:middle line:84% And part of the reason I share this is, often, with students 00:22:59.170 --> 00:23:02.920 align:middle line:84% and with other folks, I am often trying 00:23:02.920 --> 00:23:06.490 align:middle line:84% to get people to realize that, no matter 00:23:06.490 --> 00:23:11.350 align:middle line:84% how strange your idea might be, whatever creative impulse you 00:23:11.350 --> 00:23:15.460 align:middle line:84% have, I want to nurture that in people, because I think 00:23:15.460 --> 00:23:20.560 align:middle line:84% it might surprise a lot of folks as to the kind of impact 00:23:20.560 --> 00:23:22.150 align:middle line:90% they might have. 00:23:22.150 --> 00:23:24.610 align:middle line:84% One of those ways has clearly been 00:23:24.610 --> 00:23:29.530 align:middle line:84% doing exhibits, which I've done all over the country 00:23:29.530 --> 00:23:34.270 align:middle line:84% and the UK, and I'm in the process 00:23:34.270 --> 00:23:37.510 align:middle line:84% of putting a presentation just of all the exhibits together. 00:23:37.510 --> 00:23:41.560 align:middle line:84% I think it's between 60 and 70 so far. 00:23:41.560 --> 00:23:47.080 align:middle line:84% These are a few of the ones that I am sharing right now. 00:23:47.080 --> 00:23:50.950 align:middle line:84% In the lower left, you see the Anchorage Museum. 00:23:50.950 --> 00:23:54.460 align:middle line:84% That was the most recent one, right before COVID, 00:23:54.460 --> 00:23:58.960 align:middle line:84% and I'll show some images of that later on. 00:23:58.960 --> 00:24:03.640 align:middle line:84% This is a stop motion from the single exhibit 00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:06.310 align:middle line:90% that had the most viewers. 00:24:06.310 --> 00:24:11.680 align:middle line:84% Over 300,000 people went through this exhibit in Michigan 00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:13.040 align:middle line:90% a couple of years back. 00:24:13.040 --> 00:24:16.150 align:middle line:84% And, as you can see, it's an awkward place to do an exhibit. 00:24:16.150 --> 00:24:19.780 align:middle line:84% There were all sorts of things in the hallway 00:24:19.780 --> 00:24:22.510 align:middle line:84% of this convention center, but it's the biggest 00:24:22.510 --> 00:24:24.950 align:middle line:90% in terms of audience. 00:24:24.950 --> 00:24:29.680 align:middle line:84% The other aspect of impact has come through media. 00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:32.800 align:middle line:84% A lot of this really took off while we were 00:24:32.800 --> 00:24:34.900 align:middle line:90% traveling across the country. 00:24:34.900 --> 00:24:39.340 align:middle line:84% We started to get contacted in almost every city 00:24:39.340 --> 00:24:41.200 align:middle line:90% that we arrived in. 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:43.090 align:middle line:84% People wanted to follow us around 00:24:43.090 --> 00:24:46.180 align:middle line:84% or write about the project as we were buying signs. 00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:49.090 align:middle line:84% Sometimes it was a TV station, or radio station, 00:24:49.090 --> 00:24:50.740 align:middle line:90% or a newspaper. 00:24:50.740 --> 00:24:52.930 align:middle line:84% And about halfway through the trip, 00:24:52.930 --> 00:24:54.880 align:middle line:84% I believe we were in Minneapolis, 00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:56.650 align:middle line:84% one of the stories that was written 00:24:56.650 --> 00:24:58.960 align:middle line:84% got picked up by the Associated Press, 00:24:58.960 --> 00:25:04.210 align:middle line:84% and that just exponentially drove attention 00:25:04.210 --> 00:25:05.840 align:middle line:90% all over the country. 00:25:05.840 --> 00:25:07.510 align:middle line:84% I think, at that point, that story 00:25:07.510 --> 00:25:11.680 align:middle line:84% was featured in 4,000 different outlets across the country. 00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:14.900 align:middle line:84% We were on the front page of Reddit for a period of time, 00:25:14.900 --> 00:25:16.420 align:middle line:84% which I didn't know what that meant, 00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:18.550 align:middle line:84% but my students were blowing up my phone 00:25:18.550 --> 00:25:22.180 align:middle line:84% to tell me that that was a big deal. 00:25:22.180 --> 00:25:28.000 align:middle line:84% And as we continued, one of the things that happened was I 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:31.540 align:middle line:84% did an interview on All Things Considered for NPR, 00:25:31.540 --> 00:25:35.680 align:middle line:84% and a woman based in Philadelphia 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:37.780 align:middle line:90% happened to hear that interview. 00:25:37.780 --> 00:25:39.100 align:middle line:90% She contacted me. 00:25:39.100 --> 00:25:44.660 align:middle line:84% It turns out she is the head of public health at UPenn, 00:25:44.660 --> 00:25:46.560 align:middle line:90% at the time. 00:25:46.560 --> 00:25:48.710 align:middle line:90% And so we collaborated. 00:25:48.710 --> 00:25:53.540 align:middle line:84% She asked if I would send her a PDF of the signs. 00:25:53.540 --> 00:25:57.620 align:middle line:84% She wanted to do a research project anecdotally 00:25:57.620 --> 00:26:01.340 align:middle line:84% analyzing the content of the signs, which she did, 00:26:01.340 --> 00:26:05.480 align:middle line:84% and then that was subsequently published in the American 00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:07.730 align:middle line:90% Journal of Public Health. 00:26:07.730 --> 00:26:09.500 align:middle line:90% She and I became good friends. 00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:13.610 align:middle line:84% We did a number of projects together. 00:26:13.610 --> 00:26:15.980 align:middle line:84% The next research thing that was published 00:26:15.980 --> 00:26:18.200 align:middle line:90% was just this past year. 00:26:18.200 --> 00:26:21.620 align:middle line:84% I went to meet with her and her grad students. 00:26:21.620 --> 00:26:24.470 align:middle line:84% Now she's the head of public health at Thomas Jefferson 00:26:24.470 --> 00:26:26.960 align:middle line:90% University in Philadelphia. 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:30.590 align:middle line:84% And we did a week-long project with her grad students 00:26:30.590 --> 00:26:34.400 align:middle line:84% buying signs, and then I would introduce the person 00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:37.820 align:middle line:84% that I bought the sign from to the grad students, 00:26:37.820 --> 00:26:41.540 align:middle line:84% and if they gave permission, they did an interview 00:26:41.540 --> 00:26:44.180 align:middle line:84% with them, and they were putting research together 00:26:44.180 --> 00:26:47.660 align:middle line:84% about, specifically, the problem of homelessness 00:26:47.660 --> 00:26:49.550 align:middle line:90% in Philadelphia. 00:26:49.550 --> 00:26:52.100 align:middle line:84% They have published an article under the title 00:26:52.100 --> 00:26:55.280 align:middle line:84% "Even a Smile Helps," which was based on this sign 00:26:55.280 --> 00:26:57.410 align:middle line:84% that you see right here, and the article 00:26:57.410 --> 00:26:59.240 align:middle line:84% has been published in the International 00:26:59.240 --> 00:27:02.570 align:middle line:90% Journal of Social Psychiatry. 00:27:02.570 --> 00:27:08.030 align:middle line:84% I'm currently working with Dr. Rosie Frasso and her colleagues 00:27:08.030 --> 00:27:11.810 align:middle line:84% about another project that's going to hopefully happen 00:27:11.810 --> 00:27:18.320 align:middle line:84% in the spring of 2022, and we are 00:27:18.320 --> 00:27:20.570 align:middle line:84% going to try to do another project that 00:27:20.570 --> 00:27:24.770 align:middle line:84% is going to research and track how empathy 00:27:24.770 --> 00:27:28.340 align:middle line:84% changes in students when they are working on projects 00:27:28.340 --> 00:27:30.540 align:middle line:90% like this. 00:27:30.540 --> 00:27:35.240 align:middle line:84% I am not a researcher, although I've now gotten coauthor credit 00:27:35.240 --> 00:27:38.960 align:middle line:84% on these research projects, and I've 00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:44.480 align:middle line:84% grown to really appreciate how research can impact things 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:51.800 align:middle line:84% and how art and science can come together to make a difference. 00:27:51.800 --> 00:27:54.380 align:middle line:84% Rosie and I spoke at a public health conference 00:27:54.380 --> 00:27:57.800 align:middle line:90% during COVID in San Antonio. 00:27:57.800 --> 00:28:01.130 align:middle line:84% It was March of 2020, so it was early days of COVID, 00:28:01.130 --> 00:28:02.990 align:middle line:84% but I never thought I would be speaking 00:28:02.990 --> 00:28:06.140 align:middle line:84% to a bunch of future doctors and people 00:28:06.140 --> 00:28:09.590 align:middle line:90% in that space about this work. 00:28:09.590 --> 00:28:16.930 align:middle line:84% But I realize now that there are ripples that I can't predict. 00:28:16.930 --> 00:28:20.410 align:middle line:84% One of the other ripples that I wasn't able to predict 00:28:20.410 --> 00:28:25.240 align:middle line:84% has been the way the media attention has generated 00:28:25.240 --> 00:28:27.520 align:middle line:90% a number of viral videos. 00:28:27.520 --> 00:28:31.780 align:middle line:84% One of the things that was uploaded by Upworthy 00:28:31.780 --> 00:28:34.430 align:middle line:90% has over 6.4 million views. 00:28:34.430 --> 00:28:37.090 align:middle line:84% It's a short, two-and-a-half minute video. 00:28:37.090 --> 00:28:43.180 align:middle line:84% That was noticed by the company Brut, which is based in France. 00:28:43.180 --> 00:28:46.780 align:middle line:84% They published it in both English and French, 00:28:46.780 --> 00:28:50.320 align:middle line:90% on Instagram and Facebook. 00:28:50.320 --> 00:28:53.260 align:middle line:84% This particular one that is subtitled in French 00:28:53.260 --> 00:28:56.330 align:middle line:90% had over 1.4 million views. 00:28:56.330 --> 00:28:59.890 align:middle line:84% And then I was contacted by a Russian media company called 00:28:59.890 --> 00:29:05.320 align:middle line:84% TOK, which publishes a lot of, I think, public interest, 00:29:05.320 --> 00:29:07.420 align:middle line:90% feel good type stories. 00:29:07.420 --> 00:29:11.110 align:middle line:84% I still don't know what any of these subtitles mean, 00:29:11.110 --> 00:29:14.620 align:middle line:84% but they've also published their own edited version 00:29:14.620 --> 00:29:21.580 align:middle line:84% of this story on Instagram, and it's also gone viral. 00:29:21.580 --> 00:29:25.300 align:middle line:84% Our film, as Rebecca mentioned, was released. 00:29:25.300 --> 00:29:27.250 align:middle line:90% It was premiered in Dallas. 00:29:27.250 --> 00:29:32.500 align:middle line:84% We went through this film festival experience. 00:29:32.500 --> 00:29:34.480 align:middle line:84% All of this was new for me as part 00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:36.650 align:middle line:90% of my own creative process. 00:29:36.650 --> 00:29:38.890 align:middle line:84% Even though I had a background in advertising, 00:29:38.890 --> 00:29:42.940 align:middle line:84% and had made commercials and things like that before, 00:29:42.940 --> 00:29:46.180 align:middle line:84% I'd never been part of editing a feature-length film, 00:29:46.180 --> 00:29:49.300 align:middle line:84% and certainly didn't really know anything about the film 00:29:49.300 --> 00:29:50.920 align:middle line:90% festival experience. 00:29:50.920 --> 00:29:53.230 align:middle line:84% But, again, it was another chance for me 00:29:53.230 --> 00:29:56.290 align:middle line:84% to meet people in different locations. 00:29:56.290 --> 00:29:59.470 align:middle line:84% But I think my favorite kind of ripple 00:29:59.470 --> 00:30:02.410 align:middle line:84% is doing what I'm doing now on Zoom, 00:30:02.410 --> 00:30:06.400 align:middle line:84% but it is speaking to groups and getting 00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:12.610 align:middle line:84% to let them hold a sign for the first time, 00:30:12.610 --> 00:30:16.420 align:middle line:84% ask questions, talk about their own experiences, 00:30:16.420 --> 00:30:21.250 align:middle line:84% and I've been blessed to get to speak to groups of students 00:30:21.250 --> 00:30:28.630 align:middle line:84% of all ages, policemen, a Buddhist young adult 00:30:28.630 --> 00:30:33.820 align:middle line:84% conference that happened to be held in Dallas, Texas, just 00:30:33.820 --> 00:30:36.490 align:middle line:84% professional groups, just all sorts of groups, 00:30:36.490 --> 00:30:38.950 align:middle line:84% and I try, if I can work it into my schedule, 00:30:38.950 --> 00:30:41.470 align:middle line:90% I say yes to everybody. 00:30:41.470 --> 00:30:43.780 align:middle line:90% Sometimes the ripples are small. 00:30:43.780 --> 00:30:48.250 align:middle line:84% I was doing an artist talk at a big, fancy building in Downtown 00:30:48.250 --> 00:30:53.800 align:middle line:84% Dallas, and this man showed up wearing a US Marine Corps 00:30:53.800 --> 00:30:54.700 align:middle line:90% baseball cap. 00:30:54.700 --> 00:30:59.350 align:middle line:84% He was not your typical art talk person. 00:30:59.350 --> 00:31:04.240 align:middle line:84% And at the end of the talk, he started to ask a question, 00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:06.880 align:middle line:84% and then just broke down in tears, 00:31:06.880 --> 00:31:10.450 align:middle line:84% and we had a lot of trouble understanding him. 00:31:10.450 --> 00:31:16.100 align:middle line:84% Later that night, he sent me this message on Facebook. 00:31:16.100 --> 00:31:18.670 align:middle line:84% "I am the Vietnam Marine that spoke to you tonight 00:31:18.670 --> 00:31:19.480 align:middle line:90% at your talk. 00:31:19.480 --> 00:31:22.510 align:middle line:84% I'm not sure if I could be heard when I spoke. 00:31:22.510 --> 00:31:26.140 align:middle line:84% Seeing your collage of signs was a startling experience for me. 00:31:26.140 --> 00:31:29.200 align:middle line:84% I just stared at it and cried for 30 minutes. 00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:32.140 align:middle line:84% It gave me a place to attach some of my angst, 00:31:32.140 --> 00:31:34.630 align:middle line:90% and it helped me heal a little. 00:31:34.630 --> 00:31:37.150 align:middle line:84% I find you to be personally just as moving. 00:31:37.150 --> 00:31:39.610 align:middle line:84% Thank you, sir, for helping make the voices 00:31:39.610 --> 00:31:44.020 align:middle line:84% in the wilderness a bit easier for the world to hear." 00:31:44.020 --> 00:31:48.550 align:middle line:84% I've also learned that about 11% of the people on the street 00:31:48.550 --> 00:31:49.690 align:middle line:90% are veterans. 00:31:49.690 --> 00:31:54.520 align:middle line:84% The fastest-growing segment of homeless 00:31:54.520 --> 00:31:56.320 align:middle line:84% on the streets in the United States 00:31:56.320 --> 00:31:59.380 align:middle line:90% happens to be female veterans. 00:31:59.380 --> 00:32:03.220 align:middle line:84% So I've unwittingly become a student of this cause, 00:32:03.220 --> 00:32:07.840 align:middle line:84% and continue to learn a lot about that. 00:32:07.840 --> 00:32:14.560 align:middle line:84% Some other ripples, this is an exhibit that was in Indiana, 00:32:14.560 --> 00:32:18.790 align:middle line:84% and I was sent photos when classes were there, 00:32:18.790 --> 00:32:21.290 align:middle line:90% looking at the exhibit. 00:32:21.290 --> 00:32:24.470 align:middle line:84% My good friend Lisa, in the red sweatshirt here, 00:32:24.470 --> 00:32:27.680 align:middle line:84% mentors a bunch of young women here in Dallas, Texas, 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:30.560 align:middle line:84% and every year, I speak to them, and, sometimes, 00:32:30.560 --> 00:32:32.030 align:middle line:90% we'll watch the documentary. 00:32:32.030 --> 00:32:37.850 align:middle line:84% But it's a small group, but very touching for me 00:32:37.850 --> 00:32:43.250 align:middle line:84% to be able to see these young girls of very different 00:32:43.250 --> 00:32:47.030 align:middle line:90% backgrounds connect to this. 00:32:47.030 --> 00:32:54.440 align:middle line:84% One of the largest groups of students that I brought signs 00:32:54.440 --> 00:32:58.250 align:middle line:84% for was this high school in South Texas, 00:32:58.250 --> 00:33:04.310 align:middle line:84% and I think I had over 400 signs in my Prius at the time, 00:33:04.310 --> 00:33:06.800 align:middle line:84% in the middle of a hot Texas summer. 00:33:06.800 --> 00:33:09.680 align:middle line:84% One of the things that I've also come to realize 00:33:09.680 --> 00:33:15.020 align:middle line:84% is the smell that is baked into a lot of these signs, which 00:33:15.020 --> 00:33:20.090 align:middle line:84% has to do with human sweat, and cigarette smoke, and pizza 00:33:20.090 --> 00:33:25.010 align:middle line:84% juice from a pizza box, that it fills my car, 00:33:25.010 --> 00:33:27.950 align:middle line:84% and my car permanently has a certain smell to it, 00:33:27.950 --> 00:33:31.700 align:middle line:84% because I am often carrying signs around. 00:33:31.700 --> 00:33:34.880 align:middle line:84% But it's one of the reminders of the humanity 00:33:34.880 --> 00:33:39.120 align:middle line:84% of the people behind the signs, and I'm grateful for it. 00:33:39.120 --> 00:33:41.900 align:middle line:90% It reminds me of that. 00:33:41.900 --> 00:33:44.340 align:middle line:84% Also, in the lower left-hand corner, 00:33:44.340 --> 00:33:47.090 align:middle line:84% you can see the young blonde woman, 00:33:47.090 --> 00:33:51.200 align:middle line:84% right above the L in the word "lay." 00:33:51.200 --> 00:33:54.500 align:middle line:84% She was a junior in high school at the time. 00:33:54.500 --> 00:33:57.290 align:middle line:84% Afterwards, she and I took a selfie together. 00:33:57.290 --> 00:34:01.430 align:middle line:84% And two semesters ago, she was in my class at SMU, 00:34:01.430 --> 00:34:06.470 align:middle line:84% and reminded me that she had been there and sent that selfie 00:34:06.470 --> 00:34:14.090 align:middle line:84% to me, and just, again, another strange ripple that I really 00:34:14.090 --> 00:34:16.010 align:middle line:90% appreciate. 00:34:16.010 --> 00:34:22.380 align:middle line:84% I was mentioned in a tweet from a high school in the UK, 00:34:22.380 --> 00:34:25.820 align:middle line:84% which was saying their students were studying issues associated 00:34:25.820 --> 00:34:29.000 align:middle line:84% with homelessness, and they cited Henry Moore, Leonardo da 00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:33.139 align:middle line:84% Vinci, and me as inspiration, which a lot of my art friends, 00:34:33.139 --> 00:34:35.480 align:middle line:90% of course, gave me grief for. 00:34:35.480 --> 00:34:39.515 align:middle line:84% But it was amazing, because I went to their website 00:34:39.515 --> 00:34:42.590 align:middle line:84% and got to see some of their student projects 00:34:42.590 --> 00:34:45.290 align:middle line:84% that were, in some cases, drawing 00:34:45.290 --> 00:34:49.110 align:middle line:84% hands and feet of the unhoused, in some cases, 00:34:49.110 --> 00:34:52.219 align:middle line:84% doing things with cardboard to make sculptures, 00:34:52.219 --> 00:34:56.810 align:middle line:84% and I had no idea where this school was 00:34:56.810 --> 00:35:00.740 align:middle line:84% or anything, and yet another reminder 00:35:00.740 --> 00:35:04.460 align:middle line:84% that there's so many unintended ripples that I think 00:35:04.460 --> 00:35:06.420 align:middle line:90% are important. 00:35:06.420 --> 00:35:09.830 align:middle line:84% One of the things that I brought to the college where I teach 00:35:09.830 --> 00:35:15.050 align:middle line:84% is we're about to do our third annual march across campus, 00:35:15.050 --> 00:35:20.300 align:middle line:84% which usually is an event where we make blessing bags that we 00:35:20.300 --> 00:35:22.580 align:middle line:84% give to people to put in their cars 00:35:22.580 --> 00:35:24.870 align:middle line:90% to hand out on the streets. 00:35:24.870 --> 00:35:27.860 align:middle line:84% We have a series of speakers, typically 00:35:27.860 --> 00:35:32.540 align:middle line:84% some from local organizations that deal with the homeless, 00:35:32.540 --> 00:35:37.250 align:middle line:84% and then we march silently in single file across campus, 00:35:37.250 --> 00:35:42.230 align:middle line:84% just as an awareness raising event. 00:35:42.230 --> 00:35:46.520 align:middle line:84% And this was from the first year that we did it. 00:35:46.520 --> 00:35:54.920 align:middle line:84% And, you know, I teach at an incredibly lucrative-- 00:35:54.920 --> 00:35:59.150 align:middle line:84% most of our students are fairly privileged. 00:35:59.150 --> 00:36:01.070 align:middle line:84% Not all of them, and, typically, I 00:36:01.070 --> 00:36:05.900 align:middle line:84% have at least one speaker who is a student at SMU who 00:36:05.900 --> 00:36:08.600 align:middle line:84% has experienced homelessness, and I've already 00:36:08.600 --> 00:36:10.200 align:middle line:84% had a couple of students volunteer 00:36:10.200 --> 00:36:12.290 align:middle line:84% to speak at this upcoming march, which is 00:36:12.290 --> 00:36:15.380 align:middle line:90% going to be November the 20th. 00:36:15.380 --> 00:36:19.170 align:middle line:84% And then, last year, we did this in COVID, which was, 00:36:19.170 --> 00:36:20.840 align:middle line:84% of course, a bit of a challenge, but I'm 00:36:20.840 --> 00:36:24.110 align:middle line:84% going to show you a short video that one of my other students 00:36:24.110 --> 00:36:27.480 align:middle line:84% shot and edited of our second march. 00:36:27.480 --> 00:36:29.117 align:middle line:90% 00:36:29.117 --> 00:37:27.004 align:middle line:90% [INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING] 00:37:27.004 --> 00:37:28.970 align:middle line:90% 00:37:28.970 --> 00:37:32.480 align:middle line:84% And I'm very much looking forward to the upcoming march. 00:37:32.480 --> 00:37:34.010 align:middle line:84% I think there are a lot of students 00:37:34.010 --> 00:37:36.710 align:middle line:84% who weren't able to participate during COVID, 00:37:36.710 --> 00:37:39.500 align:middle line:84% and we've already gotten interest from a lot 00:37:39.500 --> 00:37:44.240 align:middle line:84% more student groups, sororities, the human rights organization, 00:37:44.240 --> 00:37:48.610 align:middle line:84% and other organizations, like Mustang Heroes. 00:37:48.610 --> 00:37:52.490 align:middle line:84% So I'm looking forward to having a lot more students join us 00:37:52.490 --> 00:37:56.190 align:middle line:84% for this march, as well as people in the community. 00:37:56.190 --> 00:37:59.210 align:middle line:84% This is an image that I'm sharing which, 00:37:59.210 --> 00:38:04.430 align:middle line:84% another unexpected ripple for me was that a group in Boston, 00:38:04.430 --> 00:38:08.480 align:middle line:84% or just outside of Boston, a high school theater group 00:38:08.480 --> 00:38:10.700 align:middle line:84% was putting on a production of Rent, 00:38:10.700 --> 00:38:17.240 align:middle line:84% and they asked if I would do an installation at a gallery that 00:38:17.240 --> 00:38:19.730 align:middle line:84% was adjacent to the theater where 00:38:19.730 --> 00:38:21.140 align:middle line:90% they were doing the production. 00:38:21.140 --> 00:38:24.680 align:middle line:84% I said sure, and before it was over with, 00:38:24.680 --> 00:38:27.770 align:middle line:84% the students had asked if they could use some of the signs 00:38:27.770 --> 00:38:28.610 align:middle line:90% on the set. 00:38:28.610 --> 00:38:31.940 align:middle line:84% And this is actually on the night of the production 00:38:31.940 --> 00:38:34.190 align:middle line:84% that I got to attend, and you can 00:38:34.190 --> 00:38:37.550 align:middle line:84% see that signs were used in the set 00:38:37.550 --> 00:38:39.860 align:middle line:90% of their production of Rent. 00:38:39.860 --> 00:38:45.200 align:middle line:84% I was really moved by their level of skill 00:38:45.200 --> 00:38:48.500 align:middle line:84% and their singing ability, and they also 00:38:48.500 --> 00:38:50.780 align:middle line:84% allowed me to go to one of their rehearsals, 00:38:50.780 --> 00:38:53.990 align:middle line:84% and I'm going to show you a short clip that I shot 00:38:53.990 --> 00:38:59.790 align:middle line:84% on my iPhone at the rehearsal, which, if you listen closely, 00:38:59.790 --> 00:39:01.880 align:middle line:84% you can hear me sniffling toward the end of it, 00:39:01.880 --> 00:39:05.579 align:middle line:90% because they moved me to tears. 00:39:05.579 --> 00:39:20.210 align:middle line:84% [MUSIC - JONATHAN LARSON, "SEASONS OF LOVE"] 00:39:20.210 --> 00:39:26.090 align:middle line:90% (SINGING) 525,600 minutes. 00:39:26.090 --> 00:39:31.450 align:middle line:90% 525,000 moments so deer. 00:39:31.450 --> 00:39:37.010 align:middle line:90% 525,600 minutes. 00:39:37.010 --> 00:39:41.594 align:middle line:84% How do you measure, measure a year? 00:39:41.594 --> 00:39:47.640 align:middle line:84% In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee, 00:39:47.640 --> 00:39:52.430 align:middle line:84% in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. 00:39:52.430 --> 00:40:03.000 align:middle line:84% In 525,600 minutes, how do you measure a year in the life? 00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:04.166 align:middle line:90% How about love? 00:40:04.166 --> 00:40:08.270 align:middle line:90% 00:40:08.270 --> 00:40:10.020 align:middle line:90% How about love? 00:40:10.020 --> 00:40:13.920 align:middle line:90% 00:40:13.920 --> 00:40:15.739 align:middle line:90% How about love? 00:40:15.739 --> 00:40:19.050 align:middle line:90% 00:40:19.050 --> 00:40:20.420 align:middle line:90% Measure in love. 00:40:20.420 --> 00:40:25.080 align:middle line:90% 00:40:25.080 --> 00:40:28.800 align:middle line:84% It still gets to me a little bit. 00:40:28.800 --> 00:40:30.750 align:middle line:84% One of the organizations that we've 00:40:30.750 --> 00:40:33.060 align:middle line:84% partnered with before in Dallas is 00:40:33.060 --> 00:40:37.890 align:middle line:84% Vogel Alcove, which specializes in helping single mothers, 00:40:37.890 --> 00:40:41.670 align:middle line:84% for the most part, lots of homeless mothers and children, 00:40:41.670 --> 00:40:44.550 align:middle line:84% and it's an amazing organization. 00:40:44.550 --> 00:40:46.230 align:middle line:90% They provide schooling. 00:40:46.230 --> 00:40:47.940 align:middle line:90% They've got daycare. 00:40:47.940 --> 00:40:50.670 align:middle line:84% They hand out supplies of all sorts. 00:40:50.670 --> 00:40:53.130 align:middle line:84% They do their own fundraisers, and have 00:40:53.130 --> 00:40:57.960 align:middle line:84% brought in big-name musical performers 00:40:57.960 --> 00:41:00.510 align:middle line:90% for their fundraisers. 00:41:00.510 --> 00:41:04.260 align:middle line:84% But one of the things they do every year on January 1 00:41:04.260 --> 00:41:07.170 align:middle line:84% is called "Day 1 Dallas," and they've 00:41:07.170 --> 00:41:10.670 align:middle line:84% asked me to participate at the last few years. 00:41:10.670 --> 00:41:12.910 align:middle line:84% And one of the things that I've developed 00:41:12.910 --> 00:41:16.300 align:middle line:84% in this process has been, especially for smaller 00:41:16.300 --> 00:41:20.950 align:middle line:84% children, or adults, is putting a bunch of art supplies 00:41:20.950 --> 00:41:24.040 align:middle line:84% out and asking the children to answer the question, 00:41:24.040 --> 00:41:25.840 align:middle line:90% "What is home?" 00:41:25.840 --> 00:41:29.560 align:middle line:84% I've done this at several exhibits as well, 00:41:29.560 --> 00:41:34.570 align:middle line:84% and I've collected thousands of answers to that question, 00:41:34.570 --> 00:41:38.290 align:middle line:84% but it's also a chance to encourage 00:41:38.290 --> 00:41:44.200 align:middle line:84% the kids to be creative, and, of course, what's better than art 00:41:44.200 --> 00:41:45.025 align:middle line:90% by kids? 00:41:45.025 --> 00:41:47.770 align:middle line:90% 00:41:47.770 --> 00:41:50.320 align:middle line:84% Usually, between 5,000 and 10,000 people 00:41:50.320 --> 00:41:53.770 align:middle line:84% attend this big event, so there are all sorts of activities 00:41:53.770 --> 00:41:55.390 align:middle line:90% for kids and families. 00:41:55.390 --> 00:41:59.530 align:middle line:84% You may notice there is a Star Wars character holding 00:41:59.530 --> 00:42:01.960 align:middle line:84% a sign of the Death Star, which I 00:42:01.960 --> 00:42:04.930 align:middle line:90% guess is technically his home. 00:42:04.930 --> 00:42:07.750 align:middle line:84% But there were a bunch of people in costumes 00:42:07.750 --> 00:42:10.660 align:middle line:90% there to entertain the kids. 00:42:10.660 --> 00:42:13.030 align:middle line:84% He wandered up, and it's honestly 00:42:13.030 --> 00:42:17.110 align:middle line:84% the first and only time that will probably ever happen, 00:42:17.110 --> 00:42:21.220 align:middle line:84% to ask if he could do one of these "What is home?" 00:42:21.220 --> 00:42:24.970 align:middle line:84% things, and I have a short video clip of him actually 00:42:24.970 --> 00:42:28.050 align:middle line:90% making his creation. 00:42:28.050 --> 00:42:32.360 align:middle line:90% 00:42:32.360 --> 00:42:37.960 align:middle line:84% But workshops for kids, for me, is another way 00:42:37.960 --> 00:42:41.620 align:middle line:84% of having some impact, and, also, 00:42:41.620 --> 00:42:43.630 align:middle line:84% one of the many things on my to-do list 00:42:43.630 --> 00:42:47.590 align:middle line:84% is to develop curricula to take this into a place 00:42:47.590 --> 00:42:50.680 align:middle line:84% where teachers could teach these kinds of things 00:42:50.680 --> 00:42:54.850 align:middle line:84% to bring this kind of awareness into the classroom. 00:42:54.850 --> 00:42:58.690 align:middle line:84% I mentioned earlier the most recent big exhibit 00:42:58.690 --> 00:43:02.890 align:middle line:84% that happened right before COVID was at the Anchorage Museum. 00:43:02.890 --> 00:43:07.090 align:middle line:84% Literally, February was when the exhibit opened. 00:43:07.090 --> 00:43:10.000 align:middle line:84% I was able to go and spend a week there and go 00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:11.710 align:middle line:90% on opening night. 00:43:11.710 --> 00:43:15.400 align:middle line:84% I also bought about six signs while I was in Alaska, 00:43:15.400 --> 00:43:18.070 align:middle line:84% so you can imagine, there are people 00:43:18.070 --> 00:43:22.870 align:middle line:84% on the streets of Anchorage, Alaska in February. 00:43:22.870 --> 00:43:25.150 align:middle line:84% I was walking through snow and ice, 00:43:25.150 --> 00:43:29.660 align:middle line:84% and I just couldn't fathom what it must be like for them. 00:43:29.660 --> 00:43:32.080 align:middle line:84% I'm going to show you just a short clip to show you, 00:43:32.080 --> 00:43:34.430 align:middle line:84% this was right before everything got shut down, 00:43:34.430 --> 00:43:41.440 align:middle line:84% so there were people there, but this is about 500 signs, just 00:43:41.440 --> 00:43:42.541 align:middle line:90% for reference. 00:43:42.541 --> 00:43:43.041 align:middle line:90% 00:43:43.041 --> 00:44:05.136 align:middle line:90% [INDISTINCT BACKGROUND CHATTER] 00:44:05.136 --> 00:44:05.670 align:middle line:90% 00:44:05.670 --> 00:44:08.160 align:middle line:84% That exhibit was also done in conjunction 00:44:08.160 --> 00:44:11.460 align:middle line:84% with the man who wrote the book Evicted, which 00:44:11.460 --> 00:44:14.280 align:middle line:84% was a bestseller a few years back, 00:44:14.280 --> 00:44:17.130 align:middle line:84% and they've developed an exhibit related 00:44:17.130 --> 00:44:22.870 align:middle line:84% to the data that's in that book about evictions, 00:44:22.870 --> 00:44:24.390 align:middle line:90% which is really powerful. 00:44:24.390 --> 00:44:26.520 align:middle line:90% I strongly recommend it. 00:44:26.520 --> 00:44:32.070 align:middle line:84% And, again, to go from a larger thing to a smaller ripple, 00:44:32.070 --> 00:44:37.200 align:middle line:84% I was contacted this past summer by a young woman who's 00:44:37.200 --> 00:44:39.690 align:middle line:84% a junior in high school here in Dallas, 00:44:39.690 --> 00:44:42.510 align:middle line:84% and she was looking through colleges, 00:44:42.510 --> 00:44:47.820 align:middle line:84% came across this project when she was looking at SMU, 00:44:47.820 --> 00:44:51.210 align:middle line:84% and asked if I would do a Zoom call with her, 00:44:51.210 --> 00:44:53.850 align:middle line:84% asked if I would mentor her over the summer. 00:44:53.850 --> 00:44:57.570 align:middle line:84% She came and helped pack boxes for an exhibit 00:44:57.570 --> 00:45:00.600 align:middle line:84% that we did not too long ago, and then she 00:45:00.600 --> 00:45:03.310 align:middle line:84% sent me this piece of art that she made, 00:45:03.310 --> 00:45:07.830 align:middle line:84% which she said represented the impact the exhibit had on her, 00:45:07.830 --> 00:45:13.170 align:middle line:84% that the signs changed from cardboard to bright colors 00:45:13.170 --> 00:45:15.720 align:middle line:84% as she realized that there were unique stories 00:45:15.720 --> 00:45:18.090 align:middle line:90% behind each one of the signs. 00:45:18.090 --> 00:45:20.100 align:middle line:90% She is continuing to volunteer. 00:45:20.100 --> 00:45:24.000 align:middle line:84% She's actually come to events on SMU's campus. 00:45:24.000 --> 00:45:26.850 align:middle line:84% And, to me, just, again, excites me 00:45:26.850 --> 00:45:30.840 align:middle line:84% when I see the enthusiasm, and passion, and leadership 00:45:30.840 --> 00:45:34.050 align:middle line:84% that a lot of students demonstrate. 00:45:34.050 --> 00:45:39.450 align:middle line:84% And to that end, I now am a Faculty-in-Residence here 00:45:39.450 --> 00:45:42.810 align:middle line:84% at SMU, and I live one of the dorms, called 00:45:42.810 --> 00:45:44.670 align:middle line:90% "Armstrong Commons." 00:45:44.670 --> 00:45:49.140 align:middle line:84% We've done a number of events here at the dorm. 00:45:49.140 --> 00:45:51.720 align:middle line:84% One of them was making blessing bags. 00:45:51.720 --> 00:45:55.110 align:middle line:84% I think we've done this three or four times now. 00:45:55.110 --> 00:45:59.610 align:middle line:84% But I'm always impressed by the students, their willingness 00:45:59.610 --> 00:46:04.930 align:middle line:84% to be involved, to help promote the activities. 00:46:04.930 --> 00:46:07.050 align:middle line:84% Many of them are also going to be helping us 00:46:07.050 --> 00:46:09.450 align:middle line:90% with the march that's coming up. 00:46:09.450 --> 00:46:12.570 align:middle line:84% And just this Saturday, to really bring 00:46:12.570 --> 00:46:17.060 align:middle line:84% this to the present time, this past Saturday, 00:46:17.060 --> 00:46:19.110 align:middle line:84% this is the first time I did an exhibit 00:46:19.110 --> 00:46:24.150 align:middle line:84% in the hallway of this dorm, and I had a student volunteer 00:46:24.150 --> 00:46:28.980 align:middle line:84% to help, and we put it up in about five hours 00:46:28.980 --> 00:46:32.040 align:middle line:84% and put up a piece of blank cardboard 00:46:32.040 --> 00:46:34.890 align:middle line:84% on the opposite wall with sharpies attached, 00:46:34.890 --> 00:46:38.370 align:middle line:84% and I'm enjoying watching students answer 00:46:38.370 --> 00:46:41.670 align:middle line:84% the question, "What is home?," and continuing 00:46:41.670 --> 00:46:45.180 align:middle line:90% to add to that bit of data. 00:46:45.180 --> 00:46:47.460 align:middle line:84% So, I promised that I was going to tell you 00:46:47.460 --> 00:46:52.290 align:middle line:84% more about Eddie, the man who made this sign, "Something 00:46:52.290 --> 00:46:53.250 align:middle line:90% to ponder. 00:46:53.250 --> 00:46:55.440 align:middle line:84% What if God occasionally visits Earth 00:46:55.440 --> 00:46:57.930 align:middle line:84% disguised as a homeless guy panhandling 00:46:57.930 --> 00:47:00.060 align:middle line:90% to see how charitable we are?" 00:47:00.060 --> 00:47:04.140 align:middle line:84% This is me asking Eddie about this sign when 00:47:04.140 --> 00:47:05.750 align:middle line:90% I met him in 2014. 00:47:05.750 --> 00:47:07.330 align:middle line:90% 00:47:07.330 --> 00:47:11.530 align:middle line:84% So tell me a little bit about what was behind your sign. 00:47:11.530 --> 00:47:15.790 align:middle line:84% I had a more generic sign prior to that, 00:47:15.790 --> 00:47:18.220 align:middle line:84% and I wanted to go in a different direction, 00:47:18.220 --> 00:47:20.270 align:middle line:90% like, be a little innovative. 00:47:20.270 --> 00:47:21.850 align:middle line:90% So, I mean, you know-- 00:47:21.850 --> 00:47:23.200 align:middle line:90% But how did you get the idea? 00:47:23.200 --> 00:47:25.165 align:middle line:84% I mean, where did that come to you around-- 00:47:25.165 --> 00:47:31.670 align:middle line:84% I, actually-- It actually came to me, like, believe it or not, 00:47:31.670 --> 00:47:36.880 align:middle line:84% out of anger initially, because someone 00:47:36.880 --> 00:47:41.290 align:middle line:84% had said something derogatory towards me 00:47:41.290 --> 00:47:45.110 align:middle line:84% when I had asked them for money, and I came up with it 00:47:45.110 --> 00:47:45.610 align:middle line:90% in my head. 00:47:45.610 --> 00:47:46.597 align:middle line:90% I didn't think of it-- 00:47:46.597 --> 00:47:48.430 align:middle line:84% I mean, I didn't say it to them, but I said, 00:47:48.430 --> 00:47:51.490 align:middle line:84% like, you know, for all you know, I'm God. 00:47:51.490 --> 00:47:55.420 align:middle line:84% Like, it's just, you know, checking to see, you know, 00:47:55.420 --> 00:47:58.360 align:middle line:84% how charitable people are, and if that's the case, 00:47:58.360 --> 00:48:00.640 align:middle line:84% you people are screwed, you know? 00:48:00.640 --> 00:48:01.920 align:middle line:90% 00:48:01.920 --> 00:48:05.550 align:middle line:84% So I knew I liked Eddie right from the beginning. 00:48:05.550 --> 00:48:07.060 align:middle line:90% He was clever. 00:48:07.060 --> 00:48:09.400 align:middle line:90% He was intelligent. 00:48:09.400 --> 00:48:12.930 align:middle line:84% You can see that he was a bit scuffed-up. 00:48:12.930 --> 00:48:15.300 align:middle line:84% What I didn't know about Eddie at the time 00:48:15.300 --> 00:48:17.670 align:middle line:84% was that he was a heroin addict, and that some 00:48:17.670 --> 00:48:21.120 align:middle line:84% of those scabs on his face were literally 00:48:21.120 --> 00:48:24.480 align:middle line:84% from overdosing and falling onto the concrete out 00:48:24.480 --> 00:48:27.300 align:middle line:84% of the back seat of a car, and then being 00:48:27.300 --> 00:48:29.320 align:middle line:90% revived by the police. 00:48:29.320 --> 00:48:31.710 align:middle line:84% I think he said two or three times he 00:48:31.710 --> 00:48:35.580 align:middle line:90% was revived after overdosing. 00:48:35.580 --> 00:48:40.750 align:middle line:84% And two years later, I was talking about this project, 00:48:40.750 --> 00:48:44.100 align:middle line:84% and you can see, this photo was posted on Facebook. 00:48:44.100 --> 00:48:48.990 align:middle line:84% You can see that behind me is a big image of Eddie's sign. 00:48:48.990 --> 00:48:52.650 align:middle line:84% He came across this and sent me a message out 00:48:52.650 --> 00:48:56.790 align:middle line:84% of the blue two years later that said, hey, you know, I'm Eddie. 00:48:56.790 --> 00:48:59.550 align:middle line:84% You probably don't remember me, but I'm 00:48:59.550 --> 00:49:01.290 align:middle line:90% the guy who made this sign. 00:49:01.290 --> 00:49:04.590 align:middle line:84% And I replied, of course, I remember you, 00:49:04.590 --> 00:49:06.210 align:middle line:84% because you're in the documentary. 00:49:06.210 --> 00:49:08.490 align:middle line:90% I see you all the time. 00:49:08.490 --> 00:49:12.780 align:middle line:84% And that's when he told me about the fact 00:49:12.780 --> 00:49:15.840 align:middle line:84% that he was an addict at that time, 00:49:15.840 --> 00:49:20.160 align:middle line:84% that he was now sober for coming up on two years, 00:49:20.160 --> 00:49:28.160 align:middle line:84% that he was employed, he was in much better physical condition, 00:49:28.160 --> 00:49:30.620 align:middle line:84% had reconnected with his son and daughter, 00:49:30.620 --> 00:49:34.520 align:middle line:90% and was a brand-new grandfather. 00:49:34.520 --> 00:49:38.390 align:middle line:84% I told him that I was about to go back to Philadelphia. 00:49:38.390 --> 00:49:42.680 align:middle line:84% I was doing an exhibit that was part of a big, huge group 00:49:42.680 --> 00:49:47.630 align:middle line:84% show at the Democratic National Convention, 00:49:47.630 --> 00:49:53.330 align:middle line:84% and I asked him if I could pick him up and take him to lunch. 00:49:53.330 --> 00:49:57.350 align:middle line:84% This was the exhibit, which was a very small exhibit, 00:49:57.350 --> 00:49:59.480 align:middle line:84% but it was a humongous show, with, I think, 00:49:59.480 --> 00:50:01.650 align:middle line:90% about 100 artists total. 00:50:01.650 --> 00:50:05.810 align:middle line:84% And you can see that Eddie's sign is on this exhibit. 00:50:05.810 --> 00:50:07.250 align:middle line:90% I picked Eddie up. 00:50:07.250 --> 00:50:09.110 align:middle line:90% He looked much better. 00:50:09.110 --> 00:50:11.810 align:middle line:84% He had put on probably 30 pounds. 00:50:11.810 --> 00:50:15.690 align:middle line:84% And he stood in front of this exhibit, and, of course, 00:50:15.690 --> 00:50:17.960 align:middle line:84% it was the first time he'd seen that sign that he 00:50:17.960 --> 00:50:21.300 align:middle line:84% made with his own hands two years prior, 00:50:21.300 --> 00:50:23.610 align:middle line:90% and he started crying. 00:50:23.610 --> 00:50:27.410 align:middle line:84% We spent, I think it was four hours. 00:50:27.410 --> 00:50:28.700 align:middle line:90% We ate a burrito. 00:50:28.700 --> 00:50:29.570 align:middle line:90% We talked. 00:50:29.570 --> 00:50:34.170 align:middle line:84% I got to know him, really just loved his energy. 00:50:34.170 --> 00:50:38.420 align:middle line:84% And since then, he has been willing to volunteer 00:50:38.420 --> 00:50:42.720 align:middle line:84% to speak on panels any time I contact him for help. 00:50:42.720 --> 00:50:45.680 align:middle line:84% He wants to help, because he's now sponsoring 00:50:45.680 --> 00:50:48.590 align:middle line:90% lots of other addicts. 00:50:48.590 --> 00:50:52.190 align:middle line:84% And here are just a few images of his first grandkid. 00:50:52.190 --> 00:50:55.280 align:middle line:84% He now has two, but he's probably 00:50:55.280 --> 00:51:00.380 align:middle line:84% one of the most doting grandfathers I've ever met. 00:51:00.380 --> 00:51:02.570 align:middle line:84% I was doing an exhibit a few months 00:51:02.570 --> 00:51:05.780 align:middle line:84% after that in Philadelphia, at UPenn, 00:51:05.780 --> 00:51:10.460 align:middle line:84% based on that research project I mentioned a little while ago. 00:51:10.460 --> 00:51:14.840 align:middle line:84% Dr. Frasso is the one in the gray hair next to me. 00:51:14.840 --> 00:51:19.700 align:middle line:84% And we had all of her students, and Eddie joined us 00:51:19.700 --> 00:51:21.830 align:middle line:84% on the panel to talk about what it's 00:51:21.830 --> 00:51:24.890 align:middle line:90% like to be behind the sign. 00:51:24.890 --> 00:51:27.110 align:middle line:84% We continued to do things together, 00:51:27.110 --> 00:51:31.130 align:middle line:84% and a little while after that, I invited 00:51:31.130 --> 00:51:35.180 align:middle line:84% Eddie to join me on stage at another TEDx Talk 00:51:35.180 --> 00:51:39.860 align:middle line:84% about this project, which was titled "It's just us," 00:51:39.860 --> 00:51:43.790 align:middle line:84% and it was a chance for me to let Eddie talk 00:51:43.790 --> 00:51:45.680 align:middle line:90% about life behind the sign. 00:51:45.680 --> 00:51:51.230 align:middle line:84% As much as I talk about this project, it's difficult for me 00:51:51.230 --> 00:51:57.830 align:middle line:84% to bring the kind of awareness that Eddie's able to bring. 00:51:57.830 --> 00:52:00.260 align:middle line:84% We've continued to do things, and then, 00:52:00.260 --> 00:52:04.580 align:middle line:84% not that long ago, again, this was right before COVID, 00:52:04.580 --> 00:52:09.200 align:middle line:84% I was contacted to do another exhibit in Philadelphia 00:52:09.200 --> 00:52:17.600 align:middle line:84% by this priest, Father Jim, who I am now really a big fan of. 00:52:17.600 --> 00:52:21.500 align:middle line:84% He asked me to do this during Lent at his church 00:52:21.500 --> 00:52:23.090 align:middle line:90% outside of Philadelphia. 00:52:23.090 --> 00:52:25.160 align:middle line:90% It's actually in Flourtown. 00:52:25.160 --> 00:52:30.380 align:middle line:84% And he is one of the churches that 00:52:30.380 --> 00:52:33.050 align:middle line:84% has one of those homeless Jesus statues 00:52:33.050 --> 00:52:35.270 align:middle line:90% right outside the front door. 00:52:35.270 --> 00:52:37.610 align:middle line:90% So we did the exhibit. 00:52:37.610 --> 00:52:41.240 align:middle line:84% At the end of the exhibit, I went back down there 00:52:41.240 --> 00:52:45.080 align:middle line:84% to take all the signs down, pack them up, and ship them back. 00:52:45.080 --> 00:52:47.840 align:middle line:84% This was a group of people who were there making 00:52:47.840 --> 00:52:49.940 align:middle line:90% blessing bags that last day. 00:52:49.940 --> 00:52:52.510 align:middle line:90% 00:52:52.510 --> 00:52:56.570 align:middle line:84% And Eddie, of course, joined us for the panel discussion again. 00:52:56.570 --> 00:52:59.690 align:middle line:84% And at the very end of this, Father Jim 00:52:59.690 --> 00:53:02.720 align:middle line:84% asked me to go outside, and he wanted 00:53:02.720 --> 00:53:06.560 align:middle line:84% to tell me about these three acres 00:53:06.560 --> 00:53:09.230 align:middle line:84% that they had on the other side of their graveyard. 00:53:09.230 --> 00:53:12.710 align:middle line:84% It was a pretty big complex they had at this church, 00:53:12.710 --> 00:53:14.480 align:middle line:84% and, apparently, they had been trying 00:53:14.480 --> 00:53:18.860 align:middle line:84% to figure out what to do with these undeveloped acres. 00:53:18.860 --> 00:53:21.920 align:middle line:84% And up until I was there, they were 00:53:21.920 --> 00:53:24.740 align:middle line:90% planning to do a wedding venue. 00:53:24.740 --> 00:53:26.690 align:middle line:90% But here's what he told me. 00:53:26.690 --> 00:53:29.030 align:middle line:84% Because of the We Are All Homeless exhibit, 00:53:29.030 --> 00:53:32.210 align:middle line:84% and everything that has happened since you've been with us, 00:53:32.210 --> 00:53:35.150 align:middle line:84% we decided that we're going to turn our remaining three 00:53:35.150 --> 00:53:38.000 align:middle line:84% acres into a transitional housing venue, 00:53:38.000 --> 00:53:40.310 align:middle line:84% with individual homes, eight to 10 of them, 00:53:40.310 --> 00:53:43.040 align:middle line:84% with a central community center, where people 00:53:43.040 --> 00:53:45.200 align:middle line:84% can come after they leave a shelter, 00:53:45.200 --> 00:53:47.120 align:middle line:84% and live there for two full years, 00:53:47.120 --> 00:53:48.920 align:middle line:84% and gain all of the support services 00:53:48.920 --> 00:53:51.530 align:middle line:84% necessary for them to be sustained in the future, 00:53:51.530 --> 00:53:54.120 align:middle line:84% and we're really excited about it. 00:53:54.120 --> 00:53:58.430 align:middle line:84% So, when he and I first started to connect, 00:53:58.430 --> 00:54:02.750 align:middle line:84% I told him that I had grown up the son of a mom 00:54:02.750 --> 00:54:07.800 align:middle line:84% who was a hardcore Catholic, and that she had passed away, 00:54:07.800 --> 00:54:09.680 align:middle line:84% but that I thought, if, you know, 00:54:09.680 --> 00:54:15.180 align:middle line:84% she was somewhere looking down on all of this, 00:54:15.180 --> 00:54:17.970 align:middle line:84% she probably was smiling, thinking that I was talking 00:54:17.970 --> 00:54:20.970 align:middle line:84% to a priest, because I hadn't been 00:54:20.970 --> 00:54:23.340 align:middle line:84% a Catholic for many decades, and I think 00:54:23.340 --> 00:54:25.170 align:middle line:90% that always bummed her out. 00:54:25.170 --> 00:54:28.140 align:middle line:84% He told me about his connection to his mom, 00:54:28.140 --> 00:54:31.570 align:middle line:84% that his mom was the reason he became a priest. 00:54:31.570 --> 00:54:34.423 align:middle line:84% And so, after he told me about what 00:54:34.423 --> 00:54:36.090 align:middle line:84% they were going to do with the property, 00:54:36.090 --> 00:54:38.280 align:middle line:90% he then shared this with me. 00:54:38.280 --> 00:54:40.350 align:middle line:84% --your thing, we decided that we're 00:54:40.350 --> 00:54:43.740 align:middle line:84% going to name this transitional village that's 00:54:43.740 --> 00:54:47.370 align:middle line:84% going to support people out of homelessness in honor 00:54:47.370 --> 00:54:48.810 align:middle line:90% and memory of your mom. 00:54:48.810 --> 00:54:54.060 align:middle line:84% And so your mom's name is going to bear on this village. 00:54:54.060 --> 00:54:56.610 align:middle line:90% I was not expecting that. 00:54:56.610 --> 00:54:58.950 align:middle line:84% It's going to be called "Dorothy's Village." 00:54:58.950 --> 00:55:01.270 align:middle line:84% They're still in the planning phase. 00:55:01.270 --> 00:55:04.110 align:middle line:84% COVID slowed things up a little bit. 00:55:04.110 --> 00:55:07.230 align:middle line:84% But he's keeping me updated on the progress. 00:55:07.230 --> 00:55:10.620 align:middle line:84% But I mentioned this was a deeply personal journey for me, 00:55:10.620 --> 00:55:12.630 align:middle line:84% and from a selfish perspective, I 00:55:12.630 --> 00:55:18.600 align:middle line:84% think this single thing had the biggest impact on me, 00:55:18.600 --> 00:55:21.690 align:middle line:90% and I just didn't expect it. 00:55:21.690 --> 00:55:24.420 align:middle line:90% 00:55:24.420 --> 00:55:26.520 align:middle line:84% I mentioned the question "What is home?," 00:55:26.520 --> 00:55:29.160 align:middle line:84% which I've now asked of lots of people 00:55:29.160 --> 00:55:32.640 align:middle line:84% and gotten answers at lots of exhibits. 00:55:32.640 --> 00:55:35.820 align:middle line:84% One of the final pieces of the documentary 00:55:35.820 --> 00:55:39.270 align:middle line:84% shows a compilation of some of the answers 00:55:39.270 --> 00:55:45.330 align:middle line:84% that we gathered as we were traveling across the country. 00:55:45.330 --> 00:55:49.110 align:middle line:84% But I began to ask this question of almost everyone that I met, 00:55:49.110 --> 00:55:52.230 align:middle line:84% so the last clip that I'm going to show you is this one. 00:55:52.230 --> 00:55:53.920 align:middle line:90% 00:55:53.920 --> 00:55:56.680 align:middle line:84% It is a place, when I get done with work, 00:55:56.680 --> 00:56:02.950 align:middle line:84% I have a place to go sit down, relax, have my own quiet time, 00:56:02.950 --> 00:56:07.270 align:middle line:84% whatever, be able to fix my own food. 00:56:07.270 --> 00:56:10.080 align:middle line:90% I can pay my own bills. 00:56:10.080 --> 00:56:11.200 align:middle line:90% That's home to me. 00:56:11.200 --> 00:56:11.700 align:middle line:90% 00:56:11.700 --> 00:56:15.060 align:middle line:84% Home is like if you wrapped yourself 00:56:15.060 --> 00:56:17.940 align:middle line:84% in a nice, warm comforter when it's cold outside. 00:56:17.940 --> 00:56:18.530 align:middle line:90% That's home. 00:56:18.530 --> 00:56:19.590 align:middle line:90% 00:56:19.590 --> 00:56:21.270 align:middle line:84% --I feel safe, where I feel comfortable. 00:56:21.270 --> 00:56:22.298 align:middle line:90% It could be anywhere. 00:56:22.298 --> 00:56:23.340 align:middle line:90% It doesn't really matter. 00:56:23.340 --> 00:56:23.700 align:middle line:90% 00:56:23.700 --> 00:56:25.050 align:middle line:90% And what does home mean to you? 00:56:25.050 --> 00:56:26.070 align:middle line:90% Home means heaven. 00:56:26.070 --> 00:56:27.260 align:middle line:90% 00:56:27.260 --> 00:56:29.840 align:middle line:84% Having a place over my head, a roof over my head. 00:56:29.840 --> 00:56:30.490 align:middle line:90% 00:56:30.490 --> 00:56:32.892 align:middle line:90% A place where it's dry and warm. 00:56:32.892 --> 00:56:34.215 align:middle line:90% So it's inside? 00:56:34.215 --> 00:56:37.150 align:middle line:90% 00:56:37.150 --> 00:56:38.080 align:middle line:90% Whatever you make it. 00:56:38.080 --> 00:56:38.980 align:middle line:90% 00:56:38.980 --> 00:56:42.240 align:middle line:84% The one word that I would use for home is probably "safety." 00:56:42.240 --> 00:56:43.660 align:middle line:90% 00:56:43.660 --> 00:56:48.790 align:middle line:84% Home, for me, would be some place I could go to every day, 00:56:48.790 --> 00:56:52.190 align:middle line:84% sleep, take a shower, and that I wouldn't 00:56:52.190 --> 00:56:55.000 align:middle line:84% have to worry about finding a place to sleep every night. 00:56:55.000 --> 00:56:56.640 align:middle line:90% 00:56:56.640 --> 00:56:59.820 align:middle line:84% Home is wherever I'm with the ones I love 00:56:59.820 --> 00:57:01.380 align:middle line:90% and the ones who love me. 00:57:01.380 --> 00:57:03.923 align:middle line:84% It really doesn't care, like, where it is. 00:57:03.923 --> 00:57:04.910 align:middle line:90% 00:57:04.910 --> 00:57:06.870 align:middle line:90% It's safety, number one. 00:57:06.870 --> 00:57:09.512 align:middle line:84% It's comfort, and it's kind of, like, what you know. 00:57:09.512 --> 00:57:13.190 align:middle line:90% 00:57:13.190 --> 00:57:16.340 align:middle line:90% Wherever I lay down at night. 00:57:16.340 --> 00:57:19.400 align:middle line:90% Wherever I lay down at night. 00:57:19.400 --> 00:57:20.495 align:middle line:90% That would be home to me. 00:57:20.495 --> 00:57:21.020 align:middle line:90% 00:57:21.020 --> 00:57:22.850 align:middle line:84% It doesn't have to be a physical place. 00:57:22.850 --> 00:57:26.280 align:middle line:84% It can be the people you're with or the experience you're 00:57:26.280 --> 00:57:26.780 align:middle line:90% having. 00:57:26.780 --> 00:57:28.850 align:middle line:84% But describing it is pretty hard. 00:57:28.850 --> 00:57:30.290 align:middle line:90% 00:57:30.290 --> 00:57:38.480 align:middle line:84% Home means security to me, because, well, 00:57:38.480 --> 00:57:42.140 align:middle line:84% a large portion of the world, well, of the United States, 00:57:42.140 --> 00:57:44.088 align:middle line:84% will never know what it's like to not 00:57:44.088 --> 00:57:45.213 align:middle line:90% have a roof over your head. 00:57:45.213 --> 00:57:48.080 align:middle line:84% You know, I think a lot of people take advantage of that. 00:57:48.080 --> 00:57:51.060 align:middle line:84% To not know where you're going to lay down 00:57:51.060 --> 00:57:53.610 align:middle line:84% is, like, the most frightening thing in the world. 00:57:53.610 --> 00:57:54.870 align:middle line:90% What does home mean to you? 00:57:54.870 --> 00:57:58.580 align:middle line:90% 00:57:58.580 --> 00:57:59.700 align:middle line:90% Sanctuary. 00:57:59.700 --> 00:58:00.940 align:middle line:90% A place of bliss. 00:58:00.940 --> 00:58:02.250 align:middle line:90% 00:58:02.250 --> 00:58:05.285 align:middle line:84% See, now, I haven't had a home since my wife died. 00:58:05.285 --> 00:58:09.854 align:middle line:84% See, when me and her were together, she made it a home. 00:58:09.854 --> 00:58:13.622 align:middle line:84% Love and family, that's what a home is to me. 00:58:13.622 --> 00:58:15.040 align:middle line:90% 00:58:15.040 --> 00:58:16.990 align:middle line:84% Home, to me, was where my mom was there, 00:58:16.990 --> 00:58:20.370 align:middle line:90% you know, eating dinner. 00:58:20.370 --> 00:58:25.810 align:middle line:84% But as of right now, home is Clinton Bridge. 00:58:25.810 --> 00:58:28.760 align:middle line:84% That's where I sleep, underneath Clinton Bridge. 00:58:28.760 --> 00:58:29.260 align:middle line:90% 00:58:29.260 --> 00:58:32.530 align:middle line:84% To me, a home is I can put a key in a door, 00:58:32.530 --> 00:58:36.450 align:middle line:84% open it, and go inside, and relax, take a shower, watch TV. 00:58:36.450 --> 00:58:37.570 align:middle line:90% You sleep in a bed. 00:58:37.570 --> 00:58:39.730 align:middle line:90% You know, that's home to me. 00:58:39.730 --> 00:58:40.630 align:middle line:90% 00:58:40.630 --> 00:58:45.518 align:middle line:84% Home, to me, would be, one day, somewhere I can call my own. 00:58:45.518 --> 00:58:47.490 align:middle line:84% That's what home really means to me. 00:58:47.490 --> 00:58:51.570 align:middle line:84% Right now, home is wherever I can sleep. 00:58:51.570 --> 00:58:52.550 align:middle line:90% 00:58:52.550 --> 00:58:54.290 align:middle line:84% Home, to me, is, like, pretty much 00:58:54.290 --> 00:58:56.277 align:middle line:84% where my friends are at, where my family is at, 00:58:56.277 --> 00:58:58.110 align:middle line:84% like, because we don't have a sense of home, 00:58:58.110 --> 00:58:59.910 align:middle line:90% so home is our family. 00:58:59.910 --> 00:59:03.333 align:middle line:84% Like, wherever we are together, when I lay my head next to him 00:59:03.333 --> 00:59:04.500 align:middle line:90% at night, that's home to me. 00:59:04.500 --> 00:59:05.130 align:middle line:90% 00:59:05.130 --> 00:59:08.360 align:middle line:84% Home, for me, is that feeling of-- 00:59:08.360 --> 00:59:10.983 align:middle line:90% 00:59:10.983 --> 00:59:12.650 align:middle line:84% I don't know how to say this in English, 00:59:12.650 --> 00:59:15.220 align:middle line:84% but it's literally, like, feeling, 00:59:15.220 --> 00:59:18.400 align:middle line:90% physically and spiritually. 00:59:18.400 --> 00:59:23.710 align:middle line:84% It's feeling love, happiness, and calmness 00:59:23.710 --> 00:59:25.960 align:middle line:90% all at the same time. 00:59:25.960 --> 00:59:28.240 align:middle line:84% Like, they cannot leave without each other. 00:59:28.240 --> 00:59:31.600 align:middle line:90% 00:59:31.600 --> 00:59:35.560 align:middle line:84% 28 years ago, when I started buying signs, 00:59:35.560 --> 00:59:40.390 align:middle line:84% I really did used to think it was us and them, 00:59:40.390 --> 00:59:44.185 align:middle line:84% and, today, what I know is that it's just us. 00:59:44.185 --> 00:59:47.120 align:middle line:90% 00:59:47.120 --> 00:59:52.300 align:middle line:84% Thank you for having me, and if anyone has questions, 00:59:52.300 --> 00:59:58.780 align:middle line:84% I look forward to trying my best to answer them. 00:59:58.780 --> 01:00:00.690 align:middle line:90% Thank you, Willie. 01:00:00.690 --> 01:00:03.570 align:middle line:84% Thanks for sharing about your inspiring project. 01:00:03.570 --> 01:00:05.100 align:middle line:90% 28 years. 01:00:05.100 --> 01:00:08.520 align:middle line:84% That, in and of itself, is pretty incredible. 01:00:08.520 --> 01:00:12.890 align:middle line:84% Clearly, it seems like this has become your life's work, right? 01:00:12.890 --> 01:00:16.410 align:middle line:90% 01:00:16.410 --> 01:00:18.090 align:middle line:90% At least part of it, for sure. 01:00:18.090 --> 01:00:18.790 align:middle line:90% Yeah, right. 01:00:18.790 --> 01:00:19.290 align:middle line:90% Right. 01:00:19.290 --> 01:00:21.248 align:middle line:84% Not that it's the only thing you have going on, 01:00:21.248 --> 01:00:23.550 align:middle line:84% but it's interesting to see you talk 01:00:23.550 --> 01:00:25.685 align:middle line:84% about the intersections, and ripples, and all 01:00:25.685 --> 01:00:27.060 align:middle line:84% these surprising things that have 01:00:27.060 --> 01:00:29.510 align:middle line:84% come about from this project, and I 01:00:29.510 --> 01:00:31.800 align:middle line:90% think that's really beautiful. 01:00:31.800 --> 01:00:34.813 align:middle line:84% I wanted to ask you, to start off, 01:00:34.813 --> 01:00:36.480 align:middle line:84% like, obviously, there have been so many 01:00:36.480 --> 01:00:39.540 align:middle line:84% positive impacts, the ripples that you shared with us, 01:00:39.540 --> 01:00:41.460 align:middle line:90% about this project. 01:00:41.460 --> 01:00:46.030 align:middle line:84% But, or and, how do you care for yourself in this work, 01:00:46.030 --> 01:00:50.490 align:middle line:84% because this is really heavy, like, heart and soul stuff, 01:00:50.490 --> 01:00:54.510 align:middle line:84% so how do you how do you do that? 01:00:54.510 --> 01:00:58.090 align:middle line:84% That is a good question, and I would say I haven't always 01:00:58.090 --> 01:01:01.600 align:middle line:90% been great at managing that. 01:01:01.600 --> 01:01:05.440 align:middle line:84% I noticed that Tim Chumley is on this call, the co-director 01:01:05.440 --> 01:01:09.160 align:middle line:84% of the film, and, Tim, I welcome any comments, 01:01:09.160 --> 01:01:13.810 align:middle line:84% if you want to add to something I'm saying. 01:01:13.810 --> 01:01:16.360 align:middle line:84% I think that, like, for us, when we were traveling 01:01:16.360 --> 01:01:19.780 align:middle line:84% across the country, I'm, of course, quite used 01:01:19.780 --> 01:01:21.920 align:middle line:84% to buying signs on a regular basis, 01:01:21.920 --> 01:01:24.020 align:middle line:84% but the other filmmakers were not, 01:01:24.020 --> 01:01:28.630 align:middle line:84% and we would debrief every night and process our feelings 01:01:28.630 --> 01:01:31.030 align:middle line:84% a little bit, let go of some of the things 01:01:31.030 --> 01:01:33.760 align:middle line:90% we might be hanging on to. 01:01:33.760 --> 01:01:37.990 align:middle line:84% As a long-term caretaker, I would also 01:01:37.990 --> 01:01:42.310 align:middle line:84% say that this is a challenge for me to let 01:01:42.310 --> 01:01:47.350 align:middle line:84% go of wanting to save everybody, and take care of everybody, 01:01:47.350 --> 01:01:50.860 align:middle line:84% and that I have to keep remembering that I've 01:01:50.860 --> 01:01:54.730 align:middle line:84% got this bigger purpose of spreading awareness, 01:01:54.730 --> 01:01:56.770 align:middle line:90% and it's not easy. 01:01:56.770 --> 01:01:59.470 align:middle line:84% Yeah, the nightly check-ins were pretty important, 01:01:59.470 --> 01:02:02.890 align:middle line:90% because it was a very heavy-- 01:02:02.890 --> 01:02:04.670 align:middle line:84% certain days were heavier than others, 01:02:04.670 --> 01:02:09.130 align:middle line:84% but many days we're incredibly emotionally draining 01:02:09.130 --> 01:02:13.360 align:middle line:84% and taxing, and at the same time, it was very rewarding. 01:02:13.360 --> 01:02:17.230 align:middle line:84% There were a few days that, as I recall, 01:02:17.230 --> 01:02:19.970 align:middle line:84% were more challenging than others. 01:02:19.970 --> 01:02:24.610 align:middle line:84% Talk about when you met Michael, Willie. 01:02:24.610 --> 01:02:27.790 align:middle line:84% Yeah, so, I showed them a picture of Michael, 01:02:27.790 --> 01:02:32.470 align:middle line:84% and he was the man with one leg, the Vietnam vet. 01:02:32.470 --> 01:02:35.110 align:middle line:84% Literally, after that interview, which 01:02:35.110 --> 01:02:39.760 align:middle line:84% was in a little random piece of grass in Omaha, Nebraska, 01:02:39.760 --> 01:02:42.610 align:middle line:84% we went over to the parking of a Burger King, 01:02:42.610 --> 01:02:45.160 align:middle line:84% and Tim and one of the other filmmakers 01:02:45.160 --> 01:02:48.940 align:middle line:84% were interviewing me about interviewing Michael, 01:02:48.940 --> 01:02:52.510 align:middle line:84% and I completely broke down, unexpectedly, 01:02:52.510 --> 01:02:56.980 align:middle line:84% talking about him, and I think it may have been because he 01:02:56.980 --> 01:02:59.410 align:middle line:90% was about my same age. 01:02:59.410 --> 01:03:03.040 align:middle line:84% I'd also lost another personal friend recently 01:03:03.040 --> 01:03:04.120 align:middle line:90% who was missing a leg. 01:03:04.120 --> 01:03:08.080 align:middle line:84% I don't know what triggered me so much about him. 01:03:08.080 --> 01:03:10.810 align:middle line:84% But as much as I do this, I still 01:03:10.810 --> 01:03:13.630 align:middle line:84% have to remember that this takes a toll, 01:03:13.630 --> 01:03:18.160 align:middle line:84% and I do tend to collect these stories and carry them around, 01:03:18.160 --> 01:03:22.910 align:middle line:90% and it's tough to process that. 01:03:22.910 --> 01:03:26.510 align:middle line:84% I'm going to field a question out of the chat from Kim 01:03:26.510 --> 01:03:28.310 align:middle line:90% earlier on in the presentation. 01:03:28.310 --> 01:03:30.770 align:middle line:84% They ask, "Is it common to find people 01:03:30.770 --> 01:03:34.250 align:middle line:84% who are on the autism spectrum disorder who 01:03:34.250 --> 01:03:39.980 align:middle line:84% begin self-medicating themselves for anxiety? 01:03:39.980 --> 01:03:45.500 align:middle line:84% I have done some work with ASD addicts." 01:03:45.500 --> 01:03:48.950 align:middle line:84% So, I'm not a mental health expert, obviously. 01:03:48.950 --> 01:03:53.210 align:middle line:84% As I mentioned, I've heard figures from a third 01:03:53.210 --> 01:03:56.930 align:middle line:84% to as high as 60% in some communities 01:03:56.930 --> 01:04:02.760 align:middle line:84% of the people on the street have some form of mental illness. 01:04:02.760 --> 01:04:04.880 align:middle line:84% I love this question, because it brings 01:04:04.880 --> 01:04:09.230 align:middle line:84% to light this idea of addiction, drugs and alcohol, 01:04:09.230 --> 01:04:13.170 align:middle line:90% and self-medication. 01:04:13.170 --> 01:04:14.960 align:middle line:84% I think a lot of people who aren't 01:04:14.960 --> 01:04:21.740 align:middle line:84% familiar with the situation people are in on the street 01:04:21.740 --> 01:04:26.240 align:middle line:84% tend to immediately dismiss addicts as people that 01:04:26.240 --> 01:04:29.300 align:middle line:84% don't deserve any help or care, and the truth 01:04:29.300 --> 01:04:32.300 align:middle line:84% is that a lot of them don't have health care. 01:04:32.300 --> 01:04:34.370 align:middle line:84% They have no way to get prescriptions. 01:04:34.370 --> 01:04:37.850 align:middle line:84% They are medicating, and drugs and alcohol 01:04:37.850 --> 01:04:40.040 align:middle line:90% are their best option. 01:04:40.040 --> 01:04:41.780 align:middle line:84% And we all know that's not great. 01:04:41.780 --> 01:04:43.610 align:middle line:84% Nobody wants that to be the case. 01:04:43.610 --> 01:04:48.260 align:middle line:84% But thanks for that question, because, again, I 01:04:48.260 --> 01:04:54.200 align:middle line:84% don't know specifically about the autism situation, but I do 01:04:54.200 --> 01:04:58.700 align:middle line:84% know that there is a high percentage of people 01:04:58.700 --> 01:05:01.020 align:middle line:90% that are on the street. 01:05:01.020 --> 01:05:02.850 align:middle line:90% We have a question from Massimo. 01:05:02.850 --> 01:05:04.950 align:middle line:84% "Can you expand on where the title came from, 01:05:04.950 --> 01:05:06.240 align:middle line:90% We Are All Homeless? 01:05:06.240 --> 01:05:10.100 align:middle line:90% How did you conceive of that?" 01:05:10.100 --> 01:05:16.840 align:middle line:84% So, I was in a class in 2008, and I remember the class. 01:05:16.840 --> 01:05:26.350 align:middle line:84% It was a class on, what's the word, art that disrupts. 01:05:26.350 --> 01:05:29.140 align:middle line:90% The class was about-- 01:05:29.140 --> 01:05:31.640 align:middle line:84% I'm blanking on the word for the kind of movement. 01:05:31.640 --> 01:05:34.450 align:middle line:84% But it was about coming up with art projects 01:05:34.450 --> 01:05:37.490 align:middle line:84% to disrupt everybody's daily life. 01:05:37.490 --> 01:05:42.580 align:middle line:84% And I was clearly in this throes of trying to figure out 01:05:42.580 --> 01:05:44.650 align:middle line:84% doing something with homeless signs, 01:05:44.650 --> 01:05:46.510 align:middle line:84% and it occurred to me in class that I'm just 01:05:46.510 --> 01:05:49.570 align:middle line:84% going to call this project We Are All Homeless. 01:05:49.570 --> 01:05:51.880 align:middle line:90% I don't know why necessarily. 01:05:51.880 --> 01:05:57.200 align:middle line:84% I think my underlying idea was that we're all human beings. 01:05:57.200 --> 01:05:58.810 align:middle line:90% We all need to ask for help. 01:05:58.810 --> 01:05:59.960 align:middle line:90% We've all struggled. 01:05:59.960 --> 01:06:04.360 align:middle line:84% We've all messed up in various ways. 01:06:04.360 --> 01:06:09.320 align:middle line:84% And at that time, of course, it was a few years back, 01:06:09.320 --> 01:06:11.230 align:middle line:84% and so I immediately went online to see 01:06:11.230 --> 01:06:12.775 align:middle line:90% if the URL was available. 01:06:12.775 --> 01:06:16.450 align:middle line:84% I bought it, and from that point forward, 01:06:16.450 --> 01:06:19.330 align:middle line:84% I've called this We Are All Homeless. 01:06:19.330 --> 01:06:22.420 align:middle line:84% A lot of times, when people ask me about that name, 01:06:22.420 --> 01:06:26.390 align:middle line:84% I will ask them, what does it mean to them. 01:06:26.390 --> 01:06:29.470 align:middle line:84% And so, Massimo, I don't know if you're willing to share, 01:06:29.470 --> 01:06:34.060 align:middle line:84% but I'd be interested in hearing what that title said 01:06:34.060 --> 01:06:35.500 align:middle line:90% to you when you first heard it. 01:06:35.500 --> 01:06:38.944 align:middle line:90% 01:06:38.944 --> 01:06:40.970 align:middle line:84% So Massimo, on the chat, says, "I 01:06:40.970 --> 01:06:42.470 align:middle line:84% thought you were giving them a voice 01:06:42.470 --> 01:06:46.080 align:middle line:90% and they were saying that." 01:06:46.080 --> 01:06:51.978 align:middle line:84% I think that's a great interpretation as well. 01:06:51.978 --> 01:06:54.480 align:middle line:84% You know, not everybody, when I buy a sign, 01:06:54.480 --> 01:06:56.700 align:middle line:84% do they want to know why I'm buying the sign, 01:06:56.700 --> 01:06:59.370 align:middle line:84% but a fair number do, and so I tell them, 01:06:59.370 --> 01:07:03.210 align:middle line:84% this is a long-term art project about raising awareness, 01:07:03.210 --> 01:07:07.290 align:middle line:84% and I am blown away by how quickly they go, 01:07:07.290 --> 01:07:10.410 align:middle line:84% hell yeah, somebody needs to tell our story, 01:07:10.410 --> 01:07:12.720 align:middle line:84% and it's like they get it much quicker 01:07:12.720 --> 01:07:14.670 align:middle line:90% than a lot of my friends do. 01:07:14.670 --> 01:07:17.250 align:middle line:84% And I often hand out stickers that 01:07:17.250 --> 01:07:19.530 align:middle line:84% say "We Are All Homeless," to them, 01:07:19.530 --> 01:07:23.710 align:middle line:84% and they seem to get that title pretty quickly as well. 01:07:23.710 --> 01:07:27.910 align:middle line:90% So for whatever that's worth. 01:07:27.910 --> 01:07:30.400 align:middle line:84% Willie, I know you often say your initial 01:07:30.400 --> 01:07:32.620 align:middle line:84% and sort of primary goal is to raise awareness 01:07:32.620 --> 01:07:34.960 align:middle line:84% about the issue of unhoused and people 01:07:34.960 --> 01:07:37.000 align:middle line:90% who experience homelessness. 01:07:37.000 --> 01:07:41.540 align:middle line:84% What it's grown into is an empathy building exercise, 01:07:41.540 --> 01:07:42.040 align:middle line:90% right? 01:07:42.040 --> 01:07:44.710 align:middle line:84% And so, I mean, clearly, people are having that experience 01:07:44.710 --> 01:07:48.220 align:middle line:84% as they see your signs, whether it personally affected them 01:07:48.220 --> 01:07:48.770 align:middle line:90% or not. 01:07:48.770 --> 01:07:51.400 align:middle line:84% So I think that's a really beautiful thing. 01:07:51.400 --> 01:07:53.620 align:middle line:84% Professor Deanna Hernandez is asking, 01:07:53.620 --> 01:07:56.470 align:middle line:84% "Why study empathy in students, and what have you 01:07:56.470 --> 01:08:00.680 align:middle line:84% noticed about people and empathy through your work?" 01:08:00.680 --> 01:08:02.810 align:middle line:84% Well, I could probably turn it over to Tim, 01:08:02.810 --> 01:08:05.300 align:middle line:84% and he would have us in tears talking about a few 01:08:05.300 --> 01:08:08.360 align:middle line:84% of his early experiences buying signs. 01:08:08.360 --> 01:08:10.100 align:middle line:84% Tim's a long-time friend of mine, 01:08:10.100 --> 01:08:16.250 align:middle line:84% and I just got to watch him dive deep into this 01:08:16.250 --> 01:08:18.710 align:middle line:84% during this process, so I may turn it back over 01:08:18.710 --> 01:08:20.569 align:middle line:90% to you in a second, Tim. 01:08:20.569 --> 01:08:25.069 align:middle line:84% But I'd also like to share that, when I went to Philadelphia 01:08:25.069 --> 01:08:29.689 align:middle line:84% and did this research project with the Jefferson students 01:08:29.689 --> 01:08:33.560 align:middle line:84% for a week, so these are all grad students who are likely 01:08:33.560 --> 01:08:37.910 align:middle line:84% going to be in the public health space or become doctors, 01:08:37.910 --> 01:08:42.500 align:middle line:84% none of them had had, really, any significant encounters 01:08:42.500 --> 01:08:44.240 align:middle line:90% with folks on the streets. 01:08:44.240 --> 01:08:51.200 align:middle line:84% After a week of doing this, they were amazingly comfortable 01:08:51.200 --> 01:08:56.300 align:middle line:84% talking to the folks they were interviewing, and some of them, 01:08:56.300 --> 01:08:59.300 align:middle line:84% I think three in particular, said, 01:08:59.300 --> 01:09:02.210 align:middle line:84% as a result of this week project, 01:09:02.210 --> 01:09:06.979 align:middle line:84% they were changing the focus of their medical practice pursuit, 01:09:06.979 --> 01:09:11.180 align:middle line:84% and two of them were going to go into the public health space, 01:09:11.180 --> 01:09:15.649 align:middle line:84% directly working with the unhoused. 01:09:15.649 --> 01:09:19.520 align:middle line:84% So my experience, and I also encounter this even 01:09:19.520 --> 01:09:23.330 align:middle line:84% with students here at SMU, is that awareness 01:09:23.330 --> 01:09:26.180 align:middle line:84% is what leads to the empathy shift 01:09:26.180 --> 01:09:28.250 align:middle line:90% and to the compassion shift. 01:09:28.250 --> 01:09:32.750 align:middle line:84% And I'm so used to it that I forget it, 01:09:32.750 --> 01:09:37.100 align:middle line:84% but I am reminded often that there is just 01:09:37.100 --> 01:09:39.950 align:middle line:84% a lot of power in the signs and the stories 01:09:39.950 --> 01:09:44.990 align:middle line:84% that people project when they see the signs. 01:09:44.990 --> 01:09:48.439 align:middle line:84% Tim, I know you've got probably things to add. 01:09:48.439 --> 01:09:50.359 align:middle line:90% Any thoughts? 01:09:50.359 --> 01:09:54.260 align:middle line:84% I think it's important, because there's 01:09:54.260 --> 01:09:56.390 align:middle line:84% a financial aspect to the sign, I 01:09:56.390 --> 01:10:00.230 align:middle line:84% think it's important to disassociate those two pieces, 01:10:00.230 --> 01:10:03.180 align:middle line:84% because I think a lot of people may think, 01:10:03.180 --> 01:10:08.180 align:middle line:84% well, it's incumbent upon me to give this person money 01:10:08.180 --> 01:10:09.797 align:middle line:84% when I see them on the street, and one 01:10:09.797 --> 01:10:11.630 align:middle line:84% of the things that I've learned through this 01:10:11.630 --> 01:10:13.890 align:middle line:84% is that it's really not about that. 01:10:13.890 --> 01:10:16.640 align:middle line:90% It's more about connection. 01:10:16.640 --> 01:10:20.000 align:middle line:84% As Willie has said a number of times, 01:10:20.000 --> 01:10:22.550 align:middle line:84% if you don't do anything other than acknowledge 01:10:22.550 --> 01:10:25.940 align:middle line:84% that person, if you stop, and you say, hey, what's your name? 01:10:25.940 --> 01:10:27.000 align:middle line:90% How are you doing? 01:10:27.000 --> 01:10:29.000 align:middle line:90% My name is Tim. 01:10:29.000 --> 01:10:34.280 align:middle line:84% That alone is an example, a demonstration of empathy 01:10:34.280 --> 01:10:37.220 align:middle line:84% that, in my judgment, a lot of these people 01:10:37.220 --> 01:10:39.110 align:middle line:84% are missing in their everyday lives, 01:10:39.110 --> 01:10:42.680 align:middle line:84% because, as some of the signs have said, 01:10:42.680 --> 01:10:45.860 align:middle line:84% a lot of these people feel completely invisible, 01:10:45.860 --> 01:10:50.480 align:middle line:84% and to be acknowledged, and to be connected with, 01:10:50.480 --> 01:10:54.960 align:middle line:84% just that alone can be very profound. 01:10:54.960 --> 01:10:58.160 align:middle line:84% Many of us on this call are working in higher education. 01:10:58.160 --> 01:11:01.370 align:middle line:84% We're working in California at community colleges. 01:11:01.370 --> 01:11:04.040 align:middle line:84% And, of course, we see rising rates 01:11:04.040 --> 01:11:08.990 align:middle line:84% of students who are impacted through the housing crisis, 01:11:08.990 --> 01:11:13.100 align:middle line:84% and eviction, food insecurity, you know, 01:11:13.100 --> 01:11:15.360 align:middle line:90% and a lack of basic needs. 01:11:15.360 --> 01:11:17.102 align:middle line:84% And so, of course, these issues are often 01:11:17.102 --> 01:11:18.560 align:middle line:84% compounded by the fact that they're 01:11:18.560 --> 01:11:22.130 align:middle line:84% caring for their families, trying to find work, or have 01:11:22.130 --> 01:11:25.040 align:middle line:84% multiple jobs, and they're trying to get an education, 01:11:25.040 --> 01:11:27.920 align:middle line:90% and, you know, do better, right? 01:11:27.920 --> 01:11:31.310 align:middle line:84% And so, for viewers who work in higher education, or who 01:11:31.310 --> 01:11:34.400 align:middle line:84% just want to help and be a part of the change, 01:11:34.400 --> 01:11:36.230 align:middle line:84% you know, you talk about the small things, 01:11:36.230 --> 01:11:38.870 align:middle line:84% so are there small things that we 01:11:38.870 --> 01:11:43.100 align:middle line:84% can do to be part of positive change around issues 01:11:43.100 --> 01:11:45.230 align:middle line:90% of homelessness? 01:11:45.230 --> 01:11:47.900 align:middle line:90% 01:11:47.900 --> 01:11:51.130 align:middle line:84% Well, I think what Tim said, you know, the beginning point 01:11:51.130 --> 01:11:56.170 align:middle line:84% is to see the people on the streets, let them see us, 01:11:56.170 --> 01:11:59.800 align:middle line:84% which, really, Signs of Humanity is really 01:11:59.800 --> 01:12:02.450 align:middle line:84% about seeing the humanity in each other. 01:12:02.450 --> 01:12:05.950 align:middle line:90% So I think that's an easy thing. 01:12:05.950 --> 01:12:11.320 align:middle line:84% As someone who's an educator, or as just a human being, 01:12:11.320 --> 01:12:13.990 align:middle line:84% I think another thing that can contribute 01:12:13.990 --> 01:12:16.390 align:middle line:84% is to be a voice for those folks. 01:12:16.390 --> 01:12:22.060 align:middle line:84% When I'm in a group of some of my wealthy white friends, 01:12:22.060 --> 01:12:27.400 align:middle line:84% and somebody makes a comment about someone experiencing 01:12:27.400 --> 01:12:29.770 align:middle line:84% homelessness, or them as a group, 01:12:29.770 --> 01:12:34.600 align:middle line:84% and it's derogatory, when I can be a voice for them, 01:12:34.600 --> 01:12:37.270 align:middle line:84% because they're not there to speak up for themselves 01:12:37.270 --> 01:12:41.750 align:middle line:84% or their stories, that seems like a simple thing, 01:12:41.750 --> 01:12:47.170 align:middle line:84% but I have witnessed the change it can make in my small groups. 01:12:47.170 --> 01:12:50.950 align:middle line:84% And then I've seen some of my friends, 01:12:50.950 --> 01:12:55.390 align:middle line:84% who I've been in groups with for years, take that on themselves 01:12:55.390 --> 01:12:57.910 align:middle line:84% and come and tell me about times they've 01:12:57.910 --> 01:13:00.970 align:middle line:84% called their friends out, or they've stopped their friends 01:13:00.970 --> 01:13:06.610 align:middle line:84% from saying things, and not from a shaming place at all, 01:13:06.610 --> 01:13:09.460 align:middle line:90% but simply to try to educate. 01:13:09.460 --> 01:13:14.080 align:middle line:84% And I think awareness and compassion go together, 01:13:14.080 --> 01:13:17.870 align:middle line:84% and that empathy goes up when people learn things. 01:13:17.870 --> 01:13:19.900 align:middle line:84% And so it's so easy to be ignorant, 01:13:19.900 --> 01:13:23.320 align:middle line:84% and to just keep on going about our lives without looking. 01:13:23.320 --> 01:13:29.030 align:middle line:84% So, you know, also, I, as you were talking, 01:13:29.030 --> 01:13:30.410 align:middle line:90% pulled up this message. 01:13:30.410 --> 01:13:32.930 align:middle line:84% So, I posted about our march that's 01:13:32.930 --> 01:13:35.120 align:middle line:90% coming up on November 20. 01:13:35.120 --> 01:13:38.720 align:middle line:84% A student I've never met randomly 01:13:38.720 --> 01:13:41.750 align:middle line:84% messages me through Instagram and says, "Hello. 01:13:41.750 --> 01:13:44.720 align:middle line:84% I'm an SMU student who experienced homelessness. 01:13:44.720 --> 01:13:48.980 align:middle line:84% I actually had an article about my story on the SMU Daily. 01:13:48.980 --> 01:13:52.250 align:middle line:84% I wanted to know when the We Are All Homeless on-campus event 01:13:52.250 --> 01:13:53.330 align:middle line:90% with speakers is. 01:13:53.330 --> 01:13:56.180 align:middle line:84% If it's OK, I'd like to speak and share my story, 01:13:56.180 --> 01:13:59.270 align:middle line:84% because I don't think many SMU students have experienced 01:13:59.270 --> 01:14:01.730 align:middle line:84% homelessness, or really know what that means. 01:14:01.730 --> 01:14:03.590 align:middle line:84% I'd like to provide some insight, 01:14:03.590 --> 01:14:06.380 align:middle line:90% and maybe inspire more support." 01:14:06.380 --> 01:14:08.630 align:middle line:84% So this came from, and it turns out, 01:14:08.630 --> 01:14:11.523 align:middle line:84% it's a young Asian woman, who I have not met, 01:14:11.523 --> 01:14:13.190 align:middle line:84% but I look forward to meeting, and she's 01:14:13.190 --> 01:14:16.220 align:middle line:84% going to speak at our event on the 20th. 01:14:16.220 --> 01:14:21.920 align:middle line:84% And, you know, I find that, I say this a lot, 01:14:21.920 --> 01:14:25.850 align:middle line:84% but to stay open to where this project takes me, 01:14:25.850 --> 01:14:29.810 align:middle line:84% I'm constantly getting to meet amazing people, 01:14:29.810 --> 01:14:33.470 align:middle line:84% and realizing that the more we simply 01:14:33.470 --> 01:14:38.600 align:middle line:84% make space for each other, it's profound at how 01:14:38.600 --> 01:14:40.940 align:middle line:90% much impact that can have. 01:14:40.940 --> 01:14:43.490 align:middle line:84% And as an educator, of course, I think 01:14:43.490 --> 01:14:45.650 align:middle line:84% it's the greatest gig on the planet. 01:14:45.650 --> 01:14:47.540 align:middle line:84% So, all of you, kudos to all of you 01:14:47.540 --> 01:14:49.850 align:middle line:90% that are teaching in any form. 01:14:49.850 --> 01:14:52.580 align:middle line:84% But bringing it into the classroom, 01:14:52.580 --> 01:14:54.410 align:middle line:84% I bring my signs into the classroom 01:14:54.410 --> 01:14:57.980 align:middle line:84% and make students pick a sign, and then 01:14:57.980 --> 01:15:00.260 align:middle line:84% write two or three sentences about the person they 01:15:00.260 --> 01:15:02.480 align:middle line:90% thought was holding that sign. 01:15:02.480 --> 01:15:06.350 align:middle line:84% And, you know, again, a bunch of privileged students 01:15:06.350 --> 01:15:09.260 align:middle line:84% shock me by their level of insight. 01:15:09.260 --> 01:15:12.980 align:middle line:84% And so I think there's lots of ways to bring it 01:15:12.980 --> 01:15:14.270 align:middle line:90% into the classroom too. 01:15:14.270 --> 01:15:17.680 align:middle line:90% 01:15:17.680 --> 01:15:21.700 align:middle line:84% On that note of classrooms and students, 01:15:21.700 --> 01:15:24.790 align:middle line:84% I think it's interesting that you began in advertising, 01:15:24.790 --> 01:15:29.080 align:middle line:84% and then, later on, pursued an MFA. 01:15:29.080 --> 01:15:32.950 align:middle line:84% Is there any, I don't know, advice that you could give 01:15:32.950 --> 01:15:36.820 align:middle line:84% to students that might be pursuing art 01:15:36.820 --> 01:15:39.625 align:middle line:84% as a first or even second career option? 01:15:39.625 --> 01:15:43.070 align:middle line:90% 01:15:43.070 --> 01:15:44.120 align:middle line:90% Yes. 01:15:44.120 --> 01:15:48.390 align:middle line:84% I think part of it is to, as I said earlier, 01:15:48.390 --> 01:15:53.240 align:middle line:84% some version of trust your goofy ideas and your weird instincts 01:15:53.240 --> 01:15:56.060 align:middle line:84% when they come up, because art often 01:15:56.060 --> 01:15:58.040 align:middle line:84% comes from a place of discomfort, 01:15:58.040 --> 01:16:00.680 align:middle line:84% and not averting our eyes, and being 01:16:00.680 --> 01:16:05.330 align:middle line:84% willing to tell the uncomfortable truths. 01:16:05.330 --> 01:16:08.780 align:middle line:84% I think that I certainly have paid attention to, 01:16:08.780 --> 01:16:11.690 align:middle line:84% beginning with grad school, watching 01:16:11.690 --> 01:16:16.460 align:middle line:84% how art in the country, that there is more and more art 01:16:16.460 --> 01:16:19.520 align:middle line:84% that seems to be focused on marginalized groups, 01:16:19.520 --> 01:16:25.010 align:middle line:84% and ways of bringing conversations to us in a way 01:16:25.010 --> 01:16:29.090 align:middle line:84% that maybe they didn't happen earlier. 01:16:29.090 --> 01:16:34.230 align:middle line:84% So I would tell students to, whatever 01:16:34.230 --> 01:16:37.140 align:middle line:84% the thing is that you are passionate about, 01:16:37.140 --> 01:16:38.850 align:middle line:90% dive in with both feet. 01:16:38.850 --> 01:16:42.060 align:middle line:84% Go figure out how you can use art 01:16:42.060 --> 01:16:45.090 align:middle line:84% as a tool to start those conversations 01:16:45.090 --> 01:16:47.250 align:middle line:90% or to bring awareness. 01:16:47.250 --> 01:16:50.280 align:middle line:84% You know, for me, the most powerful art 01:16:50.280 --> 01:16:53.040 align:middle line:84% is something that moves me, some way, shape, or form, 01:16:53.040 --> 01:16:55.590 align:middle line:84% and I've been shocked in museums, and galleries, 01:16:55.590 --> 01:16:59.040 align:middle line:84% and on the street by stuff I didn't expect 01:16:59.040 --> 01:17:01.230 align:middle line:90% to hit me the way it did. 01:17:01.230 --> 01:17:03.690 align:middle line:90% And I think my students do this. 01:17:03.690 --> 01:17:07.080 align:middle line:84% I mean, the reason I say this is the greatest gig on the planet 01:17:07.080 --> 01:17:10.950 align:middle line:84% is every day in class my students are shocking me 01:17:10.950 --> 01:17:15.000 align:middle line:84% by their creativity and by showing me 01:17:15.000 --> 01:17:17.580 align:middle line:84% a new way of thinking about something. 01:17:17.580 --> 01:17:21.720 align:middle line:84% So I think, to boil all that down, it's really, 01:17:21.720 --> 01:17:25.470 align:middle line:84% I think, about encouragement, as much as anything else. 01:17:25.470 --> 01:17:26.880 align:middle line:90% Keep those fires lit. 01:17:26.880 --> 01:17:29.735 align:middle line:90% 01:17:29.735 --> 01:17:30.360 align:middle line:90% Thanks, Willie. 01:17:30.360 --> 01:17:32.402 align:middle line:84% So I know we're getting near the end of our time. 01:17:32.402 --> 01:17:35.395 align:middle line:84% I have 100 more questions, but I'll just ask one. 01:17:35.395 --> 01:17:37.520 align:middle line:84% I know, before we went live, we talked a little bit 01:17:37.520 --> 01:17:40.790 align:middle line:90% about a future ongoing project. 01:17:40.790 --> 01:17:43.100 align:middle line:84% I don't know if you can share about that, 01:17:43.100 --> 01:17:45.260 align:middle line:84% if there's, you know, anything you can share 01:17:45.260 --> 01:17:48.320 align:middle line:84% about the future of this project or where you want to see it go. 01:17:48.320 --> 01:17:51.770 align:middle line:84% Yes, I've alluded to my long to-do list, 01:17:51.770 --> 01:17:54.830 align:middle line:90% which is sort of never-ending. 01:17:54.830 --> 01:18:00.530 align:middle line:84% We do have a non-profit, and for us, funds that come to us 01:18:00.530 --> 01:18:02.660 align:middle line:90% are used to raise awareness. 01:18:02.660 --> 01:18:07.340 align:middle line:84% And I know Rebecca asked me earlier about a book, which 01:18:07.340 --> 01:18:12.230 align:middle line:84% I've been working on a book for years, which 01:18:12.230 --> 01:18:16.160 align:middle line:84% I feel like I finally have the shape of what this book is 01:18:16.160 --> 01:18:17.630 align:middle line:90% going to be. 01:18:17.630 --> 01:18:20.520 align:middle line:84% It's requiring me to write a lot more than I expected. 01:18:20.520 --> 01:18:23.120 align:middle line:84% But I think that's going to be another way 01:18:23.120 --> 01:18:26.910 align:middle line:84% to get this message out to a different and new audience. 01:18:26.910 --> 01:18:31.520 align:middle line:84% We're also working on pitching this as a TV series 01:18:31.520 --> 01:18:33.650 align:middle line:90% to follow up on the documentary. 01:18:33.650 --> 01:18:37.130 align:middle line:84% We have ideas for other documentaries, one of which 01:18:37.130 --> 01:18:41.090 align:middle line:84% is the story of Eddie Dunn, which, personally, I think 01:18:41.090 --> 01:18:45.470 align:middle line:84% might be the most compelling documentary about homelessness 01:18:45.470 --> 01:18:48.440 align:middle line:90% that I could imagine. 01:18:48.440 --> 01:18:52.160 align:middle line:84% And besides that, I'm going to be doing an installation 01:18:52.160 --> 01:18:54.360 align:middle line:90% in Boston next week. 01:18:54.360 --> 01:18:57.710 align:middle line:84% I'm working with a group at USC, in LA, 01:18:57.710 --> 01:19:03.500 align:middle line:84% about possibly bringing exhibits and/or a march to their campus. 01:19:03.500 --> 01:19:08.270 align:middle line:84% I've got projects lined up throughout the spring of 2022, 01:19:08.270 --> 01:19:10.880 align:middle line:90% research exhibits and speaking. 01:19:10.880 --> 01:19:14.990 align:middle line:84% And, for me, it's always about, you 01:19:14.990 --> 01:19:18.620 align:middle line:84% know, I wish we had enough money to hire an executive director 01:19:18.620 --> 01:19:21.920 align:middle line:84% so I could really focus on the things I want to focus on, 01:19:21.920 --> 01:19:24.650 align:middle line:84% because I do believe there are a lot of people that 01:19:24.650 --> 01:19:29.520 align:middle line:84% want to support and help this project, and, for me, 01:19:29.520 --> 01:19:35.190 align:middle line:84% it's just about having the human resources to get it all done. 01:19:35.190 --> 01:19:37.640 align:middle line:84% But, yeah, lots of stuff in the works, 01:19:37.640 --> 01:19:41.840 align:middle line:84% and, you know, I know Tim and I have 01:19:41.840 --> 01:19:44.210 align:middle line:84% talked about a number of things as well. 01:19:44.210 --> 01:19:46.260 align:middle line:90% We'll see where all of it goes. 01:19:46.260 --> 01:19:51.350 align:middle line:84% But for now, as soon as I have openings in my calendar, 01:19:51.350 --> 01:19:54.950 align:middle line:84% I try to fill them up with events like this or other ones. 01:19:54.950 --> 01:19:57.170 align:middle line:84% I'm looking forward hopefully to one day getting 01:19:57.170 --> 01:19:59.810 align:middle line:90% to do an exhibit at Wignall. 01:19:59.810 --> 01:20:03.580 align:middle line:90% So fingers crossed. 01:20:03.580 --> 01:20:05.020 align:middle line:90% Yes, us too, for sure. 01:20:05.020 --> 01:20:06.550 align:middle line:84% Well, huge thanks to you, Willie. 01:20:06.550 --> 01:20:08.950 align:middle line:84% We appreciate your generous spirit 01:20:08.950 --> 01:20:12.460 align:middle line:84% and for sharing about your beautiful project. 01:20:12.460 --> 01:20:15.670 align:middle line:84% A reminder to attendees, please fill out 01:20:15.670 --> 01:20:18.820 align:middle line:84% the survey, and all of you please take good care, 01:20:18.820 --> 01:20:20.630 align:middle line:90% and see you next time. 01:20:20.630 --> 01:20:22.280 align:middle line:90% Thanks again, Willie. 01:20:22.280 --> 01:20:22.820 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 01:20:22.820 --> 01:20:24.140 align:middle line:90% Thank you all for being here. 01:20:24.140 --> 01:20:25.410 align:middle line:90% Thanks, Tim, for joining. 01:20:25.410 --> 01:20:25.910 align:middle line:90% Yes. 01:20:25.910 --> 01:20:26.540 align:middle line:90% Thanks, Tim. 01:20:26.540 --> 01:20:38.492 align:middle line:90% 01:20:38.492 --> 01:20:48.340 align:middle line:90% [INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING]