A local duo is putting Chatham-Kent’s homeless crisis in the spotlight with a new documentary.
Karissa and Kat Strain, known as the Sisters Strain, will be screening their new film, “Unhoused: Communities in Crisis” this Friday night in Chatham’s Tecumseh Park.
The documentary focuses on the municipality and community’s response to the housing crisis with a focus on solutions.
“This is a relatively new struggle to rural communities, so (we are) showcasing how our community is trying to deal with this and planting some seeds of hope for what we’re working on for the future,” Kat and Karissa say. “Hoping that we can bring a little more awareness to this specific struggle rural communities are having and trying to navigate this.”
The Sisters Strain interviewed numerous community leaders over the last several months, including municipal staff, officials with Reach Out Chatham-Kent (R.O.C.K.) and Hope Haven, those working at Pathways on Park, Chatham-Kent’s new transition cabin project, as well as community members affected by homelessness.
“We were able to work with service groups that have that trust built with people who are experiencing that saying “nothing about us without us,” so you can’t do a film about being unhoused without speaking with individuals who have gone through or are currently experiencing it.”
The filmmaking duo say they hope their project will not only show more about what’s being done to support those experiencing homelessness, but also help others find more compassion and empathy for their fellow citizens.
The Sisters Strain say this is the first in a series of projects they will be working on centred around social issues affecting rural communities.
The Unhoused documentary will be shown for free at 8 o’clock in Tecumseh Park Friday night and on YourTV Chatham-Kent before being submitted to the film festival circuit.
