Housing and food insecurity are realities that many Vermonters know all to well. Just last week, hundreds of people lost their eligibility for state-subsidized motel and hotel rooms. Two in five people in Vermont are experiencing hunger, according to Hunger Free Vermont.
These dual challenges — not having enough food or an affordable place to live — are the subject of a new documentary by acclaimed Vermont filmmaker Bess O'Brien. In "Just Getting By," O'Brien shares stories of families living in state-funded motel rooms and people who rely on community kitchens or local food banks for their meals.
The film follows more than a half dozen people as they navigate different housing options, from the motel program to shelters to camping outdoors. O'Brien said one of her priorities was to show the diversity among people struggling with housing insecurity.
"I think many times we have a stereotype in our head of who is somebody who's homeless, or who is food insecure" O'Brien told Vermont Edition. Her film features people from many different backgrounds, from a retired nurse struggling to make ends meet with her Social Security check, to a recent immigrant and stay-at-home mom whose husband sometimes works 20 hours a day to support their family.
"These are people with courage and dignity, and people who persevere through the hardest times," O'Brien said. "Many of them work two to three jobs. Many, many of the people that I am in contact with in this film are people who just want a decent life."
O'Brien will tour the film around the state for the next three weeks, beginning with a screening in Burlington on Friday, March 22. The tour will close at the Savoy Theater in Montpelier on Friday, April 12. Tickets are $15 or pay what you can.
Editor's note: Vermont Public is a media sponsor of the film tour.
Broadcast live on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
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