NEWS RELEASE
UNITED WAY SIMCOE MUSKOKA
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The Barrie Uptown Theatre is the local stop on a national tour of Us and Them, an acclaimed Canadian documentary that aims to spark a newfound compassion and desire to help people who are chronically homeless.
Presented by United Way Simcoe Muskoka (UWSM), in association with the Peggy Hill Team, Us and Them is being screened on Monday, April 9 at 7 p.m. Tickets will be available by donation at the door on a first-come, first-served basis.
“This is an opportunity to put faces to the issues of poverty, addiction, homelessness and mental illness, and to imagine what it might be like to walk in those shoes,” says UWSM CEO Dale Biddell, whose registered charity addresses those and other local social challenges. “There are many people across our region struggling with the same issues as those highlighted in this documentary. They’re our neighbours and deserve our kindness – and they need our help.”
Ten years in the making, Us and Them was written and directed by Krista Loughton and award-winning filmmaker Jennifer Abbott, who joined the project in 2013. Abbott is the co-director and editor of the widely acclaimed film the corporation, one of Canada's most successful documentaries.
“At a time when Canada is in the midst of both a housing and opioid crisis, a national effort to raise awareness about homelessness and addiction through a compassionate lens has never been more relevant,” says Loughton.
The Canadian tour of Us and Them has included an exclusive screening on Parliament Hill for all of Canada’s MPs, hosted by the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development. The film also screened at the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association’s (CHRA) Annual Congress, and the Union of BC Municipalities Annual Conference.
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